''Stevie at the Beach'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

released on the Tamla (Motown) label on June 23, 1964. With the exception of the mild hit, "

Hey Harmonica Man "Hey Harmonica Man" is a single released by Stevie Wonder in 1964 from his album, ''Stevie at the Beach''. It peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the Unit ...

", it was a concept album of sorts, focusing on beach and surfer anthems as an attempt to get Wonder to now sing surf tunes. However, much like the label's attempts to first make him the teenage version of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

and then for one album as a lounge singer, it failed to connect with audiences. Wonder would not have another hit until 1965 when he was finally allowed to showcase his musical talents more.

Track listing

;Side one #"Castles in the Sand" (

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Mot ...

Marc Gordon Marcus Melvin "Marc" Gordon (October 14, 1935 – June 16, 2010) was an American Grammy-winning record producer, songwriter and music executive, best known for his work with Hal Davis at Motown, and for his later involvement with The 5th Dimensio ...

, Mary O'Brien, Frank Wilson) - 2:11 #"

Ebb Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tabl ...

" (instrumental) (

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

Carl Sigman Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice in ...

) - 1:45 #"Sad Boy" (

Dorsey Burnette Dorsey William Burnett Jr. (December 28, 1932 – August 19, 1979) was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founder member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is als ...

, Gerald Nelson) - 2:28 #" Red Sails in the Sunset" (instrumental) (

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Anth ...

Jimmy Kennedy James Kennedy (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a Northern Irish songwriter. He was predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr, Wi ...

) - 2:01 #"The Beachcomber" (instrumental) (Arthur Wright) - 1:46 #"Castles in the Sand" (instrumental) (Hal Davis, Marc Gordon, Mary O'Brien, Frank Wilson) - 1:52 ;Side two #"Happy Street" (George Everette Hemric,

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

) - 2:19 #"The Party at the Beach House" (Frank Wilson) - 2:03 #"

" (Marty Cooper, Lou Josie) - 2:38 #"Beachstomp" (Hal Davis, Frank Wilson) - 2:38 #" Beyond the Sea" (

Charles Trenet Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (; 18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics to nearly a thousand songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These include ...

, Jack Lawrence) - 2:46

Personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

, possible

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Various

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

session musicians Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

- instrumentation * Uncredited - background singers

References

Stevie Wonder albums 1964 albums Tamla Records albums Albums produced by Hal Davis Albums recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. Concept albums {{1960s-R&B-album-stub