NO ONE HIT WONDER

FULFILLINGNESS FIRST FINALE by Stevie Wonder (Tamla, 1974)

Thank the Lord for Stevie Wonder! He’s always been with me, energizing me with ecstatic revelations. His joyful music got me through adolescence and young manhood, providing spiritual sustenance and joy.  His massive cultural contribution cannot be done justice in a short essay - only obeisance. And, of course I’m hardly alone in that opinion. In 1975, at the 17th Grammy Awards, he was given his second consecutive Album of the Year prize for this record, which had topped the LP and Tapes charts, as well as the Soul.

Fulfillingness First Finale is the fourth of five recordings regarded as products of his “classic” period, starting with Music of My Mind, and culminating with Songs in the Key of Life. I distinctly remember the first time I heard TMOMM, and the phrase: “my woman wants to be a super-woman, but is that really in her mind?” Perhaps he was paying tribute to the indomitable Syreeta Wright, his life (briefly) and work partner (for 2 decades), whom he married in 1970 at the age of 20, and divorced 18 months later. But this “marriage of true minds” coincided with Stevie’s discovery of the synth - the instrument he turned into a household appliance.

Another thing to celebrate about Stevie and Syreeta is how they fought for and gained autonomy from Motown, the institution that had steered Stevie’s career since childhood, in 1971, with the album Where I’m Coming From. Musical restlessness and social consciousness drove them to tour with the Rolling Stones in ‘72, and embrace wider audiences across the musical spectrum. Listen to “Heaven is 10 Zillion Lightyears Away” with its folk rock chordings, and you feel the confluence of universal soul pouring out to embrace you.

One thing that blew my mind was to learn that, following a near-fatal auto accident which put Stevie into a coma - he created this monumental work. It makes sense that it has been noted to be a more reflective, personal statement. This is what artists do: convert the raw experiences of life into catharsis.