View source for Fulfillingness' First Finale

{{Short description|1974 studio album by Stevie Wonder}}
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Fulfillingness' First Finale
| type       = Album
| artist     = [[Stevie Wonder]]
| cover      = Fulfillingness' First Finale.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = July 22, 1974
| recorded   = 
| venue      =
| studio     = 
*[[Record Plant Studios|Record Plant]], Los Angeles
*[[Westlake Recording Studios|Westlake]], Los Angeles
*[[Mediasound Studios|Mediasound]], [[New York City]]
*[[Electric Lady Studios|Electric Lady]], New York City
| genre      = [[Progressive soul]]<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kendall|first=Jo|date=May 5, 2019|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/prog/20190305/281505047507913|title=Record Collection|magazine=[[Prog (magazine)|Prog]]|accessdate=January 23, 2021|via=[[PressReader]]}}</ref>
| length     = 42:21
| label      = [[Tamla]]
| producer   = {{hlist|[[Stevie Wonder]]|[[Robert Margouleff]] (assoc.)|[[Malcolm Cecil]] (assoc.)}}
| prev_title = [[Innervisions]]
| prev_year  = 1973
| next_title = [[Songs in the Key of Life]]
| next_year  = 1976
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Fulfillingness' First Finale
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[You Haven't Done Nothin']]
 | single1date = August 1974
 | single2     = [[Boogie On Reggae Woman]]
 | single2date = November 1974
}}
}}
{{Listen|filename=Boogie On Reggae Woman.ogg|title="Boogie On Reggae Woman"|description="Boogie On Reggae Woman" (album version sample)|format=[[Ogg]]}}
'''''Fulfillingness' First Finale''''' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer [[Stevie Wonder]], released on July 22, 1974, by [[Tamla]], a subsidiary of [[Motown Records]]. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's "classic period".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bogdanov |first1=Vladimir |last2=Woodstra |first2=Chris |last3=Erlewine |first3=Stephen Thomas |title=All music guide: the definitive guide to popular music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xR7MdpuSlAEC&pg=PT420 |edition=4 |year=2001 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn=0-87930-627-0 |pages=447–448}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cramer |first=Alfred William |title=Musicians and composers of the 20th century |volume=5|year=2009 |publisher=Salem Press |isbn=978-1-58765-517-3 |page=1645}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Jeremy K. |title=Stevie Wonder: Musician |series=Black Americans of Achievement |year=2010 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-60413-685-2 |page=57}}</ref>

The album was Wonder's second to top the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tapes]] chart, where it remained for two weeks, and also reached number one on the [[Top R&B Albums|''Billboard'' Soul LPs]] chart, where it spent eight non-consecutive weeks between October 5 and Christmas 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allmusic.com/album/fulfillingness-first-finale-r22217/charts-awards |title=Fulfillingness' First Finale – Stevie Wonder |publisher=AllMusic |date=July 22, 1974 |access-date=February 17, 2012}}</ref> At the [[17th Annual Grammy Awards]], it won in three categories: [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] (Wonder's second consecutive win in this category), [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Male Pop Vocal]], and [[Best Male R&B Vocal Performance|Best Male Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance]] (for "[[Boogie On Reggae Woman]]") at the ceremony held in [[17th Annual Grammy Awards|1975]]. Retrospectively, the album was voted number 413 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000)<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|date=2006|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|editor-first=Colin |editor-last=Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin|edition=3rd|page=154}}</ref> and included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PIyEkArSW0EC&q=1001+albums+you+must+hear+before+you+die+Fulfillingness'+First+Finale&pg=PT830|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: You Must Hear Before You Die|last=Dimery|first=Robert|date=December 5, 2011|publisher=Octopus|isbn=978-1-84403-714-8|language=en}}</ref>
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22217|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]''
|rev2Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>Moser, Margaret (May 19, 2000), [http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A77259 Review: ''Innervisions'']. ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]''. Retrieved May 8, 2010.</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
|rev3Score = A−<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: W|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=W&bk=70|access-date=March 9, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[The Great Rock Discography]]''
|rev5Score = 7/10<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |date=2004 |publisher=Canongate |location=New York |page=1688 |ol=18807297M |edition=7th}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
|rev6Score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Hilburn|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Hilburn|date=April 1, 2000|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-01-ca-14758-story.html|title=Motown Releases Remind Us of Stevie Wonder's Impact|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=September 25, 2015}}</ref>
|rev7 = [[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]
|rev7Score = 4/5<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Graff |editor1-first=Gary |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1996 |publisher=Visible Ink |location=Detroit |page=741 |ol=8145585M}}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
|rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tower.com/fulfillingness-first-finale-stevie-wonder-cd/wapi/106434927 |title=Q review |access-date=2009-06-17 |archive-date=2015-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930135710/http://www.tower.com/fulfillingness-first-finale-stevie-wonder-cd/wapi/106434927 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|rev9 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>Brackett, Nathan, and Christian David Hoard, eds (2004), [https://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&pg=PA885&dq=Fulfillingness%27+First+Finale+review ''Rolling Stone'' review], ''The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'', Simon and Schuster, p. 885.</ref>
|rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
|rev10Score = B+<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=October 24, 1974|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv49.php|title=Consumer Guide (49)|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|access-date=September 26, 2015}}</ref>
}}<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot-->

==Recording==
Following the epic scope and [[social consciousness]] themes of ''[[Innervisions]]'', ''Fulfillingness' First Finale'', in contrast, projected a more reflective, personal, and somber tone. The [[Arrangement|musical arrangements]] used in several songs, especially the bleak "[[They Won't Go When I Go]]" and the understated "Creepin'", were sparse compared to those of some of Wonder's other 1970s tracks. Wonder had not completely foregone [[social commentary]], as evidenced by the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] number-one single "[[You Haven't Done Nothin']]", which launched a pointed criticism of the [[Nixon administration]] bolstered by [[clavinet]], [[drum machine]], and a cameo by the [[Jackson 5]].

== Track listing ==
All songs written by [[Stevie Wonder]], except "[[They Won't Go When I Go]]", written by Wonder and [[Yvonne Wright]].

;Side one
#"Smile Please" – 3:26
#"Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" – 5:01
#"Too Shy to Say" – 3:31
#"[[Boogie On Reggae Woman]]" – 4:54
#"Creepin'" – 4:17

;Side two
#"[[You Haven't Done Nothin']]" – 3:27
#"It Ain't No Use" – 3:58
#"[[They Won't Go When I Go]]" – 5:59
#"Bird of Beauty" – 3:46
#"Please Don't Go" – 4:06

==Personnel==
{{Div col}}
'''"Smile Please"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, [[Rhodes piano|Fender Rhodes]], drums
*[[Michael Sembello]] – electric guitar
*[[Reggie McBride]] – electric bass
*[[Bobbye Hall]] – [[conga]]s, [[Bongo drum|bongos]]
*[[Jim Gilstrap]] – background vocals
*[[Deniece Williams]] (credited as Denise) – background vocals
'''"Heaven Is 10 Zillion Years Away"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Hohner [[clavinet]], drums, [[synth bass|Moog bass]]
*[[Paul Anka]] – background vocal
*[[Syreeta Wright]] – background vocal
*Shirley Brewer – background vocal
*Larry "Nastyee" Latimer – background vocal
'''"Too Shy to Say"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano
*[[James Jamerson]] – acoustic bass
*[[Sneaky Pete Kleinow]] – [[pedal steel guitar]]
'''"Boogie On Reggae Woman"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes, piano, harmonica, drums, Moog bass
*[[Rocky Dzidzornu]] – congas
'''"Creepin'"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, harmonica, drums, Moog bass, [[Tonto's Expanding Head Band#The TONTO synthesizer|T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer]]
*[[Minnie Riperton]] – background vocal
'''"You Haven't Done Nothin"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner clavinet, bass drum, hi-hat, cymbal
*Reggie McBride – electric bass
*[[The Jackson 5]] – background vocals
*[[Robert Margouleff]] and Malcolm Cecil – synthesizers
*Horns, [[drum machine]] – uncredited
'''"It Ain't No Use"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums, Moog bass
*Lani Groves – background vocal
*Minnie Riperton – background vocal
*Deniece Williams – background vocal
'''"They Won't Go When I Go"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
*Bob and Malcolm – programming [[Moog synthesizer|Moog]]
'''"Bird of Beauty"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Fender Rhodes, Hohner clavinet, drums, percussions, Moog bass
*Bobbye Hall – [[cuíca]]
*Shirley Brewer – background vocal
*Lani Groves – background vocal
*Deniece Williams – background vocal
*[[Sérgio Mendes]] – Portuguese lyrics<ref>[http://www.steviewonder.org.uk/discography/albums/fulfillingness_first_finale/lyric9.html "Bird of Beauty" partial Portuguese lyrics provided by Sergio Mendes]</ref>
*Drum machine – uncredited 
'''"Please Don't Go"'''
*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, Fender Rhodes, harmonica, handclaps, drums, hi-hat, Moog bass
*Michael Sembello – acoustic guitar
*[[The Persuasions]] – background vocal
*Shirley Brewer – background vocal
*Deniece Williams – background vocal
{{Div col end}}

== Charts ==
===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Chart
!Position
|-
|rowspan=2|1974
|[[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|Soul Albums]]
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2|1
|-
|[[Billboard 200|Top LP's & Tape]]
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Single
![[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard''<br/>Hot 100]]
![[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|''Billboard''<br/>Hot Soul Singles]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1974
|"[[You Haven't Done Nothin']]"
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|"[[Boogie on Reggae Woman]]"
|style="text-align:center;"|3
|style="text-align:center;"|1
|}

==See also==
*[[List of number-one albums of 1974 (U.S.)]]
*[[List of number-one R&B albums of 1974 (U.S.)]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* Hughes, Tim. Extensive musicological analysis of [https://web.archive.org/web/20060819104042/http://homepage.mac.com/timothyhughes/FileSharing10.html "You Haven't Done Nothing" in ''Groove and Flow: Six Analytical Essays On The Music Of Stevie Wonder''] (University of Washington PhD dissertation, 2003)
* [http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/333/stevies_in_town/ Stevie Wonder interview by Pete Lewis], ''Blues & Soul'', March 1995

{{Stevie Wonder}}
{{Grammy Award for Album of the Year 1970s}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Stevie Wonder albums]]
[[Category:1974 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Malcolm Cecil]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Stevie Wonder]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Record Plant (Los Angeles)]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Album of the Year]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]]
[[Category:Progressive soul albums]]
[[Category:Tamla Records albums]]