Uptight (Everything's Alright)
Encyclopedia
"Uptight" is a 1966 hit single recorded by Stevie Wonder
for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first Stevie Wonder single to be co-written by the artist.
The single was a watershed in Wonder's career for several reasons. Aside from the number-one hit "Fingertips", only two of Wonder's singles had reached the Top 40 of Billboard's Pop Singles chart, ("Workout, Stevie Workout" reached # 33 in late 1963 and "Hey Harmonica Man" reached # 29 Pop in the Summer of 1964) and the fifteen-year-old artist was in danger of being let go. In addition, Wonder's voice had begun to change, and Motown CEO Berry Gordy
was worried that he would no longer be a commercially viable artist. As it turned out, however, producer Clarence Paul
found it easier to work with Wonder's now-mature tenor
voice, Sylvia Moy
and Henry Cosby
set about writing a new song for the artist, based upon an instrumental riff Wonder had devised. On the day of the recording, Moy had the lyrics, but didn't have them in braille
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.
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. A notable success, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" peaked at number-three 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.. An accompanying album, Up-Tight
, was rushed into production to capitalize on the single's success.
"Uptight (Everything's Alright)" continues to be popular on oldies
radio
.
were the first to do a cover of Stevie Wonder's hit. Their version was recorded in 1966 and intended to be included on their album The Supremes A' Go-Go, however it was cut from the tracklist and remained unreleased until 2006.
Later in 1966, Nancy Wilson gave the a song another birth on the Hot 100, and a first appearance in the Billboard Easy Listening survey. That same year, Johnny Rivers
recorded the song on his live album ...and i know you want to dance.
Jimmy McGriff
covered the song on his 1967 live album Where the Action's at!. The tracks that make up that album were thought to be recorded in December 1965 and so may arguably be the earliest recorded cover of the song. However the album wasn't released until 1967.
In 1967, Bill Cosby
incorporated "Uptight" into "Little Ole Man" for his Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings
album; the song was subsequently released as a single and reached #4 on the Billboard chart. In 1989, The KLF
's spinoff project Disco 2000
released a disco-pop cover version of "Uptight," sung from the girl's perspective by female singers. In 2006, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
' cover of "Uptight" appeared in a Chase Manhattan Bank
commercial.
The Oasis
song "Step Out" was left off their 1995 album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
due to supposed similarity to "Uptight" and the ensuing argument over royalties and threatened legal action. However, the song was later released by Oasis as a B-Side to their hit single "Don't Look Back in Anger
". Interestingly for this release, the songwriting credit was changed from 'Noel Gallagher' to 'Gallagher/Wonder/Cosby/Moy'.
British reggae singer C.J. Lewis
's "Everything Is Alright" from 1994 uses "Uptight"'s chorus and Kid 'N Play
's song "Hype", from the 1988 album 2 Hype, utilizes a bass-heavy interpolation of this song's chorus and melody.
Phil Collins
recorded a version of the song for his album of soul covers, Going Back
.
The Chopsticks (a Hong Kong female duo, made up of Sandra Lang
(仙杜拉) & Amina (亞美娜)), covered this as a medley song with "Sunny
"、"Chain Of Fools
" & "Gimme Little Sign
" on their 1971 LP 《All Of A Sudden》issue.
The song has been covered several times by Tedeschi Trucks Band
on their 2011 tour.
The song has been covered by the UK band, -rp-
The song is partially used and is used as backing music for the song "Further/Everything's Alright" by Outasight
.
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first Stevie Wonder single to be co-written by the artist.
The single was a watershed in Wonder's career for several reasons. Aside from the number-one hit "Fingertips", only two of Wonder's singles had reached the Top 40 of Billboard's Pop Singles chart, ("Workout, Stevie Workout" reached # 33 in late 1963 and "Hey Harmonica Man" reached # 29 Pop in the Summer of 1964) and the fifteen-year-old artist was in danger of being let go. In addition, Wonder's voice had begun to change, and Motown CEO Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
was worried that he would no longer be a commercially viable artist. As it turned out, however, producer Clarence Paul
Clarence Paul
Clarence Otto Pauling , better known as Clarence Paul, was a songwriter and record producer for Detroit's Motown Records....
found it easier to work with Wonder's now-mature tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
voice, Sylvia Moy
Sylvia Moy
Sylvia Moy is a 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 is probably best known for her songs written for Stevie Wonder....
and Henry Cosby
Henry Cosby
Henry "Hank" R. Cosby was an African American songwriter and record producer for Motown Records...
set about writing a new song for the artist, based upon an instrumental riff Wonder had devised. On the day of the recording, Moy had the lyrics, but didn't have them in braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
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.
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. A notable success, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" peaked at number-three on the Billboard Pop Singles
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in early 1966, at the same time reaching the top of the Billboard R&B Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart for five weeks.. An accompanying album, Up-Tight
Up-Tight
Uptight is a 1966 album by US singer Stevie Wonder. It was his fifth studio release.- Background :Uptight was the breakthrough album for Stevie Wonder, released in 1966 on Motown Records' Tamla label. The album features the U.S...
, was rushed into production to capitalize on the single's success.
"Uptight (Everything's Alright)" continues to be popular on oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
.
Cover versions and soundalikes
The SupremesThe Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
were the first to do a cover of Stevie Wonder's hit. Their version was recorded in 1966 and intended to be included on their album The Supremes A' Go-Go, however it was cut from the tracklist and remained unreleased until 2006.
Later in 1966, Nancy Wilson gave the a song another birth on the Hot 100, and a first appearance in the Billboard Easy Listening survey. That same year, Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
recorded the song on his live album ...and i know you want to dance.
Jimmy McGriff
Jimmy McGriff
James Harrell McGriff was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who developed a distinctive style of playing the Hammond B-3 organ.-Early years and influences:...
covered the song on his 1967 live album Where the Action's at!. The tracks that make up that album were thought to be recorded in December 1965 and so may arguably be the earliest recorded cover of the song. However the album wasn't released until 1967.
In 1967, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
incorporated "Uptight" into "Little Ole Man" for his Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings
Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings
Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings is the fifth album by Bill Cosby.-Background:This was Cosby's first album that was recorded in the studio, as well as his first album that showcased his singing, backed by the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band...
album; the song was subsequently released as a single and reached #4 on the Billboard chart. In 1989, The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
's spinoff project Disco 2000
Disco 2000
Disco 2000 was a British pop band, a side project of The KLF. Vocals were handled by Cressida Cauty and June Montana, also known as Mo...
released a disco-pop cover version of "Uptight," sung from the girl's perspective by female singers. In 2006, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a funk/soul band. They are signed to Daptone Records, where the Dap-Kings are the house band. They are spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk/soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s...
' cover of "Uptight" appeared in a Chase Manhattan Bank
Chase Manhattan Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
commercial.
The Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
song "Step Out" was left off their 1995 album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Morning Glory? is the second studio album by the English rock band Oasis. It was released on 2 October 1995 through Creation Records. The album was Oasis' most enduring commercial success, charting at number one in the UK and number four in the U.S...
due to supposed similarity to "Uptight" and the ensuing argument over royalties and threatened legal action. However, the song was later released by Oasis as a B-Side to their hit single "Don't Look Back in Anger
Don't Look Back in Anger
"Don't Look Back in Anger" is a song by English rock band Oasis, released in 1996 as the fourth single from their hit second album Morning Glory?. The song was written by the band's guitarist and main songwriter, Noel Gallagher. The song became the band's second single to reach #1 in the UK...
". Interestingly for this release, the songwriting credit was changed from 'Noel Gallagher' to 'Gallagher/Wonder/Cosby/Moy'.
British reggae singer C.J. Lewis
C.J. Lewis
C.J. Lewis is a British reggae singer. His biggest hit single was the 1994 cover version of "Sweets for My Sweet". The track was produced by Phillip Pottinger , as was his debut album, Dollars...
's "Everything Is Alright" from 1994 uses "Uptight"'s chorus and Kid 'N Play
Kid 'n Play
Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop and comedy duo from New York City that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher "Kid" Reid and Christopher "Play" Martin working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond...
's song "Hype", from the 1988 album 2 Hype, utilizes a bass-heavy interpolation of this song's chorus and melody.
Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
recorded a version of the song for his album of soul covers, Going Back
Going Back (Phil Collins album)
Going Back is Phil Collins's eighth studio album. It was released on 13 September 2010 in the United Kingdom and 28 September 2010 in the United States. and features covers of 60s Motown & Soul standards...
.
The Chopsticks (a Hong Kong female duo, made up of Sandra Lang
Sandra Lang
Sandra Lang is a former Taishan Cantopop singer, active in the 1970s. - Career :During the late 1960s Sandra Lang's career began under the HK English pop group named The Chopsticks. The group did not last long, as Lang soon went solo for TVB....
(仙杜拉) & Amina (亞美娜)), covered this as a medley song with "Sunny
Sunny
Sunny may refer to:*An abundance of sunlight*It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a television show*Nissan Sunny, a vehicle*Seiyu Group, a Japanese supermarket, an Indonesian cargo ship in service 1959–69...
"、"Chain Of Fools
Chain of Fools
Chain of Fools is a 2000 heist comedy/romance film about a hapless barber named Kresk .-Plot:...
" & "Gimme Little Sign
Gimme Little Sign
"Gimme Little Sign" is a classic soul music song by Brenton Wood. It was released in 1967 on the album The Oogum Boogum Song. It was written by Jerry Winn, Alfred Smith and Joseph Hooven...
" on their 1971 LP 《All Of A Sudden》issue.
The song has been covered several times by Tedeschi Trucks Band
Tedeschi Trucks Band
The Tedeschi Trucks Band, formerly known as the Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band is a blues rock group based in Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 2010, the band is led by husband-and-wife musicians Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, and primarily features members from their respective solo groups.-...
on their 2011 tour.
The song has been covered by the UK band, -rp-
The song is partially used and is used as backing music for the song "Further/Everything's Alright" by Outasight
Outasight
Richard Andrew, better known by his stage name Outasight, is an American singer and rapper from Yonkers, New York. Though he is considered a hip-hop artist, he draws influence from other genres such as classic rock and soul, and describes his music as "Energetic hip hop mixed with melodic soul" In...
.