For Once in My Life (Stevie Wonder album)

1968 studio album by Stevie Wonder

For Once in My Life is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder on Motown Records, released in November 1968. Then 18 years old, Wonder had established himself as one of Motown's consistent hit-makers. This album continued Wonder's growth as a vocalist and songwriter, and is the first album where he shares credit as producer. It featured four songs that hit the Hot 100 charts: "For Once in My Life" (No. 2), "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" (No. 9) and the modest hits "I Don't Know Why" (No. 39) and "You Met Your Match" (No. 35). It also marked the debut of the Hohner Clavinet on a Stevie Wonder album, which would become a mainstay on albums to come.

Track listing

Side one

1. "For Once In My Life" (Ron Miller, Orlando Murden) 2:48
2. "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" (Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy, Stevie Wonder) 2:45
3. "You Met Your Match" (Lula Mae Hardaway, Don Hunter, Wonder) 2:37
4. "I Wanna Make Her Love Me" (Henry Cosby, Hardaway, Moy, Wonder) 2:52
5. "I'm More Than Happy (I'm Satisfied)" (Henry Cosby, Cameron Grant, Moy, Wonder) 2:56
6. "I Don't Know Why" (Hardaway, Hunter, Paul Riser, Stevie Wonder) 2:46

Side two

1. "Sunny" (Bobby Hebb) 4:00
2. "I'd Be a Fool Right Now" (Cosby, Moy, Wonder) 2:54
3. "Ain't No Lovin'" (Hardaway, Hunter, Riser, Wonder) 2:36
4. "God Bless the Child" (Arthur Herzog Jr., Billie Holiday) 3:27
5. "Do I Love Her" (Wonder, Moy) 2:58
6. "The House on the Hill" (Lawrence Brown, Berry Gordy, Allen Story) 2:36

Personnel

• Stevie Wonder – vocals, harmonica, piano, organ, clavinet, drums, percussion
• The Originals – backing vocals
• The Andantes – backing vocals
• Earl Van Dyke – piano on "For Once in My Life"
• James Jamerson – bass
• Uriel Jones – drums
• Robert White – guitar
• The Funk Brothers – all other instruments^[5]

In other media

"I'd Be a Fool Right Now" would be remixed in 1977 for Wonder's Looking Back Anthology.

References

1. Considine, J.D. (2004). "Stevie Wonder". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 885–886. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
2. Pitchfork Staff (August 22, 2017). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 15, 2023. Most significantly, it marked the first of Wonder's pop albums to feature the clavinet...
3. Ruhlmann, William (1968-12-06). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
4. "Stevie Wonder: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
5. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 8: 1968 [liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records