Fulfillingness' First Finale is a landmark album by Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974; one of the albums from his "classic period".[10] It is his seventeenth studio album overall. 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 nonconsecutive weeks.[11]
Subsequent to the epic sweep and social consciousness of Innervisions, this set projected a reflective, decidedly somber tone. The musical arrangementsused 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 foregonesocial commentary on the world around him. The No. 1 hit "You Haven't Done Nothin'" launched a pointed criticism of the Nixon administration[citation needed]bolstered by funky clavinet, drum machine, and a Jackson 5 cameo.[citation needed]
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. When Wonder took two years to record his follow-up album, Songs in the Key of Life, this broke his consecutive Grammystreak and led to Paul Simon's famous quote thanking him for not releasing an album in 1975 (when Simon won the Album of the Year award for Still Crazy After All These Years).
Contents[]
Track listing[edit][]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Smile Please" | Wonder | 3:28 | |
| 2. | "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" | Wonder | 5:02 | |
| 3. | "Too Shy to Say" | Wonder | 3:29 | |
| 4. | "Boogie On Reggae Woman" | Wonder | 4:56 | |
| 5. | "Creepin'" | Wonder | 4:23 | |
| 6. | "You Haven't Done Nothin'" | Wonder | 3:23 | |
| 7. | "It Ain't No Use" | Wonder | 4:01 | |
| 8. | "They Won't Go When I Go" | Wonder, Yvonne Wright | 5:59 | |
| 9. | "Bird of Beauty" | Wonder | 3:48 | |
| 10. | "Please Don't Go" | Wonder | 4:07 | |
| Total length: | 42:33 | |||
Side One[edit][]
- "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
- "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
- "Too Shy to Say" – 3:29
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano
- James Jamerson – acoustic bass
- Sneaky Pete Kleinow – pedal steel guitar
- "Boogie On Reggae Woman" – 4:56
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes, piano, harmonica, drums, Moog bass
- Rocky Dzidzornu – congas
- "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[edit][]
- "You Haven't Done Nothin'" – 3:22
- 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 – synthesizer(s)
- Horns, drum machine – uncredited
- "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
- "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
- "Bird of Beauty" – 3:48
- "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[edit][]
- "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 among other live releases.
2007.
- "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[edit][]
Billboard Chart information by Billboard VNU eMedia
Album[edit][]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Soul Albums | 1 |
| Top LP's & Tape |
Singles[edit][]
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | "You Haven't Done Nothin'" | Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| "Boogie on Reggae Woman" | 3 | ||
| "You Haven't Done Nothin'" | Hot Soul Singles | 1 | |
| "Boogie on Reggae Woman" | 1 |