"Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a 1965 hit single recorded 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, s ...

for the Tamla (

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single Wonder co-wrote. A notable success, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" peaked at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart in early 1966, at the same time reaching the top of the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles chart for five weeks. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the 59th biggest American hit of 1966. An accompanying album, ''

Up-Tight ''Up-Tight'' (shown as ''Up-Tight Everything's Alright'' on the cover) is a 1966 album by American singer Stevie Wonder, released by Motown on the Tamla label. It was his fifth studio release. Production ''Up-Tight'' was recorded at Motown's s ...

'' (1966), was rushed into production to capitalize on the single's success. It also garnered Wonder his first two career

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nominations for Best R&B Song and

Best R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

Background

The single was a watershed in Wonder's career for several reasons. Aside from the US number-one " Fingertips" (1963), only two of Wonder's singles, "Workout, Stevie, Workout" (1963) and " Hey Harmonica Man" (1964) had both peaked inside of the top forty of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at #33 and #29 on that chart respectively. And despite receiving a modicum of chart success, the then 15-year-old Wonder was in danger of being let go. In addition, Wonder's voice had begun to change, and Motown CEO

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

was worried that he would no longer be a commercially viable artist. As it turned out, however, producer

Clarence Paul Clarence Otto Pauling (March 19, 1928 – May 6, 1995) better known and published as Clarence Paul, was an American songwriter, record producer and singer who was best known for his career with Detroit's Motown Records. Early life and career Bo ...

found it easier to work with Wonder's now-mature

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

voice, and

Sylvia Moy Sylvia Rose Moy (September 15, 1938 – April 15, 2017) was an American songwriter and record producer, formerly associated with the Motown Records group. The first woman at the Detroit-based music label to write and produce for Motown acts, she i ...

and

Henry Cosby Henry R. "Hank" Cosby (May 12, 1928 – January 22, 2002) was an American songwriter, arranger, producer and musician who worked for Motown Records from its formative years. Along with Sylvia Moy, Cosby was a key collaborator with Stevie Wonder ...

set about writing a new song for the artist, based upon an instrumental riff Wonder had devised. Nelson George, in ''Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound'', recorded that Wonder had also sought something based on the driving beat of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

' "

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff ...

", after playing several dates with the Stones on tour and being impressed with the British band. As Wonder presented his ideas, finished or not, "he went through everything," remembered Moy. "I asked, 'Are you sure you don't have anything else?' He started singing and playing 'Everything is alright, uptight.' That was as much as he had. I said, 'That's it. Let's work with that.'" The resulting song, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", features lyrics which depict a poor young man's appreciation for a rich girl's seeing beyond his poverty to his true worth. On the day of the recording, Moy had completed the lyrics, but didn't have them in

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displ ...

for Wonder to read, and so sang the song to him as he was recording it. She sang a line ahead of him, and he simply repeated the lines as he heard them. In 2008, Moy commented that "he never missed a beat" during the recording. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' described it as a "rhythmic, fast-moving, chorus backed pop-r&b ditty all about a lucky fella who’s got the world on a string."

Personnel

– vocals, keyboards *

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases ...

– bass *

Benny Benjamin William "Benny" Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of ...

– drums *

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

– additional instrumentation * Johnny Allen – horn arrangement *

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Ma ...

– background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Little Ole Man

A note-for-note re-recording of Wonder's version was used as the backing track for

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

's 1967 musical comedy single, " Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)" which was a US#4 hit. Bill Cosby is not related to the song's co-writer Henry Cosby.

In popular culture

*A version by Nancy Wilson reached No. 84 later in 1966. *The song also appears in the 1995 film '' Mr. Holland's Opus'' and is featured on the soundtrack. *The song appeared in the 2013 '' Glee'' tribute episode "

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" as performed by

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(

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and businesswoman. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Satellite Award, as well as nominations f ...

). *The song also appears in D-TV set to '' Donald's Double Trouble'' and one bit of '' Woodland Café''. *Wonder's version appears in a

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TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

References

{{Authority control 1965 singles 1966 singles 2007 singles Stevie Wonder songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs The Supremes songs C. J. Lewis songs Songs written by Stevie Wonder Songs written by Sylvia Moy Songs written by Henry Cosby Tamla Records singles Song recordings produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson Song recordings produced by Henry Cosby 1965 songs