(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 - "You Haven't Done Nothin'"
Hit Number 1: November 2, 1974
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
If you thought 2020 was chaotic, so was 1974. Granted, 1974 didn't have a pandemic in it, but there was some heavy political crap that was happening. I hate even bringing this stuff up, but for today's song, it's unfortunately necessary. There were the infamous Boston riots along with the acquittal of Ohio National Guardsmen, who were tied to the Kent State Shootings in 1970. But those things are pretty minor compared to the Watergate Scandal, followed by the resignation of President Richard Nixon. I can't say either way whether I think Nixon was a great president or not (I wasn't alive during his presidency) but with some research, I can still see that he did do some good for the country. Unfortunately, he'll always be tied to Watergate, though, and that tarnished his reputation and his presidency. It also pissed off music legend Stevie Wonder.
I'll be honest with you guys, I was ready to rip this song apart today. I knew that this song was some attack on Nixon, and while I'm not Nixon's #1 fan or anything, I despise anything that's tied to politics. I thought that this was some liberal attack on a Republican president, but with some more research, I can see that Wonder is a lot like me. He doesn't seem to take sides. He's quoted as saying: "Everybody promises you everything but in the end, nothing comes out of it. I don't vote for anybody until after they have really done something that I know about. I want to see them do something first. The only trouble is that you always hear the president or people say that they are doing all they can. And they feed you with hopes for years and years. I'm sick and tired of listening to all their lies." So there you have it. Wonder just wants someone good to lead us, and is tired of lying politicians. It's a problem we still see today, but I'll stop that discussion right there. We don't need to get into that any more than we already have.
Wonder also wanted to make it clear that he was writing a song that was supposed to get its message across, but he didn't want it to be too powerful. "You Haven't Done Nothin'" is a lot like that. As far as Wonder's catalogue goes, it's got the same great bass line and the same great hooks that masterpieces like "Superstition" had, and Wonder's clean tenor is as good as ever on the track. The Jackson 5 are also present on the track, and they sing backing vocals to Wonder on the track. The song gives off some vibes that are fun, and the funk present on the song is through the roof. Despite "You Haven't Done Nothin'" hitting #1, though, the song pretty much disappeared since. Before I started getting into all the different #1 songs and did this project, I never knew this song existed. And I likely still wouldn't even know of its existence if I didn't.
I think I have a good idea why too. Yes, the song gets some serious style points for the funk hailstorm that lands on the listener, but the song is stuck in 1974. It was a song for the moment it was in. In 2021, who cares about the Nixon administration? This might be an unpopular opinion, but I also think it's time to get over Watergate if there's anyone out there that still dwells on it. We have different issues now, and the issues that made "You Haven't Done Nothin'" relatable in 1974, haven't been relatable for over 40 years. That didn't do any favors for the song's aging process. Where "Superstition" was a song about, well, being superstitious, "You Haven't Done Nothin'" is about chaos unfolding in 1974. "Superstition" is, and always will be a fun and sometimes relatable song. "You Haven't Done Nothin'" just isn't.
I still have to penalize the song for its content, because it dives into topics that I don't enjoy. Even though I respect Wonder's thinking process with these issues, I don't like songs that try to make some big political statement. That's the kind of stuff that pisses other people off. So yeah, the song has some great qualities, but it's probably a good thing that Wonder didn't write any more songs that dive into the topic of politics. We need much less of that.
GRADE: 5/10
IN POP CULTURE:
The Who's lead singer, Roger Daltrey, covered "You Haven't Done Nothin'" for his 2018 album As Long As I Have You. Here's that audio:
(The Who's highest-charting single, "I Can See for Miles", peaked at #9 in 1967. It's a 9. Surprisingly, it's their only top ten hit)
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