I Just Called to Say I Love You

"I Just Called to Say I Love You"
Single by Stevie Wonder
from the album The Woman in Red soundtrack
Released August 1, 1984[1]
Genre R&B, soul, synthpop
Length 6:44 (extended version)
6:16 (album version)
4:16 (single version)
Label Motown
Writer(s) Stevie Wonder[2]
Producer(s) Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder singles chronology
"Front Line"
(1983)		 "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
(1984)		 "Love Light in Flight"
(1984)

"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song written, produced and performed by Stevie Wonder.[2] It is one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles.

The song was first featured in the 1984 comedy The Woman in Red,[2] along with two other songs by Wonder, and scored number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from October 13 to 27, 1984. It also became his tenth number-one on the R&B chart, and his fourth on the adult contemporary chart; it spent three weeks atop both charts, and for the same weeks as on the Hot 100.[3] The song also became Wonder's only solo UK number-one success, staying at the top for six weeks, in the process also becoming Motown Records' biggest-selling single in the UK, a distinction it still holds as of 2015.[2] In addition, the song won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.[2] The song also received three nominations at the 27th Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

There was a dispute among Wonder, his former writing partner Lee Garrett, and Lloyd Chiate as to who actually wrote the song. Chiate claimed in a lawsuit that he and Garrett wrote the song years before its 1984 release; however a jury ultimately sided with Wonder.[4]

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) 1
Austrian Singles Chart[5] 1
Canadian Singles Chart[6] 1
Danish Singles Chart 1
Dutch Singles Chart[7] 1
European Billboard Hot 100 Singles 1
French Singles Chart[8] 1
German Singles Chart[9] 1
Irish Singles Chart[10] 1
Italian Singles Chart[11] 1
Norwegian Singles Chart[12] 1
New Zealand Singles Chart 1
Spain (AFYVE)[13] 1
Swedish Singles Chart[14] 1
Swiss Singles Chart[15] 1
UK Singles Chart[16] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 1
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[17] 1
US Billboard Hot Black Singles[17] 1

Decade charts

Chart (1980–1989) Position
Australian Singles Chart 5
UK Singles Chart 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1984) Position
US Billboard Hot 100 25

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[18] 3× Platinum 300,000^
France (SNEP)[19] Gold 926,000[20]
Germany (BVMI)[21] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Platinum 1,840,000[23]
United States (RIAA)[24] Gold 1,000,000^
Total available sales: 4,326,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
"Careless Whisper" by George Michael		 UK number one single
September 8, 1984
(for six weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Freedom" by Wham!

See also

References

  1. ↑ "RIAA Gold and Platinum Database". Riaa.org. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 136. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ "I Just Called to Say I Love You" topped the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and R&B charts simultaneously from October 13 to 27, 1984:
  4. ↑ Weinstein, Henry (February 23, 1990). "Wonder Wins Suit Over Song". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  5. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You". austriancharts.at. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  6. ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Mississauga, Ontario: 1999.
  7. ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 41, 1984". Retrieved February 27, 2008.
  8. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You". lescharts.com. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  10. ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  11. ↑ Italian Single Chart Hit parade Italia (Retrieved May 30, 2008)
  12. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  14. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  15. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You". hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  16. ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 17, 2008)
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved April 17, 2008)
  18. ↑ "Canadian certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Music Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  19. ↑ "French certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved March 29, 2012. Select STEVIE WONDER and click OK
  20. ↑ "Les Singles en Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Stevie Wonder; 'I Just Called to Say I Love You')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  22. ↑ "British certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 29, 2012. Enter I Just Called to Say I Love You in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  23. ↑ Lane, Daniel (27 June 2013). "Daft Punk's Get Lucky becomes one of the UK's biggest selling singles of all-time!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "American certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 29, 2012.

External links