“Shut the fuck up”: The only producer who dared to silence Stevie Wonder
At this point in his career, and at virtually every point of his career post-1970, Stevie Wonder has carte blanche to do as he pleases within the confines of the music industry. From his early Motown triumphs to the spiritual synthesiser mastery of his greatest works, the composer has certainly earned that sense of creative freedom. Still, not everybody has always agreed on that point.
Having signed to the ever-expanding roster of Motown Records at the age of only 11, Wonder’s fate as a musical icon was sealed rather early on in his existence. In contrast to many of his labelmates, though, Wonder never took those opportunities for granted, working tirelessly to turn himself from a childhood novelty act into one of the greatest soul and R&B stars that the world has ever witnessed.
With his contract re-negotiations with Motown in 1971, Wonder was afforded more artistic freedom than anybody else on the roster, and he was determined to put it to good use.
In addition to sending his songwriting stylings into entirely different, cutting-edge avenues, spurred on by his discovery of the then-primative yet simultaneously space-age synthesiser, Stevie Wonder also used that freedom to free up some time for collaboration. He was, after all, among the most influential artists on planet Earth, so it would be a shame to pass up an opportunity to, for instance, have a jam session with John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which he did in 1974.
The story goes that John Lennon was at Record Plant studios in Los Angeles, helping to record the new Harry Nilsson record, while Stevie Wonder was in the adjacent studio making the Motown masterpiece Fulfillingness’ First Finale. When Paul McCartney dropped in on the sessions in the evening, the trio of musical icons had an impromptu jam session.
“I think we did ‘Stand by Me’ together, just being crazy. It was funny,” Wonder later told V Magazine, recalling that incredible afternoon in LA. However, the evening wasn’t entirely harmonious, thanks to a rather irate producer, Phil Spector, who was also present at those sessions. A man with a job to do, Spector didn’t take kindly to the jam session interrupting the recording.
“I think Phil Spector was there, too,” Wonder affirmed. “I can’t remember where we were, but I was in the restroom or something like that, and I was singing, and he said, ‘Shut the fuck up!’ and I was like, ‘Fuck you!'”
There weren’t many music industry officials who would dare tell Stevie Wonder to shut the fuck up in 1974, but Spector was never one to water down his feelings for anybody else’s benefit. In fact, the ‘Wall of Sound’ producer, who later went to prison for murder, was famously explosive and, in some cases, abusive towards the artists he was recording.
Wonder’s immediate “Fuck you” reaction, therefore, has been vindicated over the years. Regardless, the songwriter wasn’t going to let anybody, certainly not Phil Spector, interrupt the euphoria of jamming with two former Beatles.
