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The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie is the debut album of Little Stevie Wonder and was released in September 1962 on Tamla Records. He was twelve then and mainly showed what he could do as a composer and instrumentalist. He does not sing on this album. He plays percussion, keyboards and harmonica. Clarence Paul and Henry Cosby wrote and produced most of it, and he co-wrote two songs.

The album contains the original studio version of Fingertips. The live version of it would later become his first hit. Bruce Eder of AllMusic praised the record as a stunning document and called the young musician exceptional as a drummer, bongo player, harmonica player, keyboardist and composer. Much of the instrumental music was very sophisticated for its time, and the reference to jazz in the title was, in his view, no exaggeration: a large part is real jazz.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Fingertips (Original Studio Session) and notice the harmonica playing and the percussion of this twelve-year-old.

Track list

  1. 1Fingertips (Original Studio Session)2:58Apple Music ↗
  2. 2The Square3:02Apple Music ↗
  3. 3Soul Bongo2:19Apple Music ↗
  4. 4Manhattan At Six3:45Apple Music ↗
  5. 5Paulsby2:45Apple Music ↗
  6. 6Some Other Time5:10Apple Music ↗
  7. 7Wondering2:51Apple Music ↗
  8. 8Session Number 1123:17Apple Music ↗
  9. 9Bam3:34Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

Categories: Albums and songs