You Are the Sunshine of My Life
Encyclopedia
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 pop
single released by Stevie Wonder
. The song became Wonder's third number-one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100
chart and his first number one on the easy listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. This song was the second single released from the album Talking Book
. The song opened 194 Radio City
on 21 October 1974.
Rolling Stone
ranked the song #281 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The first four lines of the song are sung, not by Wonder, but by James Gilstrap
and Lani Groves. The single version of the song differed from the album version with the addition of horns to the mix.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
single released by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
. The song became Wonder's third number-one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart and his first number one on the easy listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. This song was the second single released from the album Talking Book
Talking Book
Talking Book is the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972. A signal recording of his "classic period", in this one he "hit his stride"...
. The song opened 194 Radio City
Radio City 96.7
Radio City 96.7 is a British Independent Local Radio station, based in Liverpool, that serves Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales...
on 21 October 1974.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked the song #281 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The first four lines of the song are sung, not by Wonder, but by James Gilstrap
Jim Gilstrap
Jim Gilstrap is an American singer best known for his work as a session musician and his 1975 solo hit single "Swing Your Daddy", as well as singing co-lead to the theme from the TV series Good Times.-Career:...
and Lani Groves. The single version of the song differed from the album version with the addition of horns to the mix.
Cover versions
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" has been covered more than twenty-five times, including versions by- Wencke Myhre
- Sacha DistelSacha DistelSacha Distel was a French singer and guitarist who had hits with a cover version of the Academy Award-winning "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" , "Scoubidou", and "The Good Life". He was born in Paris.-Career:Sacha Distel, born Alexandre Distel, was a son of Russian White émigré Leonid Distel...
& Brigitte BardotBrigitte BardotBrigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
, in French as "Tu Es Le Soleil De Ma Vie" - Acker Bilk
- Anita O'DayAnita O'DayAnita O'Day was an American jazz singer.Born Anita Belle Colton, O'Day was admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer"...
- Engelbert HumperdinckEngelbert Humperdinck (singer)Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...
- Morgana KingMorgana KingMorgana King is an American singer and actress. She is a noted jazz singer, who is regarded as a "musician's singer." The musical œuvre of her stylized vocal artistry spans a period of more than four decades and has an "appeal that bridges generations, tastes and life styles"."She is, like all...
- Ferrante & TeicherFerrante & TeicherFerrante & Teicher were a duo of American piano players, known for their light arrangements of familiar classical pieces, movie soundtracks, and show tunes.-Career:...
- Ray ConniffRay ConniffJoseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...
- Stephane GrappelliStéphane GrappelliStéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....
- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- Liza MinnelliLiza MinnelliLiza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
, on her 19731973 in music-January–April:*January 9 – Mick Jagger's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug conviction, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones' plans to perform in Japan during their forthcoming tour.*January 14...
album The Singer - Mel TorméMel TorméMelvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
- Perry ComoPerry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
- Petula ClarkPetula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
- Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
- Richard ClaydermanRichard ClaydermanRichard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...
- Shirley BasseyShirley BasseyDame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
- The VenturesThe VenturesThe Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
- Pauline WilsonPauline WilsonPauline Wilson is an American jazz/pop singer best known as lead vocalist with the jazz/fusion group Seawind in the 1970's and early 80's.Wilson, who is also part Filipino was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii...
- Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
- Ken HiraiKen Hiraiis a Japanese R&B and pop singer. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a model, actor, composer, lyricist, singer, and spokesperson.During his career, Hirai has released 32 singles and 11 albums up until October 2010. According to Oricon, his single Hitomi Wo Tojite became the best-selling single...
- Khalil FongKhalil FongKhalil Fong was born on 14 July 1983. He is an American born, Hong Kong-based soul Mandopop singer-songwriter signed to the Warner Music Hong Kong.-Biography:...
, in his album Timeless released in August 2009 - Andy WilliamsAndy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
- Esther Satterfield in her album "Once I Loved" 1974,produced by Chuck MangioneChuck MangioneCharles Frank "Chuck" Mangione is an American flugelhorn player and composer who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-pop single, "Feels So Good." Mangione has released more than thirty albums since 1960.-Early life and career:...
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1973 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1973 (U.S.)