EP136: Nelson George on Stevie Wonder’s “Innervisions” (1973)

Episode notes

Innervisions marked a significant transition in Little Stevie Wonder’s career. He began to move away from the Motown romantic ballads and towards a more conscious and experimental sound. He talked about poverty, racism, drugs, and Richard Nixon. It’s an album filled with social justice anthems, made almost entirely by Stevie himself at 23 years old.

Culture critic and writer Nelson George sits down with us (remotely) to talk about Stevie embracing of new musical technology, the changing landscape of black radio at the time, and  Stevie’s own transformation as an artist during the early 70s.

More on Nelson George

• Nelson George Remembers Life As A City Kid (NPR)
• A few of Nelson’s archived articles
• Twitter|Website

More on Innervisions

• BBC’s review of Innervisions
• Stevie Wonder Emerges As A Visionary with Innervisions (Ultimate Classic Rock)
• Malcolm Cecil on working with Stevie (Wax Poetics)

Show Tracklisting (All songs from Innervisions unless otherwise indicated):

• Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing
• Living For The City
• Too High
• Living For The City
• Too High
• New York Voices: Too High
• Golden Lady
• Jesus Children of America
• Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing
• Barbra Streisand: All In Love Is Fair
• Higher Ground
• Curtis Mayfield: Future Shock
• Donnie: Heaven Sent
• Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: Hope That We Can Be Together Soon

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!