Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)
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| "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||
| from the album Music of My Mind | ||||
| B-side | "I Love Every Little Thing About You" | |||
| Released | April 25, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Progressive soul | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Tamla | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
| Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
| Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
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"Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" is a 1972 soul track by Stevie Wonder. It was the second track on Wonder's Music of My Mind album, and was also released as the first single. The song reached a peak of number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Background
[edit]In essence a two-part song, there is a coherence in that it tells a story of the singer's relationship with "Mary". The first part covers her desire to be a star, and to leave her old life behind to become a movie star. The second part covers the narrator's wondering why she had not come back as soon as he had hoped. The second part of the song is also a reworking of the song "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" from the 1971 album Where I'm Coming From.
The song, both in its sound and length, was a change of pace for Wonder, who was trying to establish his own identity outside of the Motown sound. Besides its floaty ambience, it featured the singer as a virtual one-man band.[1]
Cash Box said of the song "Superwoman, superproduction, supersong, superhit: AM and FM, pop/soul and MOR."[2]
Personnel
[edit]- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Rhodes piano, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer
- Buzz Feiten – electric guitar
Chart performance
[edit]| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[3] | 33 |
| US Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles[4] | 13 |
Notable covers
[edit]- In 1997, soul vocalist Eric Benet covered the song in an arrangement by keyboardist George Duke which was featured on the soundtrack of US sitcom Living Single. Duke again covered the song from his 2005 album Duke.[5]
- Eliane Elias included the song in her 2008 album Bossa Nova Stories.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Hogan, Ed at allmusic.com
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 13, 1972. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 925.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 635.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Dryden, Ken. "Eliane Elias – Bossa Nova Stories". AllMusic. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
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