Maps of Music

Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974)

Where the lyrics of Fulfillingness' First Finale take you, and where it was really made.

A more somber follow-up to Innervisions, this album still won Album of the Year at the 1975 Grammy Awards.

Key places

Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles (1974)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — One of the studios linked to this album's recording. The pin marks the building, and the session dates are not given here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles (1974)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — One of the studios linked to this album's recording. The pin marks the building, and the session dates are not given here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Electric Lady Studios, New York City (1974)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — One of the studios linked to this album's recording. The pin marks the building, and the session dates are not given here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fulfillingness' First Finale: 17th studio album by Stevie Wonder
• Released 22 July 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records
• Fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's classic period
• Ten tracks, five on each side
• Wonder's second album to top the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart

Background

• Follows Innervisions, which had epic scope and social consciousness themes
• Tone is more reflective, personal and somber than its predecessor
• Social commentary was not completely dropped

Recording

• Arrangements on several songs are sparse, especially “They Won't Go When I Go” and “Creepin'”
• “They Won't Go When I Go” was written by Wonder and Yvonne Wright
• Side two track “You Haven't Done Nothin'” was a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Stevland Hardaway Morris, known as Stevie Wonder, was born May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan, and became blind shortly after birth.
• He signed with Motown's Tamla label at age 11 in 1961, receiving the name Little Stevie Wonder.
• His single "Fingertips" topped the Billboard Hot 100 when he was 13, the youngest solo artist ever to do so.

Career

• Music of My Mind and Talking Book (1972) marked the start of his classic period, moving away from the Motown sound toward synthesizer- and keyboard-driven music.
• Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale and Songs in the Key of Life (1973–1976) won three consecutive Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, and he is the only artist to have done so.
• In the 1980s he campaigned to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday and scored several number-one hits, including "Ebony and Ivory" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You".
• He has sold more than 100 million records and won 25 Grammy Awards, the most by a male solo artist.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released 22 July 1974 on Tamla, a Motown Records subsidiary
• Topped the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart for two weeks
• Reached number one on the Billboard Soul LPs chart, for eight non-consecutive weeks between 5 October and Christmas 1974

Reappraisal

• Voted number 413 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000)
• Included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Records

• Album of the Year at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards, Wonder's second consecutive win in that category
• Best Male Pop Vocal at the same ceremony
• Best Male Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, for “Boogie On Reggae Woman”
• The ceremony was held in 1975

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Billboard Hot 100 number-one single “You Haven't Done Nothin'” launched a pointed criticism of the Nixon administration.
• That track was bolstered by clavinet and drum machine and featured a cameo by the Jackson 5.
• Only one of the ten songs, “They Won't Go When I Go”, was co-written; Yvonne Wright shares its credit with Wonder.
• The album is the fourth of five records from what is considered Wonder's classic period.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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