I Was Made to Love Her (song)
"I Was Made to Love Her" is a hit single recorded by American soul musician Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label in 1967. The song was written by Wonder, his mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, and producer Henry Cosby and included on Wonder's 1967 album I Was Made to Love Her. Released as a single, "I Was Made to Love Her" peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in July 1967. The song was held out of the top spot by "Light My Fire" by The Doors and spent four non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart in the United States.[1] The song reached No. 5 in the UK.
"I Was Made to Love Her" | ||||
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Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||
from the album I Was Made to Love Her | ||||
B-side |
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Released | June 1967 | |||
Recorded | 1967 | |||
Studio | Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A), Detroit, Michigan | |||
Genre | Soul | |||
Length | 2:37 | |||
Label | Tamla | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Henry Cosby | |||
Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
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When asked in a 1968 interview which of his songs stood out in his mind, Wonder answered "I Was Made to Love Her because it's a true song."[2] The song features Wonder's harmonica solo in the introduction, strings following the bridge section and the use of an electric sitar in the opening and repeated throughout the verse. The last lyric line "You know Stevie ain't gonna leave her" was ad libbed by Wonder.
The Beach Boys' version
In 1967, The Beach Boys recorded a version for the R&B/soul album Wild Honey. Their cover was sung by lead guitarist Carl Wilson.
Personnel
Sourced from Craig Slowinski.[3]
- Brian Wilson – producer
- Carl Wilson – lead vocals, guitar
- Dennis Wilson – drums, hi-hat
- Al Jardine – bass (erased from final recording)
- Ron Brown – bass
unknown – piano, organ, additional guitar
Chart performance
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 635.
- Stevie Wonder interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1970)
- Slowinski liner notes, Issue 121
- Go-Set National Top 40, 20 September 1967
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
- Flavour of New Zealand, 22 September 1967
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
- "Top 100 Hits of 1967/Top 100 Songs of 1967". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-01.