"You Haven't Done Nothin" is a 1974 funk single by Stevie Wonder, taken from his album '' Fulfillingness' First Finale'' and featuring background vocals by

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

. The politically aware song became Wonder's fourth Number 1 pop hit and his tenth Number 1

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

hit. It also reached Number 1 in Canada. In the UK the single spent five weeks on the chart, peaking at Number 30. The song was one of his angriest political statements and was aimed squarely at

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, who resigned two days after the record's release. The Jackson Five sing the words "Doo da wop!" repeatedly in the chorus, when Wonder sings "Jackson 5, join along with me, say". The song also features a thick clavinet track and an early appearance of the drum machine. The B-side "Big Brother", also a political statement, was taken from Wonder's 1972 album ''

Talking Book ''Talking Book'' is the fifteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, released on October 27, 1972, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. This album and '' Music of My Mind'', released earlier the same y ...

''. '' Billboard'' described "You Haven't Done Nothin'" as being "exceptionally powerful" and more subtle than most protest songs, particularly praising the synthesiser arrangement and the vocal performance. '' Cash Box'' called it a "super track filled with the memories of the great ' Superstition' a while back" and said that "musically, horns, keyboards, bass and guitar highlight and vocally, aside from Stevie's magic, the

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

is right in there on 'doo wops.'" '' Record World'' called it "a message song to end them all" in which Wonder "deals directly with those who'd only promise their way to a better world."

Personnel

* Stevie Wonder – lead vocal,

Hohner clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

, hi-hats,

crash cymbal A crash cymbal is a type of cymbal that produces a loud, sharp "crash" and is used mainly for occasional accents, as opposed to a ride cymbal. It can be mounted on a stand and played with a drum stick, or by hand in pairs. One or two crash c ...

, keyboard horns,

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These ...

Reggie McBride Reggie McBride (born September 17, 1954) is an American bass player. Biography McBride was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, United States; listening to Motown records, he began to play bass at the age of 8. At the age of 14, he played in ...

– electric bass *

– background vocals

Covers

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...

covered the song on his 2018 album '' As Long as I Have You''.

References

1974 singles Stevie Wonder songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Political songs Protest songs Songs written by Stevie Wonder Motown singles 1974 songs Tamla Records singles Songs about Richard Nixon RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Stevie Wonder {{1970s-single-stub