Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder (1973)

"Higher Ground" is a funk song written by Stevie Wonder and first appearing on his 1973 album "Innervisions". The song reached #4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and #1 on the U.S. Hot Soul Singles chart. Stevie wrote and recorded the song in a three-hour burst of creativity in May, 1973. The unique wah-clavinet sound in the song was achieved with a Mutron envelope filter pedal. The bass is a Moog synthesizer. Via overdubs, Wonder played all instruments on the track, including drums. As with many of Stevie Wonder's albums, the lyrics, composition and production on "Innervisions" are almost entirely his own work, with the ARP synthesizer used prominently throughout the album. This instrument was a common motif among musicians of the time because of its ability to construct a complete sound environment. Wonder was the first black artist to experiment with this technology on a mass scale, and "Innervisions" was hugely influential on the subsequent future of commercial black music. He also played all or virtually all instruments on six of the album's nine tracks, making most of "Innervisions" a representative one-man band. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song "Higher Ground" #261 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Stevland Hardaway Judkins (born May 13, 1950), whose name was later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris, better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist. Blind from shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records' Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever given to a male solo artist. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. This channel is dedicated to all the great 'old school' R&B music I grew up with, the stuff that originally made me tap my feet and want to be a DJ. Funk, soul, disco, R&B, dance, hip-hop, pop . . . 60s, 70s, 80s . . . whatever you call it, it's all 'Old School' and it's all here!

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And coming in January 2011 . . .
DJ Buddy Love presents LONGEVITY . . .
A world record club DJ mixing marathon charity event . . .
121 hours nonstop to benefit cancer research . . .
Live to the world via UStream, Facebook, YouTube & Twitter . . .
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Enjoy!!

;~}

Copyright 1973 Tamla/Motown Records
All Rights Reserved

• Category

  Music

[ZackTheGuineaPig]

Amber Riley is going to kill this.

[Christophe Petra]

Gotta love the Motown!

[Anca Pascan]

I'm so darn glad he let me try it again

Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin

I'm so glad that I know more than I knew then

Gonna keep on tryin'

Till I reach the highest ground

[tellnhelen]

scandal brought me here too. Added it to playlist

[Kiara Collier]

I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!!! I was scrolling down thinking I was the only one lol :)

[Esther Brens Martínez]

Scandal Brought me here :D

[Rocio Garzon]

Me too :) . A few years ago, but It worth it: the movie and the song. I even liked the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' version too. (sorry the weird english)

[Camila Santos]

After 24 hours i can't breath yet!

[Jam Bread]

Scandal

[telleinwonderland]

Who else had center stage lead them here?

[Sophia Fuller]

me too after that episode I feel like i couldn't breathe

[Neils Dahlberg]

This is a wonderful ride to "higher ground" ...