Song titles:
1. Let's Get Serious
2. Where Are You Now
3. You're Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me
Artist: Jermaine Jackson
Written by:
1. Stevie Wonder/Lee Garrett
2. Stevie Wonder/Renee Hardaway
3. Stevie Wonder
Originally released on: Let's Get Serious - Motown 928
Release date: April? 1980
Currently available on CD: Not available, was on out-of-print release Let's Get Serious - Motown 530 217-2. 'Let's Get Serious' and 'You're Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me' are available on Ultimate Collection (see 'I Think It's Love' below)
Further info: When the members of The Jackson 5 left Motown to sign with CBS in the mid-1970s, there was one member who stayed behind: Jermaine Jackson, who was married to Motown founder Berry Gordy's daughter, Hazel. Nothing very much happened with Jermaine's career until this album, which became a success largely thanks to Stevie's contributions: the rousing title track 'Let's Get Serious', a US Top Ten hit single (Motown 1469, March 1980; note: the single version is an edit), and the follow-up ballad 'You're Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me' (Motown 1490, July? 1980). Stevie's third song on the LP, the catchy 'Where Are You Now', should also have been a single - arguably, it would have been a more successful choice than 'You're Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me', which peaked at number 34.

At any rate, Stevie's contribution to the Let's Get Serious album - recorded in 1979 - was a triumph for everyone involved. Stevie not only produced his own songs, but also provided most of the instrumental backing, even singing a few solo lines on the title track. Recalled Jermaine Jackson, "As well as Stevie writing and producing three songs for the album he also involved himself in the songs I did for myself. So much he wanted his songs to fit my concept."

'You're Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me' actually dated back to a 1974 recording session Stevie did for The Jackson 5. On that version, Jermaine was also the lead singer. However, the 1974 recording - and a song entitled 'No News Is Good News', made at the same time - remain unreleased.

The same year, Stevie recorded his own version of 'You're Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me', during a session at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. This recording, which has yet to be released, features bass, drums, string section, an extended muted trumpet solo and, of course, Stevie's vocals and keyboards.

'Let's Get Serious' had also been around for a few years. Reportedly, Stevie originally planned to release his own version of the song, but when Berry Gordy heard it he persuaded Stevie to donate 'Let's Get Serious' to Jermaine Jackson.

Song title: What Are You Going To Do With It
Artist: Betty Wright
Written by: Stevie Wonder/Betty Wright
Originally released on: Betty Wright - Epic LP EPC 84882
Release date: June 1981
Currently available on CD: Free Soul Party - SRCS-8769 (Japanese release)
Further info: The energetic 'What Are You Gonna Do With It' was written by Stevie and Betty Wright, whose biggest hit was 'Clean Up Woman' in 1971. The song itself and Wright's brilliant vocal performance makes it yet another highlight of Stevie's 1980s output. 'What Are You Gonna Do With It' was written during the making of Stevie's Hotter Than July album, to which Betty Wright contributed backing vocals (on 'All I Do', along with Michael Jackson, and on 'Happy Birthday').

During Stevie's concert at Hollywood's Roxy Club on August 24, 1980, the audience was treated to a rare live performance of the song, by Stevie and Betty Wright. 'What Are You Gonna Do With It' was also the first single off Wright's album (Epic 51009, March? 1981), just missing the Top 40 on the US R&B chart.

Song title: I Was Made To Love You
Artist: Maria Muldaur
Written by: Stevie Wonder/Syreeta Wright
Originally released on: There Is A Love - Myrrh 1114
Release date: 1982
Currently available on CD: No
Further info: 'I Was Made To Love You' was written in 1971, but wasn't recorded and released until more than a decade later.

This song is a good example of the working relationship between Stevie and Syreeta Wright. "Although Stevie comes to you with the melody for his songs, he also comes up with the basic idea for lyrics," Syreeta explained at one point. In this case, Stevie's concept for the song consisted of the lines: "You're as much of me as me…I'm going to shine my love/Shine my love/Shine my love on you - Yeah." On the basis of these phrases, Syreeta then completed the lyrics.

Song title: What's That You're Doing
Artist: Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder
Written by: Stevie Wonder/Paul McCartney
Originally released on: Paul McCartney album: Tug Of War - Columbia 37462
Release date: April 26, 1982
Currently available on CD: Tug Of War - Parlophone 7 89266 2
Further info: 'What's That You're Doing' was written and recorded during sessions for Paul McCartney's Tug Of War album. In early 1981 McCartney spent little over a month at A.I.R. Studios on the island of Montserrat recording the album, with Stevie participating in the sessions between February 22 and March 2. The primary purpose of Stevie's visit was, of course, the recording of the duet 'Ebony And Ivory', which went on to become a global smash hit - among the biggest either artist has ever enjoyed.

'What's That You're Doing' started out as a jam session, during the very last night of Stevie's Montserrat visit. Stevie was playing a funky synthesizer riff, and Paul McCartney then joined in on drums. Throughout the sessions the jam was developed into a proper song. McCartney and other musicians later added overdubs, such as backing vocals, to the song.


The Twin Freaks remix

23 years after 'What's That You're Doing' was first released, on June 13, 2005 a remix album of Paul McCartney recordings was issued under the name Twin Freaks, as a vinyl-only release. This album contains an inspired remix of 'What's That You're Doing', updating the track quite tastefully for the current music scene. Also, towards the end of the song the remix features a few vocal lines from Stevie that were not included in the original mix.

So exactly what is the Twin Freaks project? To quote the press release, Twin Freaks features "the studio wizardry of London based DJ and Producer The Freelance Hellraiser AKA Roy Kerr. Best known for his unforgettable mash-up the 2002 bootleg ‘A Stroke Of Genius’. Hellraiser has since become one of the country’s most sought after remixers and last year caught the eye of music legend Paul McCartney. In the summer of 2004 Hellraiser toured Europe with Paul McCartney, opening each show with a twenty-five minute set of remixed McCartney tunes, which cumulated in the famous headline performance at Glastonbury."

This collaboration eventually led to the Twin Freaks album, which is also available as a download (individual tracks or the entire album). See the link to the right.

Order the CD:
Amazon.com (US)
Amazon.co.uk (UK)
Amazon.de (Germany)
Amazon.fr (France)
CDOn (Sweden)

Download album or tracks

More about Twin Freaks at this site

Song title: With A Touch
Artist: Dionne Warwick
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Originally released on: Friends In Love - Arista LP AZ 9585
Release date: May 1982
Currently available on CD: Friends In Love - BMG BVCM37275 (Japanese release)
Further info: The ballad 'With A Touch' marked Stevie's first collaboration with Dionne Warwick. In addition to writing the song, he also played piano on the track. Stevie himself has shown a special fondness for 'With A Touch': the song was a feature of many of his live concerts throughout the 1980s, although he has never released it himself.

Stevie and Dionne's association would reach its commercial peak in the mid-1980s, most notably on the all-star 1985 hit 'That's What Friends Are For'.

Note: On Stevie's soundtrack album The Woman In Red, Dionne Warwick was the sole vocalist on the track 'Moments Aren't Moments'. This would have qualified it for a separate entry in this list, but for the fact that it was featured on an album credited to Stevie himself.

Song title: The Crown
Artist: Gary Byrd And The G.B. Experience
Written by: Stevie Wonder/Gary Byrd
Originally released on: Wondirection 4507
Release date: July? 1983
Currently available on CD: Not available, was on out-of print release Making Trax — Motown ZL 72187.
Further info: Stevie's first foray into rap came with this lesson in African-American history by Gary Byrd. As a lyricist, Byrd had already contributed similarly-themed words for 'Black Man' on Stevie's Songs In The Key Of Life album. On the same album he also wrote the lyrics for 'Village Ghetto Land', and later he penned the words for 'Dark'n'Lovely' on the Characters album. In 2000 he collaborated with Stevie on 'Misrepresented People', included on the soundtrack album for the movie Bamboozled.

Gary Byrd began writing the words for 'The Crown' in 1979. Two years later, Stevie heard the completed lyrics and asked if he could write the music. "I played it to Stevie over the phone," recalled Byrd, "and he told me to fly to Los Angeles to record it with him. Stevie laid down the backing track quickly and I did the vocals and the company were excited about releasing it. I couldn't believe Stevie was so satisfied because all his songs go through a long evolutionary process."

'The Crown' was recorded at Wonderland Studios in Los Angeles. It was also the very first song to be released on Stevie's short-lived record label, Wondirection. Despite instrumental backing and even a few solo vocal lines from Stevie, 'The Crown' was not a big success in the US, only reaching number 69 on the US R&B chart. However, it fared much better in the UK, where it hit the Top Ten.

Song title: Remembering The Sixties
Artist: George Duke
Written by: Stevie Wonder/George Duke
Originally released on: Thief In The Night - Elektra 60398
Release date: May 1985
Currently available on CD: No. Was available on out-of-print CD Thief In The Night; used copies are sometimes available, try the link.
Further info: This reflective ballad, written by Stevie and keyboard player George Duke, is one of the few songs for other artists that Stevie himself doesn't appear on - much to Duke's regret, it appears. "'Remembering The Sixties' would have been a hit with Stevie Wonder singing," he has commented.

Song title: I Do Love You
Artist: The Beach Boys
Written by: Stevie Wonder/Syreeta Wright
Originally released on: The Beach Boys - Caribou 39946
Release date: June 6, 1985
Currently available on CD: Keepin' The Summer Alive/The Beach Boys - Brother Records/Capitol 5 27948 2
Further info: 'I Do Love You', Stevie's contribution to The Beach Boys' eponymous album, was probably recorded in late 1984. It seems Stevie provided a backing track with most of the instrumentation, which was then submitted to The Beach Boys and their producer Steve Levine for overdubbing of vocals and additional instruments. The lead vocals on the song are credited to Carl Wilson and Al Jardine. However, towards the end of the song, a voice sounding remarkably like Stevie can be heard to interject "baby!" on a couple of times.

Incidentally, back in 1967, The Beach Boys recorded a version of Stevie's 'I Was Made To Love Her' on their Wild Honey album. This recording also featured a lead vocal by Carl Wilson.

'I Do Love You' marks the final Stevie Wonder/Syreeta Wright collaboration to be made public to date. At the beginning of the 1980s there were plans for a third Syreeta album, or at least some kind of ambitious collaboration between the pair, but the project never materialised. 'I Do Love You' may possibly stem from this project.

Song titles:
1. Do I
2. Everything's Coming Up Roses
Artist: Eddie Murphy
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Originally released on: How Could It Be - CBS FC 39952
Release date: October? 1985
Currently available on CD: Not available, was on out-of-print CD How Could It Be. Used copies are sometimes available, try the links.
Further info: In the second half of the 1980s, comedian Eddie Murphy began a parallel music career, garnering a massive hit with 'Party All The Time'. Stevie contributed two songs to Murphy's first "music album": 'Do I' and 'Everything's Coming Up Roses'. Although both songs were recorded at Stevie's Wonderland studios - and features instrumental backing from him - only 'Everything's Coming Up Roses' bears a production credit to Stevie.

'Everything's Coming Up Roses' is one of the first songs to feature longtime Stevie collaborator Keith John on backing vocals. John has been providing backing vocals for Stevie ever since, and in 1987 he was the recipient of an exclusive song as well (see 'I Can Only Be Me' below).

In 1993, Stevie again appeared on an Eddie Murphy recording, playing harmonica on the song 'Yeah' on Murphy's Love's Alright album.

Song title: Chan's Song (Never Said)
Artist: Herbie Hancock/Ron Carter/Tony Williams/Bobby McFerrin
Written by: Herbie Hancock/Stevie Wonder
Originally released on: Round Midnight - CBS 40464
Release date: October? 1985
Currently available on CD: Sony 85811
Further info: The creation of 'Chan's Song (Never Said)' is somewhat muddled in confusion. According to Stevie's own recollection, he had nothing to do with Herbie Hancock's melody, but only wrote the lyrics - although he was in the same room as Hancock when the tune was written. However, according to Hancock, he and Stevie collaborated on the music, and then Stevie wrote the lyrics.

'Chan's Song (Never Said)' first surfaced in the 1986 movie Round Midnight, where it was featured as a wordless vocal performance by Bobby McFerrin. It was later re-recorded, with Stevie's lyrics, by Dianne Reeves (see 1990s section). For this reason, this is the only song to appear twice in this list.

Song titles:
1. Two In Love
2. You And Me
Artist: Tyler Collins & Grady Harrell
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Originally released on: Tyler Collins album: Girls Nite Out - RCA 9642
Release date: October 20, 1989
Currently available on CD: Not available, was on out-of-print release Tyler Collins Girls Nite Out - RCA 9642. Used copies are sometimes available, try the links.
Further info: The tracks 'Two In Love' and 'You And Me' were produced by Stevie - who also contributed instrumental backing - in 1988. At the time, he was working on his never-completed "part two" album of the Characters project.

Tyler Collins had been a member of the teen R&B group Boys Next Door, and Girls Nite Out was her debut solo album. The album yielded a couple of hits on the US R&B chart, although none of Stevie's contributions were among them. Collins has continued writing and recording songs, and has also found work as an actress.

Grady Harrell was almost a member of successful disco group Shalamar, but instead embarked on a solo career. In addition to guesting on the Tyler Collins album, the recording of 'You And Me' was included on his own album, Come Play With Me, also released in 1989. Furthermore, Harrell's album included a version of Stevie's 'If Ever', originally recorded by John Denver (see above) and later by Stevie himself.