Stevie Wonder – Talking Book

Catalog: T319L  |  Side A Matrix: HS-1993-1 B5RS-8106-RE-1 M.B.G.

About the Artist

Stevie Wonder is one of the most gifted and influential musicians in the history of popular music. Born Stevland Hardaway Morris in Saginaw, Michigan in 1950, he was signed to Motown Records at just 11 years old and scored his first #1 hit at 13. But it was in the early 1970s — after renegotiating his Motown contract to gain full creative control — that Wonder entered one of the most celebrated creative periods in rock and soul history. Blind since shortly after birth, he developed a musical vocabulary that spanned soul, funk, jazz, pop, and R&B with a fluency and emotional depth that few artists have ever matched. His run of albums from 1972 to 1976 is widely regarded as one of the greatest creative streaks in recorded music.

About the Album

Talking Book, released in November 1972 on Tamla/Motown, was the album that announced Stevie Wonder’s artistic rebirth. It was his first record made entirely under his own creative direction — he wrote, produced, and played the majority of instruments himself, including synthesizers, piano, drums, and harmonica. The result was a landmark: a seamless fusion of soul, funk, and rock that felt genuinely new and utterly personal.

The album opens with “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”, a warm, jazz-inflected love song that became one of Wonder’s signature recordings and won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. On the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, “Superstition” — driven by one of the most iconic clavinet riffs in music history — reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B charts, and remains a cornerstone of the funk canon. The album also features “You’ve Got It Bad Girl”, a lush, introspective ballad, and “Big Brother”, a politically charged closer that showcases Wonder’s growing ambition as a social commentator. A guest appearance by Jeff Beck on “Lookin’ for Another Pure Love” adds a raw, blues-rock edge that broadens the album’s sonic palette further still.

Talking Book reached #3 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the R&B Albums chart. It is consistently ranked among the greatest albums ever made and marked the beginning of Wonder’s legendary “Classic Period.”

Record Condition

This copy has been carefully cleaned with a Spin-Clean record washer and stored in a new inner plastic sleeve. The vinyl presents with minor surface scuffs but played flawlessly on a quality turntable with no skips. Minor pops and crackles were noted during playback, consistent with the visual grade.

• Record Grade: G (Good) — plays well, minor surface noise
• Jacket Grade: Fair — wear consistent with age (see photos)

Photos show actual item. What you see is what you get.