Fulfillingness' First Finale

Fulfillingness' First Finale
Studio album by Stevie Wonder
Released	July 22, 1974
Recorded	Record Plant Studios and Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles; Media Sound and Electric Lady Studios in New York City
Genre	Soul[1]
Length	42:33
Label	Tamla
Producer	Stevie Wonder, Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil
Stevie Wonder chronology
Innervisions (1973)Innervisions1973 Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) Songs in the Key of Life (1976)Songs in the Key of Life1976
Singles from Fulfillingness' First Finale
"You Haven't Done Nothin'" Released: August 1974 "Boogie On Reggae Woman" Released: November 1974

Fulfillingness' First Finale is a 1974 album by Stevie Wonder; widely considered one of the albums from his "classic period".^[2][3][4] Released on July 22, 1974 on the Tamla label, it is Wonder's nineteenth album overall, and seventeenth studio album. According to Billboard magazine, it was Wonder's first studio album to top the Pop Albums chart where it remained for two weeks, while it was his third album to top the R&B/Black Albums chart where it spent nine non-consecutive weeks.^[5]

Subsequent to the epic sweep and social consciousness of Innervisions, this set projected a reflective, decidedly somber tone. The musical arrangements used in several songs while masterly could be considered sparse in comparison to others among his 1970s masterworks, evident especially in the bleak "They Won't Go When I Go" and understated "Creepin'". While largely a stripped down, more personal sounding record, Wonder had not completely foregone social commentary on the world around him. The No. 1 hit "You Haven't Done Nothin'" launched a pointed criticism of the Nixon administration bolstered by funky clavinet, drum machine, and a Jackson 5 cameo.

The album received three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, in 1974.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
The Austin Chronicle	[7]
Christgau's Record Guide	A–[8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[9]
The Great Rock Discography	7/10[9]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
MusicHound	4/5[9]
Q	[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[12]
The Village Voice	B+[13]

Fulfillingness' First Finale won Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal, Best Male Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance (for "Boogie On Reggae Woman"), and Album of the Year in 1974.

Track listing

All songs written by Stevie Wonder, except where noted.

Side One

1. "Smile Please" – 3:28
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums
   • Michael Sembello – electric guitar
   • Reggie McBride – electric bass
   • Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos
   • Jim Gilstrap – background vocals
   • Deniece Williams (credited as Denise) – background vocals
2. "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" – 5:02
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Hohner clavinet, drums, Moog bass
   • Paul Anka – background vocal
   • Syreeta Wright – background vocal
   • Shirley Brewer – background vocal
   • Larry "Nastyee" Latimer – background vocal
3. "Too Shy to Say" – 3:29
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano
   • James Jamerson – acoustic bass
   • Sneaky Pete Kleinow – pedal steel guitar
4. "Boogie On Reggae Woman" – 4:56
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes, piano, harmonica, drums, Moog bass
   • Rocky Dzidzornu – congas
5. "Creepin'" – 4:22
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, harmonica, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
   • Minnie Riperton – background vocal

Side Two

1. "You Haven't Done Nothin'" – 3:23
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner clavinet, bass drum, hi-hat, cymbal
   • Reggie McBride – electric bass
   • The Jackson 5 – background vocals
   • Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil – synthesizers
   • Horns, drum machine – uncredited
2. "It Ain't No Use" – 4:01
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums, Moog bass
   • Lani Groves – background vocal
   • Minnie Riperton – background vocal
   • Deniece Williams – background vocal
3. "They Won't Go When I Go" (Wonder, Yvonne Wright) – 5:58
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
   • Bob and Malcolm - programming Moog
4. "Bird of Beauty" – 3:48
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes, Hohner clavinet, drums, percussions, Moog bass
   • Bobbye Hall – cuíca
   • Shirley Brewer – background vocal
   • Lani Groves – background vocal
   • Deniece Williams – background vocal
   • Sergio Mendes - Portuguese lyrics^[14]
   • Drum machine - uncredited
5. "Please Don't Go" – 4:07
   • Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, Fender Rhodes, harmonica, handclaps, drums, hi-hat, Moog bass
   • Michael Sembello – acoustic guitar
   • The Persuasions – background vocal
   • Shirley Brewer – background vocal
   • Deniece Williams – background vocal

Cover versions

• "Too Shy to Say" - Later recorded by Diana Ross in 1978.
• "Too Shy to Say" - George Michael performed the song in his Faith Tour.
• "Creepin'" - Later recorded by Luther Vandross for The Night I Fell in Love in 1985.
• "They Won't Go When I Go" - Later recorded by George Michael for Listen Without Prejudice, Vol 1 in 1990.
• "They Won't Go When I Go" - Later recorded by Kevin Max for The Blood in 2007.
• "Boogie On Reggae Woman" - Later regularly performed live by Phish and featured on Hampton Comes Alive (1999) among other live releases.
• "Boogie On Reggae Woman" - Later recorded by Marcus Miller for Silver Rain in 2005.
• "You Haven't Done Nothing" - Later recorded by Curumin for "Achados e Perdidos", in 2005.

Chart positions

Billboard Chart information by Billboard VNU eMedia

Album

Singles

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1974 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1974 (U.S.)

References

External links

• Hughes, Tim. Extensive musicological analysis of "You Haven't Done Nothing" in Groove and Flow: Six Analytical Essays On The Music Of Stevie Wonder (University of Washington PhD dissertation, 2003)
• Stevie Wonder interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' March 1995