Stevie Wonder's new single, 'Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart?', reflects the legendary musician's deep political and social concerns. Wonder has incorporated these concerns into his music since at least the age of 16, when he had a top 10 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Top Selling R&B Singles (as the chart was then called) with a cover of Bob's classic Dylan. It blows in the wind.”
Wonder has also written and introduced several songs in this genre, including “Higher Ground,” a 1973 smash he performed at the Democratic National Convention on August 21. He performed “All About the Love Again” at Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. Two of his politically charged songs were aimed at Republican presidents he felt did not represent the whole world. “You Haven't Done Nothin” was a scathing attack on President Nixon, released just days before Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal. Wonder's 1987 single “Skeletons” was an equally pointed attack on President Reagan in the midst of the Iran/Contra scandal.
Wonder's “Living for the City,” with its lyrical detail (“her clothes are old/but they're never dirty”) topped the R&B chart in 1973 and became his second Grammy winner for Best Song R&B. Wonder's 1980 song “Happy Birthday” helped turn Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on a national holiday. (A catchy song can make more than a thousand speeches.) His 1982 collaboration with Paul McCartney, “Ebony and Ivory,” is glossy and sugar-coated, but the plea for brotherhood and racial harmony was heartfelt.
Here are 18 politically or socially charged songs Wonder wrote and/or recorded. They are listed in alphabetical order by song title. Which is your favourite? Vote!
