The singer Stevie Wonder said had the best heart: “Respect and love”
Much is said of The Beatles and their love for America’s blues rock, but not enough is remembered of their love for the vibrant worlds of Motown.
That early sound of theirs was just as influenced by Detroit as it was the swampy realms of Southern America and its blues rock kings. In fact, famed bass player James Jamerson provided the bedrock of influence upon which Paul McCartney would thrive.
Barrett Strong’s ‘Money’, The Miracles’ ‘You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me’, and The Marvelettes’ ‘Please Mr Postman’ were all subsequently covered by the band as they paid homage to Motown, and even in 1966, when they took their psychedelic turn with Revolver, their love for R&B compositions could be found on ‘Got To Get You Into My Life’.
That very year, a then-16-year-old Stevie Wonder began to emerge on the live scene. Playing at The Scotch of St James nightclub in Mason’s Yard, London, Wonder wowed a young McCartney with his multi-instrumentalist ability and sparked a friendship between the band and Wonder that would exist throughout the decades.
While the aforementioned pair took that friendship to more musical realms, recording the somewhat misguided ‘Ebony and Ivory’, the remainder of the band shared a more muted but equally profound respect for Wonder.
Despite sharing the stage at the legendary One to One Concert, where they gave a stirring rendition of “Give Peace a Chance”, John Lennon and Wonder kept their friendship outside of the realms of music, where something far deeper existed between the two.
Wonder explained, “Whenever we saw each other, there was definite respect and love. I just loved his heart. I just liked his desire to want to see peace, to want to see people come together and live together and make this world a better place. The last time I saw him, I remember he was working on the last album, and he and Yoko were getting back together, and, you know, it was just a nice thing.”
Ultimately, Wonder’s love for Lennon is what made his 1980 death so difficult. Not only was this a friend, whose life was robbed painfully early, but this was someone continuing to create music that mattered to the contemporary context it was speaking to.
Wonder had to accept that head-on, however, for Lennon’s death was announced during one of his very own concerts. The Motown legend caught wind of the news while on stage at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and was forced to address the crowd. With deep sadness, he said, “I want you all to understand that I’m not a person who likes to be the bearer of any bad news,” and Wonder began with the audience hush feeling almost palpable.
He continued, “Someone has recently been shot,” he continued, speaking to his audience, “He was shot tonight. Three times.”
At this point, Wonder’s voice then cracked as revealed, “I’m talking about Mr John Lennon.”
He struggled on with the show, dedicating the next song to his old friend, knowing that quitting would have been the last thing he would have wanted, and instead, it was best to celebrate his life with music.
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