Stevie Wonder has put out his fair share of hits over the years, especially that incredible stretch in the 1970s, when he released many of his best records -- Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974), and Songs In The Key Of Life (1976) -- all in a row. That era yielded big-time singles "Superstition," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "You Haven't Done Nothin'," "Sir Duke" and "I Wish" -- all-time classic songs most know and love.
But fewer people will remember the singer's very first No. 1 single from his earliest Motown years, when he was a 12-years-old child prodigy that went by "Little" Stevie Wonder.
Written and composed by Wonder's mentors, Clarence Paul and Henry Cosby, "Fingertips" was originally issued as a jazz instrumental on first studio album, 1962's The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie. But the song was later revisited during a Motortown Revue at Chicago's Regal Theater in June 1962. That live performance was released as the two-part single "Fingertips Part 1 And 2" (with Part 2 as the B-side), and later included on Wonder's 1963 album, Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius. The song became the first live, non-studio recording to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. since Johnny Standley's 1952 comic monologue "It's In The Book." Wonder remains the youngest solo artist to ever top the Hot 100 chart and that song is remarkably his only No. 1 hit during the 1960's.
As part of the ongoing series, That Was A Hit?!?, pop charts analyst and writer Chris Molanphy explains to Soundcheck host John Schaefer how the improbable success of "Fingertips" and how it set preteen wunderkind Stevie Wonder on the trajectory to become the influential artist he is today.
Chris Molanphy, on the original studio recording of "Fingertips" from The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie (1962)
"It’s all instrumental and just about three minutes long. If we think of Stevie Wonder and you think of the instrument he’s most famous for, it's his phenomenal harmonica. Stevie on this track is playing bongos. He’s doing it quite well, but he’s definitely not known for playing bongos."
On "Fingertips Part 2" from Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius
"A couple of albums later they captured Little Stevie in Chicago at a live performance. This version of “Fingertips” went on for about seven minutes, so they divided it into two parts. And it’s part two that becomes the hit, which is even more improbable.
"When it sounds like Stevie is done, he starts riffing on the harmonica and plays “Mary Had A Little Lamb” trying to wind the crowd down. And then just as it starts to end he starts blowing on the harmonica again, and the band comes in again. This is when the next band is setting up, because he wasn’t the only person on the bill. A bassist from the next band yells out, it’s completely audible, “What key? What key?” He’s like, let me join in if you’re going to continue this for another two minutes."