The song was the lead single from the 1984 soundtrack album The Woman in Red, along with two other songs by Wonder, and scored number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from October 13 to October 27, 1984. It remains Wonder's best-selling single to date, having topped a record 19 charts. Unlike the often superficial tone and meaning of ‘I love you’ in many top 10 hits, ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’ emphasises that happiness can be gained (and given) as part of a loving relationship."I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a ballad written, produced, and performed by Stevie Wonder. The message that comes across is that we all need to value our relationships. The reason he is calling on this ‘ordinary day’ is simply to tell the person this: ‘I love you, I care for you and I mean it.’ As the song’s lyrics state, the reason for the phone call is not to celebrate any particular occasion. A huge hit in the 1980s it featured in the 1984 film, ‘Lady in Red’ (which Wonder wrote the soundtrack for) as well as the Carpool Karaoke feature with James Corden. This is an example of good mental health and positive relationships in action. ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’ is one of Wonder’s most well known tracks and undoubtedly cultivates a sound mind. His sense of humour and ability to laugh at himself was highlighted recently in James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke where he attempted to drive the car despite his visual impairment. ‘Happy Birthday’ was written as a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr who did so much to champion the rights of black people. We have mentioned ‘Isn’t She Lovely?’ in one of our previous Songs For Sound Minds posts, a song that recounts the unalloyed joy at the birth of his daughter. When you listen to Wonder’s tracks it is hard not to be struck by their life-affirming qualities and infectiously upbeat attitude. The life affirming songs of Stevie Wonder Four of his 1970s albums are in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Records of All Time. Much of his considerable body of work has been critically acclaimed too. His success is not only based on his popularity. Wonder has had 30 top ten hits in the USA, received 25 Grammy awards and has sold over 100 million records worldwide. Instead he has relied on his incredible hearing and musicianship to become one of the most successful performers and musicians of the 20 th century. As part of the theme for this year – surviving or thriving – we think Stevie Wonder is the ultimate Songs For Sound Minds writer.īlind at birth Wonder has never let his disability affect his positive attitude to life. We want to be thriving, not just survivingĭuring Mental Health Week we are highlighting attitudes and behaviours that will help us thrive in spite of the pressures of modern life. You may of course know him better as Stevie Wonder. Young Steven credited this as a turning point in his life when he received the appreciation and encouragement of his teacher for an innate talent rather than criticism for something that he lacked. The teacher knew it would enable him to hear the mouse and catch it before any of the other children could. She enlisted the help of one of her pupils, Steven Morris. A teacher in Detroit was looking for help to find the class mouse that had escaped from its cage. Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’. Songs for Sound Minds #14 – ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’ by Stevie WonderĪ little known story about a classroom and a mouse is the origin for our latest featured track in the Songs For Sound Minds series.
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