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I Just Called to Say I Love You

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"I Just Called to Say I Love You"
French release sleeve
Single by Stevie Wonder
from the album The Woman in Red
B-side"Instrumental"
ReleasedAugust 1, 1984[1]
StudioFAR STUDIOS (Rosbach vor der Höhe, Germany)
GenreR&B[2]
Length6:17 (album version)
4:25 (single version)
6:44 (12" version)
LabelMotown – MOT-684
Songwriter(s)Stevie Wonder[3]
Producer(s)Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder singles chronology
"Front Line"
(1983) 		"I Just Called to Say I Love You"
(1984) 		"Love Light in Flight"
(1984)
Official audio
"I Just Called To Say I Love You" on YouTube

"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a ballad written, produced, and performed by American R&B singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder.[3] It was a major international hit, and remains Wonder's best-selling single to date, reaching number one in 28 countries worldwide.

The song was the lead single from the 1984 soundtrack album The Woman in Red,[3] along with two other songs by Wonder, and scored number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from October 13 to 27, 1984. It also became his tenth number-one on the R&B chart, and his fourth on the adult contemporary chart; it spent three weeks at the top of both charts, and for the same weeks as on the Hot 100.[4] The song also became Wonder's only solo UK number-one success, staying at the top for six weeks, in the process also becoming Motown Records' biggest-selling single in the UK, a distinction it still held as of 2018.[3] In addition, the song won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.[3] The song also received three nominations at the 27th Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Composition

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The song's lyrics have Wonder surprising someone in his life with an unexpected telephone call. Throughout the song, Wonder lists various events in a yearly calendar that might prompt someone to call a loved one. Yet he explains no special annual event such as New Year's Day or Halloween spurred the call. He simply wants to say that he loves them from the bottom of his heart. Cash Box described the song as "a tender and romantic love letter which captures the ever-present and Wonderous feeling of love and optimism."[5]

There was a dispute among Wonder, his former writing partner Lee Garrett, and Lloyd Chiate as to who actually wrote the song. Chiate claimed in a lawsuit that he and Garrett wrote the song years before its 1984 release. However, a jury ultimately sided with Wonder.[6]

Personnel

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Mixing at Frank Farian's FAR STUDIOS in Germany, 1984

Music video

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A music video of the song has Wonder, during a concert, singing into a telephone receiver while seated at a piano.[7] By the end of the song, he and the audience are standing and swaying to the music. The video features concert footage recorded in Rotterdam Ahoy, in the Netherlands, on August 10, 1984.[8]

Charts

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Sales and certifications

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Certifications and sales for "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[70] 3× Platinum 408,000[69]
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[71] Gold 45,000‡
France (SNEP)[73] Gold 800,000[72]
Germany (BVMI)[74] Gold 500,000^
Italy (FIMI)[75] Gold 50,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI)[76] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[77] Gold 10,000*
Portugal (AFP)[78] Platinum 170,000[78]
Russia (NFPF)[79]
Ringtone 		Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[81] Platinum 1,874,225[80]
United States (RIAA)[82] Gold 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum Database". Riaa.org. Retrieved December 27, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Wiebe, David Andrew (March 30, 2022). "Music Genres List - 67 Top Music Styles With Examples". Music Industry How To. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 136. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ "I Just Called to Say I Love You" topped the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and R&B charts simultaneously from October 13 to 27, 1984:
  5. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 11, 1984. p. 7. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  6. ^ Weinstein, Henry (February 23, 1990). "Wonder Wins Suit Over Song". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  7. ^ "Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You". YouTube. 30 December 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  8. ^ NPO Radio 5: Clip van 'I Just Called To Say I Love You'
  9. ^ "Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). April 29, 1985. p. 10. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  10. ^ Grant. "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1984". Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ^ "Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). October 1, 1984. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8968." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8937." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  16. ^ "Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). November 19, 1984. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  17. ^ "Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). November 19, 1984. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  18. ^ "Danish Chart Archive - Singles 1979 - ____ (B.T./IFPI DK)". www.ukmix.org. November 30, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  19. ^ "Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). November 19, 1984. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  20. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. No. 27. October 1, 1984. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  21. ^ Timo (August 13, 2015). "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit WIL - WOY". Sisältää hitin. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  22. ^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque artiste commençant par W". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
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  25. ^ "Topp 10 vinsælustu lögin". DV (in Icelandic). August 31, 1984. p. 37. ISSN 1021-8254. Retrieved July 25, 2020 – via Timarit.is.
  26. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Irish Singles Chart.
  27. ^ "Israel Singles Charts 1987-1995". www.ukmix.org. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
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  35. ^ "Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). November 19, 1984. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
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  71. ^ "Danish single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
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  73. ^ "French single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in French). InfoDisc. Select STEVIE WONDER and click OK. 
  74. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Stevie Wonder; 'I Just Called to Say I Love You')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  75. ^ "Italian single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  76. ^ "Dutch single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved February 16, 2020. Enter I Just Called To Say I Love You in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1984 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  77. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
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