Fingertips

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"Fingertips" is a 1963 number-one hit single recorded live by "Little" Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label. Wonder's first hit single, "Fingertips" was the first live, non-studio recording to reach number-one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the United States.

Overview

Written by Wonder's mentors Clarence Paul and Henry Cosby, "Fingertips" was origially recorded for Wonder's first studio album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie Wonder. The live version of the song was recorded during a Motor Town Revue performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois. Containing only a few stanzas of lyrics, "Fingertips" is essentially an insturmental piece, meant to showcase Wonder's talents on the bongos and the harmonica.

After leading the audience in a call and response routine ("Everybody say 'yeah!'"), Wonder leaves the stage and the band goes into its exit music. This turns out to be a false ending however, as Wonder sneaks back onstage for an encore, returning to his harmonica, bongos, and the vocal microphone. The other musicians were not aware Wonder would stage an encore; as a result, bassist Joe Swift can be heard on the recording yelling out "What key? What key?" (The song's key is C minor).

The live version of "Fingertips" was released in May 1963 as a two-part single, with Part 2 (with the encore) as the a-side. By August, the single had reached the top of both the Billboard Pop Singles and R&B Singles charts. "Fingertips" was Motown's second number-one pop hit (following The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman"), and launched the 13-year-old Wonder into the pop music stratosphere. The single's success helped Wonder's live album, , reach number-one on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, making him the youngest artist to accomplish that feat.

Trivia

Both the studio and live versions of the song featured drumming by future Motown star Marvin Gaye, who had been playing drums for Wonder and other Motown artists since he had signed with the label in 1960.

Credits

Vocals, bongos, and harmonica by Little Stevie Wonder
Drums by Marvin Gaye
Bass by Joe Swift

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