Studio Album · No. 14
Talking Book Songwriting Credits by Stevie Wonder
Produced by Stevie Wonder · Engineered by Robert Margouleff, Malcolm Cecil
Holds writing credit on 10 of 10 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented
Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Stevie Wonder carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Awards & Recognition 1
Stevie Wonder wrote most of Talking Book on his own, taking full creative control during the classic period that followed his renegotiated Motown contract. He shared writing on three tracks: "You've Got It Bad Girl" and "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" with Yvonne Wright, and "Blame It on the Sun" and "Lookin' for Another Pure Love" with his former wife Syreeta Wright. The album leans on Wonder's mastery of the synthesizer, with Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil engineering the TONTO synth work that drives "Superstition." Talking Book marked the breakthrough that established him as a self-contained writer, player, and producer.
Talking Book is the fifteenth studio album by Stevie Wonder, released in November 1972 on Tamla/Motown and produced by Stevie Wonder, Robert Margouleff, and Malcolm Cecil. The album marked a dramatic artistic transformation, the first in a series of albums that would define the most celebrated stretch of Wonder's career, in which he took full creative control of his music and played most of the instruments himself using the then-new Moog synthesizer. 'Superstition', featuring Jeff Beck, reached number one on both the pop and R&B charts and became one of the defining funk records of the decade, while 'You Are the Sunshine of My Life' won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance. The album's synthesis of funk, soul, jazz, and electronic music was unprecedented and enormously influential on virtually every strand of black American popular music. Talking Book is the beginning of Stevie Wonder's unparalleled creative peak.
Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
#1
|
Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 2 |
Maybe Your Baby
|
Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 3 |
You and I (We Can Conquer the World)
|
Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 4 |
Tuesday Heartbreak
|
Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 5 |
You've Got It Bad Girl
|
Stevie WonderYvonne Wright | Stevie WonderYvonne Wright | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 6 |
Superstition
#1
|
Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 7 |
Big Brother
|
Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 8 |
Blame It on the Sun
|
Stevie WonderSyreeta Wright | Stevie WonderSyreeta Wright | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 9 |
Lookin' for Another Pure Love
|
Stevie WonderSyreeta Wright | Stevie WonderSyreeta Wright | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |
| 10 |
I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)
|
Stevie WonderYvonne Wright | Stevie WonderYvonne Wright | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder (Lead Vocals, Keyboards) |