You Haven't Done Nothin'
"You Haven't Done Nothin'" | ||||
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Front cover (Netherlands issue) | ||||
Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||
from the album Fulfillingness' First Finale | ||||
B-side | "Big Brother" | |||
Released | August 7, 1974 | |||
Genre | Funk rock[1] | |||
Length | 3:29 | |||
Label | Tamla Motown | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"You Haven't Done Nothin'" on YouTube | ||||
"You Haven't Done Nothin" is a 1974 funk single by Stevie Wonder, taken from his album Fulfillingness' First Finale and featuring background vocals by the Jackson 5. The politically aware song became Wonder's fourth Number-1 pop hit and his tenth Number-1 soul hit.[2] It also reached Number 1 in Canada.[3] In the UK the single spent five weeks on the chart, peaking at Number 30.[4]
Background
The song was one of his angriest political statements and was aimed directly at President Richard Nixon, who resigned two days after the record's release. The Jackson Five provided backing vocals, singing the words "Doo da wop!" during the chorus after Wonder sings "Jackson 5, join along with me, say".[5] The song also features a thick clavinet track and an early appearance of the drum machine. The B-side "Big Brother", also a political statement, was taken from Wonder's 1972 album Talking Book.
Billboard described "You Haven't Done Nothin'" as being "exceptionally powerful" and more subtle than most protest songs, particularly praising the synthesiser arrangement and the vocal performance.[6] Cash Box called it a "super track filled with the memories of the great 'Superstition' a while back" and said that "musically, horns, keyboards, bass and guitar highlight and vocally, aside from Stevie's magic, the Jackson 5 is right in there on 'doo wops.'"[7] Record World called it "a message song to end them all" in which Wonder "deals directly with those who'd only promise their way to a better world."[8]
Personnel
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner clavinet, bass drum, hi-hat, cymbal
- Reggie McBride – electric bass
- The Jackson 5 – background vocals
- Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil – synthesizers
- Horns, drum machine – uncredited
Covers
- Roger Daltrey covered the song on his 2018 album As Long as I Have You.[9]
References
- ^ Lewis, John (2005). "Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 317.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 635.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1974-10-26. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
- ^ "You Have't Done Nothin': full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- ^ Bronson, Fred (October 1, 2003). Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th ed.). Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823-0767-72.
- ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. August 3, 1974. p. 54. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 10, 1974. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. August 3, 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
- ^ "As Long as I Have You - Roger Daltrey | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
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- The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie
- Tribute to Uncle Ray
- With a Song in My Heart
- Stevie at the Beach
- Up-Tight
- Down to Earth
- I Was Made to Love Her
- Someday at Christmas
- Eivets Rednow
- For Once in My Life
- My Cherie Amour
- Signed, Sealed & Delivered
- Where I'm Coming From
- Music of My Mind
- Talking Book
- Innervisions
- Fulfillingness' First Finale
- Songs in the Key of Life
- Hotter than July
- In Square Circle
- Characters
- Conversation Peace
- A Time to Love
- Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius
- Stevie Wonder Live
- Live at the Talk of the Town
- Natural Wonder
- Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants"
- The Woman in Red
- The Last Dragon
- Jungle Fever
- Looking Back
- Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I
- Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection
- At the Close of a Century
- The Definitive Collection
- The Complete Stevie Wonder
- "Fingertips"
- "Hey Harmonica Man"
- "Uptight (Everything's Alright)"
- "With a Child's Heart"
- "Blowin' in the Wind"
- "A Place in the Sun"
- "Someday at Christmas"
- "Hey Love"
- "I Was Made to Love Her"
- "I'm Wondering"
- "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day"
- "You Met Your Match"
- "Alfie"
- "For Once in My Life"
- "I Don't Know Why"
- "My Cherie Amour"
- "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday"
- "Never Had a Dream Come True"
- "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"
- "Heaven Help Us All"
- "We Can Work It Out"
- "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer"
- "If You Really Love Me"
- "What Christmas Means to Me"
- "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)"
- "Superstition"
- "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"
- "Higher Ground"
- "Living for the City"
- "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"
- "He's Misstra Know-It-All"
- "You Haven't Done Nothin'"
- "Boogie On Reggae Woman"
- "I Wish"
- "Sir Duke"
- "Another Star"
- "As"
- "Pops, We Love You (A Tribute to Father)"
- "Send One Your Love"
- "Master Blaster (Jammin')"
- "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It"
- "Lately"
- "Happy Birthday"
- "That Girl"
- "Ebony and Ivory"
- "Do I Do"
- "Ribbon in the Sky"
- "Front Line"
- "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
- "Love Light in Flight"
- "Part-Time Lover"
- "That's What Friends Are For"
- "Go Home"
- "Overjoyed"
- "Stranger on the Shore of Love"
- "Skeletons"
- "You Will Know"
- "Get It"
- "Gotta Have You"
- "For Your Love"
- "So What the Fuss"
- "From the Bottom of My Heart"
- "All About the Love Again"
- "Faith"
- "Can't Put It in the Hands of Fate"
- "My Love"
- "How Come, How Long"
- "California Roll"
- "You and I (We Can Conquer the World)"
- "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)"
- "Golden Lady"
- "All in Love Is Fair"
- "They Won't Go When I Go"
- "Love's in Need of Love Today"
- "Knocks Me Off My Feet"
- "Pastime Paradise"
- "Isn't She Lovely"
- "Black Man"
- "We Are the World"
- "Just Good Friends"
- "Seasons of Love"
- "True to Your Heart"
- "Stop Trying to Be God"
- "It's a Shame"
- "Tears of a Clown"
- "Tell Me Something Good"
- "Uptown Festival"
- "Let's Get Serious"
- "You're Supposed to Keep Your Love for Me"
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