Background
The commercial failure of his last album Journey through the Secret Life of Plants with only one single "Send One Your Love" making the top 5 of the Billboard chart left him struggling at the turn of the new decade. Personally he let the media know that he felt that Motown had not promoted the album very well. His talents kept him busy when he co-wrote the song "Let's Get Serious" with Lee Garrett for Jermaine Jackson's 1980 album of the same name and another with Eric Mercury called "You Are My Heaven" which became a success for Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway on Atlantic Records. During this time of upheaval, he was also in demand as a guest artist on many other albums ranging from the likes of B.B. King, James Taylor, Quincy Jones and Smokey Robinson among others.
Wonder finally began work on a new album which was to be titled Hotter than July. Inspired by his love for reggae music from meeting Bob Marley, Wonder was encouraged to write the first track, "Master Blaster (Jammin')", after their performance at the Black Music Association in Philadelphia in 1979. The recording sessions were primarily done at Wonderland Studios in Los Angeles (which Stevie Wonder had recently acquired) where he became responsible for writing, producing and arranging his own material for the new album.
Inspired by the growing popularity of Bob Marley's music and its clear messages against war, "Master Blaster (Jammin)" (US #5; R&B #1) was Wonder's way of honoring Marley. The country-tinged "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" (U.S. #11; R&B #2), the ballad "Lately" (U.S. #64) and the upbeat "Happy Birthday" were other notable successes from the album. In the UK, all four singles reached the top 10, with the first and last releases peaking at #2 in the charts.
Track two, "All I Do", had originally been written by a teenaged Wonder and collaborators Clarence Paul and Morris Broadnax in 1966. Tammi Terrell recorded the original version of the song that year; her version remained in the Motown vaults until the release of the compilation A Cellarful of Motown! in the UK in 2002. Brenda Holloway also recorded a version that was released on her Motown Anthology set in 2005. Michael Jackson, Eddie Levert and Walter Williams of the O'Jays, and Betty Wright provided backing vocals for the song on Wonder's album. Charlie and Ronnie Wilson of the GAP Band, handled backing vocals for "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It". Wonder's ex-wife Syreeta also shows up on "As If You Read My Mind".
Read more about this topic: Hotter Than July
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