Superstition (song)

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"Superstition" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder. It was released on October 24, 1972, as the lead single from his fifteenth studio album, Talking Book (1972), by Tamla.[1] The lyrics describe popular superstitions[2] and their negative effects.

"Superstition" reached number one in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in January 1973 [3][2] and on the soul singles chart.[4] It was Wonder's first number-one single since "Fingertips, Pt. 2" in 1963.[5] It peaked at number eleven in the UK Singles Chart in February 1973. In November 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 74 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was re-ranked number 73 on its 2010 list,[6] and number 12 on its 2021 list.[7] At the 16th Grammy Awards, the song earned Wonder two Grammys: "Best Rhythm & Blues Song" and "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male". In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[8]

Writing and recording

Script error: No such module "Listen". In the early 1970s, Wonder was playing most of the instruments on his songs by himself. But he preferred to let other guitarists play on his records, and after he learned that Jeff Beck was an admirer of his, an agreement was quickly made for Beck to become involved in the sessions that became the Talking Book album, in return for Wonder writing him a song.

Between the album sessions, Beck came up with the opening drum beat. Wonder told Beck to keep playing while he improvised over the top of it. He improvised most of the song, including the riff, on the spot. Beck and Wonder created a rough demo for the song that day.[9][10]

For the recording, Wonder performed the funky clavinet riff on a Hohner Clavinet model C and the vocals. The song features co-producers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff performing the Moog synthesizer bass programming duties, Steve Madaio on trumpet and Trevor Lawrence on tenor saxophone.[11]

After finishing the song, Wonder decided that he would allow Beck to record "Superstition" as part of their agreement. Originally, the plan was for Beck to release his version of the song first, with his newly formed power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice. But after the trio's debut album was delayed and Motown CEO Berry Gordy predicted that "Superstition" would be a huge hit that would drive sales of Talking Book, Wonder released the song as the Talking Book lead single on October 24, 1972, months before Beck's version was issued in March 1973 on the Beck, Bogert & Appice album.[12]

Reception

Cash Box described it as "one of [Wonder's] most impressive releases to date" with an "accent...on funk."[13] James Perone described the clavinet riff as "probably [Wonder's] most memorable" use of the minor pentatonic scale.[14]

Personnel

Unless otherwise noted, Information is based on the album’s liner notes[15]

Chart performance

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Certifications

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Other recorded versions

  • Stevie Wonder performed a live-in-the-studio version of "Superstition" on Sesame Street in 1973, episode 514. This version later appeared on the collection Songs from the Street: 35 Years in Music.[26][27]

In popular culture

Wonder appeared in Bud Light commercials that debuted during Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. As part of the "It's only weird if it doesn't work" campaign, which showed superstitious fans acting compulsively in an effort to guide their teams to victory, Wonder appeared as a witch doctor in New Orleans (where the event took place). These fans would perform numerous superstitious acts in order to receive good luck charms from him. "Superstition," specifically the beginning instrumental portion before Wonder's vocals kick in, plays throughout these commercials.[10]

The song is used in 1982 John Carpenter's movie The Thing.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Sting and Stevie Wonder performed the song on January 30, 2025 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California for FireAid to help with relief efforts for the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.[28][29]

See also

References

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External links

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  15. ↑ Wonder, Stevie. “Talking Book” (Liner Notes). Tamla Motown. 1972.
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