Oh, ok...that's who it was. I was gonna ask if it was Boyz II Men who sang it, because I remember this rendition from the mid-90's. But it's All-4-One, ok.
Is it wrong that I've never really cared for this song, "classic" tho it may be? Let's just say it's all up - way up - from here on out when it comes to Stevie Wonder. I guess this is still impressive for a kid, but I don't actually like it all that much.
It's never been a favorite of mine either, although I can't help being impressed when I remember how young he was at the time.
This, Stevie really got it rolling during the late 60's and into the 70's. It's still nice to hear him at just 13 years old though.
Yeah! Listening made me want to check out if there was a Part 1. And I take it, this was the flip side of a 45? I like the wild abandon and hearing the very young kid's voice at the start really triggers my enjoyment. Another song or two from that era that does the same thing for me are Loop de Loop and Nitty Gritty.
“What key? What key?” The details of Stevie Wonder’s commercial breakthrough, Fingertips - Pt 2, have been well chronicled. This B-side is the “second” part of a reworked live performance of the song from his debut LP The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie: Both halves of Fingertips, Part 1 and Part 2, are excerpts from an even longer performance recorded at a June 1962 Motortown Revue show at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois. The live recording features among other things: an energetic, infectious performance by Little Stevie and band, a false ending with exit music ushered in by comedian Bill Murray (aka Winehead Willie; Bill (Winehead Willie) Murray & George (Sweet Lucy) Copeland - The Bigtime Spender - Part 1 »), and an impromptu “goodbye” encore which leaves the replacement bassist (see Motown Junkie links below) scrambling for the correct key. The Motown Junkies board has an in depth analysis of Fingertips for those who are interested: 299. Little Stevie Wonder: “Fingertips (Part 1)” » 300. Little Stevie Wonder: “Fingertips (Part 2)” »
Little Stevie Wonder performing Fingertips at a 1963 Motortown Revue show at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem: At this show, Bill Murray was still handling the master of ceremony duties, Choker Campbell & His Orchestra provided the backing, Stevie appeared following Marvin Gaye, and by now the “goodbye” encore had become routine.
You could hear "Fingertips? all over the Rehoboth Beach DE and Ocean City MD boardwalks; perfect for a summer hit!
I like Fingertips but not a whole lot. I could come up with a ton of concurrent tracks I like much better. For whatever reason I've never been a fan of Stevie Wonder's work, although it's certainly not bad or anything.
I think he came up with some great lyrics; my favorite from his early period are, "You know my papa disapproved it / My mama boohooed it." There's a sense of humor in this that's put a smile on my face every time I hear "I Was Made To Love Her" yet it conveys a sense of real dedication to the young girl in his song. Then, later on, I felt as if "I Believe When I Fall In Love" might be one of the most beautiful songs of the period. But that's just me.
"Fingertips" might not measure up to "Living For The City" or "Superstition" but I love the energy. You almost feel like you're there.
I always found it more annoying than entertaining, and thought it only sounded half-finished, like it had some potentially good hooks, but they weren't quite right and had been slapped together haphazardly. More energy than coherence. And I say this as someone who adored Stevie for as long as I can remember (born in '68) and who has essentially always counted "Superstition" as one of my favorite songs, period. But you know he was 13, so...
Although not a singer, Shirley Temple was much younger than that... yeah, I know, it's a non sequitur. I'll grant you that I always thought of the Osmonds as a cheap trick on the American public, and maybe we ought to look at the Jackson Five in its early years too, but I, personally, thought that Stevie's creation at 13 had more going for it than the things that were provided to these other child groups.
Wonder if the female songs were more popular with girls back then.I can't imagine a male teen singing or even humming this.
I always thought this song really sucked. I think because the background harmonies are slightly out of tune, and it's just such a simplistic kind of song. However, another of their hits, which did not go to number one, I feel is FAR superior to "My Boyfriend's Back".
As has been discussed several times previously on this forum, the shorter monaural hit version of The Angels’ My Boyfriend’s Back, as heard on the original 45, differs significantly from the longer stereo version released later on LP. My Boyfriend’s Back was written by the songwriting trio of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer. Leroy Glover arranged the song and conducted the orchestra that recorded the backing tracks. Later, The Angels were brought into the studio to record the vocals. When the recording was mixed to mono for single release, an instrumental break was edited out and a spoken word intro with handclaps was added. This shorter monaural version was released on 45 by the Mercury Records subsidiary label, Smash Records (S-1934), in mid-July 1963. After My Boyfriend’s Back topped the charts, Smash released the monaural (MGS 27039) and stereo (SRS 67039) LPs of the same name during the first week of September 1963. Although the stereo LP version of My Boyfriend’s Back listed the song’s running time as 2:13 (the same as the mono 45), the version included was actually the longer, unedited version of the song with the instrumental break intact. However, to create the “stereo” version of My Boyfriend’s Back, the spoken word intro with handclaps from the monaural mix had to be used since this intro was not present on the original multitrack tapes and hence could not be mixed to stereo. This is why the “stereo” version of My Boyfriend’s Back begins in mono and then switches to stereo at the drum roll: Neither the mono 45 nor the “stereo” LP mixes of My Boyfriend’s Back are sonic marvels. As I’ve mentioned previously, I prefer the squashed mono mix of the song to the brighter, anemic stereo remix. This is one of those recordings you just have to accept and appreciate for what it is.
Bobby Comstock, who played guitar on the original recording of The Angels’ My Boyfriend’s Back, recorded an “answer” record, Your Boyfriend’s Back, with his group The Counts. This recording was released as a single (Lawn 219) in September 1963: