One of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs appropriate for right here, right now is "Higher Ground." Loved it in 1973 and still love it. My big sister Vickie (then a teenager) played Talking Book (1972) on her portable record player when I was eleven or twelve and I immediately loved "Superstition." A neighbor kid annoyed me when I later played it for him and he said, "haha, sounds like a drunken drummer." That was the last thing ever played for his benefit. I also still dig "Big Brother" very much, and "Livin' for the City" (like "Higher Ground," from Innervisions). One of the first 45s I ever bought was the single version -- singles were about a buck apiece, or even fifty cents on discount in the early 70s. The urgency of these songs rubbed off with vicarious excitement. They still do, though now, after many more years of adult experience living in various places, more directly.
Today's Rune: Movement. In remembrance of my friend Bob Sheldon, who was killed nineteen years ago today in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Internationalist Books, which he founded, carries on his work.
8 comments:
"Little" Stevie wonder another MoTown story. As we grew up with Motown records in the 60's it seemed that our music was a birthright here, never ignored and certainly at least as popular among the teens of the day as the Beach Boys, but no one truly understood how special the music was, until Berry Gordy split the D for the warmer California climes.
If you look at the emergence of Techno in Hamtramck and how it was pretty much accepted as back ground music here until it hit big in Europe, you might understand what we thought of Motown at the time.
I do like that song. One of my favorite upbeat tunes from Stevie.
It's funny, I've been listening to some old Stevie Wonder lately too. Great stuff - he's a much bigger genius than I fully appreciated back when I was a kid and he was all over the radio. Check out "You Haven't Done Nothing" if you haven't heard it in a while.
-JC
One other thing: I heard that Stevie himself played the drums on "Superstition", which makes your neighbor's comment ironic as well as dumb.
JC
Erik, I lovelovelove Stevie Wonder music. 'Living for the City' and 'Superstition' also being my favorites along with 'Those Days' and 'Isn't She Lovely'! Saw Stevie at a Pistons game, but respected his privacy. Damn, I hate when I do the right thing!
I've loved Stevie Wonder's music since I was a kid and first heard "My Cherie Amor" (1970) He's continued to entrance me, despite some lesser stuff-- eg "I Just Called..."
I'm haunted by our friend Bob Sheldon's death, which you've alluded to before. It is similar in ways to the murder of my friend Mark "Atwood" Evans, except that unfortunately your friend's murder was never solved. I can tell that your loss still takes its toll, like mine did, but it does make a difference to find out what happened.
I wonder, every day, why the murder of Bob Sheldon has never been solved.
What would it mean to discover who shot him? Would it bring closer to his family? What can we do now, 19 years later, to find the person who committed this crime?
Johnny Yen, could you contact me?
djsred@comcast.net? I am Bob's sister.
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