(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Stevie Wonder - "I Wish"
Hit Number 1: January 22, 1977
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
Sometime in the summer of 1976, Stevie Wonder was at a picnic hosted by the Motown record label. This picnic apparently had contests and other events for everyone to participate in, and despite having a really bad toothache at the time, Wonder remembered how much fun it all was, and it was almost like he was reliving his childhood a little bit. Right after the picnic Wonder would go to Crystal Recording Studio where he'd begin to work on content for his Songs in the Key of Life album. According to Wonder, he was in such good spirits after this picnic that he couldn't help but come up with music that was "fun." Wonder was known for always coming up with his music first before deciding on lyrics to go along with the music, and this song was no different. It was the general vibe of a song that he had in place, but coming up with lyrics for the song proved to be a little bit harder.
At first, Wonder's idea for the song was something spiritual, specifically about the "Wheel of 84." But a couple of things made Wonder change his mind. First, everybody in the studio was talking about their childhood, and all the fun and crazy memories they had from when they were growing up. But also, Wonder simply felt that the music he had come up with was too fun to litter with something serious like "spiritual teachings." This is my own opinion, but personally I don't see something like that ever becoming a hit anyway, because most people can't relate to that. This is when Wonder started thinking about his own childhood memories, and even though he didn't grow up in the richest household, he still looks back on his childhood positively. He wished those days could come back "once more." Just like that, "I Wish" was born.
"I Wish" is actually a true song in a sense. All the different things we hear about, ranging from "Looking back on when I was a little nappy headed boy/Then my only worry was for Christmas what would be my toy" and "Mama gives you money for Sunday school/You trade yours for candy after church is through" these really are some of the memories that stuck out to Wonder when he thought about his childhood. There's a pretty good amount of humor in the song, like after the line "Smoking cigarettes and writing something nasty on the wall," we hear Wonder's sister, Renee Hardaway, say "you nasty boy." But along with the humor, the song is not only relatable, as it can be pretty similar to anyone's childhood/teenage years, but it also humanizes Wonder a little bit. Let's be real, Stevie Wonder is an other-worldly presence in the music/entertainment world, but his childhood was nothing special. Even though somewhere along the way he came up with "Fingertips," he was just another kid dealing with ordinary kid things. And just like a lot of us, we wish those simple days could come back again.
But that's not even the best part about the song. The best part about "I Wish" is that the song is a total banger, with one of the most wicked bass lines I've ever heard. The song's intro is that bass line alone, before everything jumps in with it. From there on out, the song is nothing but a fun ride. We get to hear Wonder recalling different childhood memories, while also being treated to the bass, the signature Wonder-funk horns, and a chorus that lights the world on fire. I mean, seriously: "I wish those days/Could/Come back once more! Why did those days/Ev-er have to go?!" The chorus is so simple, but so addicting that it takes the cake on the song's best quality, in a song loaded with great qualities. The album Songs in the Key of Life is often credited as being not only Wonder's best album, but sometimes considered to be the greatest album of all time. (Elton John even said that he believes the album to be the best ever, which is saying something) And though we will hear another one of these songs again from the album, "I Wish" is probably the greatest one on the album. The song is relatable, a little humorous, and moves like the total bad-ass song that it is. I wish songs like this could come back once more.
GRADE: 10/10
IN POP CULTURE:
This would take guts. Lady Gaga performed "I Wish" live during a Stevie Wonder tribute in 2015...with Stevie Wonder in the house. And somehow she tore the place down, with a hell of a performance. Here's that video:
(We will, of course, hear plenty from Lady Gaga later on in this series)
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