Superstition (song)

"Superstition" is a popular song written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie Wonder for Motown Records in 1972. It was the lead single for Wonder's Talking Book album,[1]  and released in many countries. It reached number one in the U.S.,[2]  and number one on the soul singles chart.[3]  Overseas, it peaked at number eleven in the UK during February 1973. In November 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song at No. 74 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song deals with superstitions,[2]  and mentions several popular superstitious fables in its lyrics.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Background  ==Background[ edit] == Jeff Beck created the original drum beat while in the studio with Wonder. After writing the song, Wonder offered it to Beck to record, but at the insistence ofBerry Gordy, Wonder recorded it first.[4]  Beck was instead offered "Cause We've Ended As Lovers", which he recorded on Blow by Blow in 1975. Beck played guitar on the Talking Book album track "Lookin' For Another Pure Love" and later recorded his own version of "Superstition" as a part of Beck, Bogert & Appiceon their eponymous debut album. Wonder's music had been undergoing a marked change from his earlier fit with the Motown Sound to a more personal style.[vague] [citation needed]  This shift had been evident on his two prior albums, Where I'm Coming From and Music of My Mind, but it was Talking Book and "Superstition" that brought the new style to the awareness of the public in general.
 * 2 Other recorded versions
 * 3 See also
 * 4 References
 * 5 External links

The song's opening drum beat was performed by Wonder on the kit that Scott Mathews provided at the Record Plant in Hollywood. Its iconic funky clavinet riffplayed on a Hohner Clavinet C was also played by Wonder. The song also features trumpet and saxophone, played respectively by Steve Madaio and Trevor Laurence.

The song also was Stevie Wonder's first number-one single since the live version of "Fingertips Pt. 2" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. ==Other recorded versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">Stevie Wonder performed a live-in-the-studio version of "Superstition" on Sesame Street in 1973. This version later appeared on the collection, Songs from the Street: 35 Years in Music.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-JamBase_5-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.909090995788574px;">[5] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Hornbach_6-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.909090995788574px;">[6]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded a live version in 1986, which was released on his album Live Alive. The accompanying music video features Vaughan and a stage crew setting up for a concert he planned to do on Friday the 13th, and Wonder appears at the end. ==See also<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==References<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==External links<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.363636016845703px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;">Tim Hughes, "Superstition", Groove and Flow: Six Analytical Essays on the Music of Stevie Wonder, University of Washington PhD dissertation (2003), pp. 140–177, which can be downloaded here:http://www.academia.edu/217945/_Groove_and_Flow_Six_Analytical_Essays_on_the_Music_of_Stevie_Wonder_
 * Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1973 (USA)
 * 1) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;-webkit-user-select:none;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^   "Superstition: Stevie Wonder". Rolling Stone. December 9, 2004. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
 * 2) ^ <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;-webkit-user-select:none;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up to: <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10px;">a <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10px;">b   Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 276. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
 * 3) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;-webkit-user-select:none;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^   Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 635.
 * 4) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;-webkit-user-select:none;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^   "Jeff Beck On World Cafe".
 * 5) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;-webkit-user-select:none;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^   "Stevie Wonder Visits Sesame Street In 1973". Sunday Cinema. JamBase. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
 * 6) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;-webkit-user-select:none;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^   Hornbach, Jean-Pierre (11 February 2012). Whitney Houston: We Love You Forever. p. 427. ISBN 9781471631795.