Stevie Wonder in the 1980s

So, how do we feel about Stevie's work in the 80s?

I feel that the casual narrative is that he was part of the Motown machine in the 60s and had classic 60s Motown hits

In the next decade, he took control over his music and went on a streak of unparalleled creativity and talent [[I would put Stevie in the 1970s as a better run than any artist, at any time, in any genre, at the very least on the Mount Rushmore of greatest musical streaks)

Then in the 80s that creativity well seemed to dry up and he started churning out corny pop songs that his 70s self wouldn't have recorded in a million years

Is this a fair assessment?

I've seen "I just called to say I love you" listed as one of the worst hit songs of the decade, and worst song he ever did [[multiple times), with "Part Time Lover" not far behind

I'd say that Do I Do and Overjoyed stands proudly next to any of his 'classic' songs

And he gave the world Black Happy Birthday - Honestly what percentage of the time is it the version sung at black birthday parties? I’m taking the over at 70%

A marathon read, but if it helps you - it's alphabetical.

Wow....

https://kimsloans.wordpress.com/2020...men-of-motown/

I'm going with the Labelle years, to me those years cemented their legacy as one of the best artists period, they were innovative and they had a great album run from Labelle - Chameleon, NightBird being their greatest work.


So anyway, which era throughout Patti Labelle 's career do you prefer?

Kinda, sorta overlooked at the time [[probably due to the swerve from disco to smooth jazz/quiet storm) this has become a favorite, and perhaps the favorite lp from this wonderful singer. Here's the opening cut 'Thinking Right'. Wow does this lp hold up 42 years [[gulp!!) later -

A nice profile.

https://www.allarts.org/programs/all...ci0quaHnvnW_H8