163-792: Take Care is the second studio album by Canadian rapper Drake . It was released on November 15, 2011, by Young Money Entertainment , Cash Money Records and Republic Records . The album features guest appearances from the Weeknd , Rihanna , Kendrick Lamar , Birdman , Nicki Minaj , Rick Ross , Stevie Wonder , Lil Wayne , and André 3000 . Alongside prominent production from the album's executive producers Drake and 40, further contributors include T-Minus , Chantal Kreviazuk , Boi-1da , Illangelo , Jamie xx , Supa Dups , Just Blaze , Chase N. Cashe , and Doc McKinney . Prior to Take Care , Drake released Thank Me Later , which experienced positive critical success, but left him feeling disjointed about
326-435: A Computer Music Melodian . It was also his first digital recording , and one of the earliest popular albums to use the technology, which Wonder used for all subsequent recordings. Wonder toured briefly with an orchestra in support of the album, and used a Fairlight CMI sampler onstage. In this year Wonder also wrote and produced the dance hit " Let's Get Serious ", performed by Jermaine Jackson and ranked by Billboard as
489-634: A federal holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace , and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom . Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan , on May 13, 1950, the third of five children born to Lula Mae Hardaway , and the second of Hardaway's two children with Calvin Judkins. Wonder was born six weeks premature,
652-476: A soloist at age eight. His mother later rekindled her relationship with her first child's father (whose surname was also coincidentally Hardaway), changed her name back to Lula Hardaway, and had two more children. Wonder began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, and drums. He formed a singing partnership with a friend; calling themselves Stevie and John, they played on street corners and occasionally at parties and dances. When Stevie
815-412: A "biracial upper middle-class kid [...] from a position of privilege that few rappers would occupy", and finds his subject matter culturally significant, stating "[H]is melancholia is that of the overly sated [...] But Drake's relentless focus on the point where money empties out happiness isn't merely autobiographical. It's emblematic of our moment of crashed markets and occupied streets, and it speaks to
978-463: A Clown ", a No. 1 hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (it was first released in 1967, mostly unnoticed as the last track of their Make It Happen LP, but eventually became a major success when re-released as a single in 1970, which prompted Robinson to reconsider his intention of leaving the group). In 1968, Wonder recorded an album of instrumental soul/jazz tracks, mostly harmonica solos, under
1141-507: A commercial success and was well received by music critics. Prior to Take Care , Drake also expanded his repertoire as a live performer. For the album, he intended to have Shebib handle most of the production and record a more cohesive sound than on Thank Me Later , which featured disparate production duties by Shebib and others. In November 2010, Drake revealed the title of his next studio album will be Take Care . In comparison to his debut album Drake revealed to Y.C Radio 1 that Thank Me Later
1304-403: A compilation of songs created by any average listener of music. The songs on a mixtape generally relate to one another in some way, whether it be a conceptual theme or an overall sound. After the introduction of Compact discs, the term "Mixtape" began to apply to any personal compilation of songs on any given format. The sales of Compact Cassettes eventually began to decline in the 1990s, after
1467-409: A condition that, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity , a disease that aborts eye growth and often causes the retinas to detach, which left him blind. When Wonder was four, his mother divorced his father and moved with her three children to Detroit . Wonder attended Whitestone Baptist Church, where he sang in the choir and became
1630-827: A conflicted rapper who explores his own neuroses in as compelling a manner as anyone not named Kanye West." Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot complimented the depth of Drake's "moral psychodramas" and stated, "the best of it affirms that Drake is shaping a pop persona with staying power." Nitsuh Abebe of New York wrote that the album "is full of gorgeous tones ... And the lyrics surrounding them can be rich with meaning". Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club found it "plenty downbeat, but [also] gorgeous, an immersive headphone masterwork that's tender and intimate like little else in contemporary rap and R&B." Ann Powers of NPR felt that "the artfulness of this music allows me an in to that experience. I can make that leap and identify with Drake, or at least be intrigued by multiple characters in
1793-424: A current or former member of a musical group which is released under that artist's name only, even though some or all other band members may be involved. The solo album appeared as early as the late 1940s. A 1947 Billboard magazine article heralded " Margaret Whiting huddling with Capitol execs over her first solo album on which she will be backed by Frank De Vol ". There is no formal definition setting forth
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#17328589303671956-557: A customer buys a whole album rather than just one or two songs from the artist. The song is not necessarily free nor is it available as a stand-alone download, adding also to the incentive to buy the complete album. In contrast to hidden tracks , bonus tracks are included on track listings and usually do not have a gap of silence between other album tracks. Bonus tracks on CD or vinyl albums are common in Japan for releases by European and North American artists; since importing international copies of
2119-535: A duet with Andrea Bocelli on the latter's album Amore , offering harmonica and additional vocals on "Canzoni Stonate". Wonder also performed at Washington, D.C.'s 2006 A Capitol Fourth celebration. His other key appearances include performing at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City , the 2005 Live 8 concert in Philadelphia , the pre-game show for Super Bowl XL in 2006,
2282-569: A far more pensive mood. Songs in the Key of Life won Album of the Year and two other Grammys. The album ranks 4th on Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Also in 1976, Wonder heard about the demonstration of the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the first multi-font reading machine for the blind, on The Today Show , and later became the user of the first production unit, beginning
2445-578: A generation beginning to question whether the All-American, celebrity-endorsed credit card lifestyle will make them anything but bankrupt." Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal compares his "unrepentant navel-gazing and obsession with lost love" to Marvin Gaye 's 1978 album Here, My Dear , adding that Drake's "penchant for poetic oversharing" makes him "an apt avatar" for the Information Age . Drake's songwriting
2608-504: A guest appearance on Busta Rhymes ' album The Big Bang , on the track "Been through the Storm". He sings the refrain and plays the piano on the Dr. Dre - and Sha Money XL –produced track. He appeared again on the last track of Snoop Dogg 's 2006 album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment , "Conversations". The song is a remake of "Have a Talk with God" from Songs in the Key of Life . In 2006, Wonder staged
2771-440: A long-term association between himself and Ray Kurzweil . Until 1979's Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" , his only further 1970s release was the retrospective three-disc album Looking Back (1977), an anthology of his early Motown period. The mainly instrumental soundtrack album Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" (1979), was composed using an early music sampler called
2934-441: A mainstream breakthrough with Shebib's work with Drake, producers Boi-1da and T-Minus , and singer-songwriter the Weeknd , all of whom contributed to Take Care . Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club comments that the album is "crafted primarily around the oblique production of Drake's native Toronto—all rippling synths, distant pulses, and purposeful empty space". Music writers noted "late-night" and 1990s-era R&B influence in
3097-500: A retrospective of his 1970s work with Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium , which included four new songs: the ten-minute funk classic " Do I Do " (which featured Dizzy Gillespie ), " That Girl " (one of the year's biggest singles to chart on the R&;B side), " Front Line ", a narrative about a soldier in the Vietnam War that Wonder wrote and sang in the first person, and " Ribbon in
3260-436: A rolling five-year contract in which royalties would be held in trust until Wonder was 21. He and his mother would be paid a weekly stipend to cover their expenses: Wonder received $ 2.50 (equivalent to $ 25.49 in 2023) per week, and a private tutor was provided when Wonder was on tour. Wonder was put in the care of producer and songwriter Clarence Paul, and for a year they worked together on two albums. Tribute to Uncle Ray
3423-448: A single artist, genre or period, a single artist covering the songs of various artists or a single artist, genre or period, or any variation of an album of cover songs which is marketed as a "tribute". Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( / ˈ s t iː v ˌ l ə n d / ; né Judkins ; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder , is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. One of
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#17328589303673586-522: A single case, or a triple album containing three LPs or compact discs. Recording artists who have an extensive back catalogue may re-release several CDs in one single box with a unified design, often containing one or more albums (in this scenario, these releases can sometimes be referred to as a "two (or three)-fer"), or a compilation of previously unreleased recordings. These are known as box sets . Some musical artists have also released more than three compact discs or LP records of new recordings at once, in
3749-451: A slower pace. He recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee 's film Jungle Fever in 1991. From this album, singles and videos were released for "Gotta Have You", "Fun Day" (remix only), "These Three Words" and "Jungle Fever". The B-side to the "Gotta Have You" single was "Feeding Off The Love of the Land", which was played during the end credits of the movie Jungle Fever but was not included on
3912-433: A solo album for several reasons. A solo performer working with other members will typically have full creative control of the band, be able to hire and fire accompanists, and get the majority of the proceeds. The performer may be able to produce songs that differ widely from the sound of the band with which the performer has been associated, or that the group as a whole chose not to include in its own albums. Graham Nash of
4075-414: A studio. However, the common understanding of a "live album" is one that was recorded at a concert with a public audience, even when the recording is overdubbed or multi-tracked. Concert or stage performances are recorded using remote recording techniques. Albums may be recorded at a single concert , or combine recordings made at multiple concerts. They may include applause, laughter and other noise from
4238-430: A studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation , to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", have reverberation, which creates a "live" sound. Recordings, including live, may contain editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology , artists can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to
4401-406: A theme such as the "greatest hits" from one artist, B-sides and rarities by one artist, or selections from a record label , a musical genre , a certain time period, or a regional music scene. Promotional sampler albums are compilations. A tribute or cover album is a compilation of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may involve various artists covering the songs of
4564-453: A trend of shifting sales in the music industry , some observers feel that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album . An album may contain any number of tracks. In the United States, The Recording Academy 's rules for Grammy Awards state that an album must comprise a minimum total playing time of 15 minutes with at least five distinct tracks or a minimum total playing time of 30 minutes with no minimum track requirement. In
4727-805: A two-hour set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee , a stop at the Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park , London, and appearances at England's Glastonbury Festival , Rotterdam's North Sea Jazz Festival , a concert in Bergen , Norway, and a concert in Dublin , Ireland, at The O 2 on June 24. Wonder's harmonica playing can be heard on the 2009 Grammy-nominated "Never Give You Up", featuring CJ Hilton and Raphael Saadiq . Wonder sang at
4890-430: A way of promoting the album. Albums have been issued that are compilations of older tracks not originally released together, such as singles not originally found on albums, b-sides of singles, or unfinished " demo " recordings. Double albums during the seventies were sometimes sequenced for record changers . In the case of a two-record set, for example, sides 1 and 4 would be stamped on one record, and sides 2 and 3 on
5053-585: Is also featured on this track. The music video shoot for the song took place on March 21, 2012. The video was released on April 6, 2012. It officially impacted rhythmic and urban radio on April 24, 2012. " Crew Love " was released as the album's seventh single in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2012. The song peaked at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart and number 80 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and
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5216-580: Is any vocal content. A track that has the same name as the album is called the title track. A bonus track (also known as a bonus cut or bonus) is a piece of music which has been included as an extra. This may be done as a marketing promotion, or for other reasons. It is not uncommon to include singles, B-sides , live recordings , and demo recordings as bonus tracks on re-issues of old albums, where those tracks were not originally included. Online music stores allow buyers to create their own albums by selecting songs themselves; bonus tracks may be included if
5379-439: Is characterized by wistful introspection, existential contemplation, and minimal boasting, with lyrics that convey frankness, vulnerability, melancholia, and narcissism . Andy Gill of The Independent writes that he "eschews anger or threat for a weariness shadowed by wistful regret." Music journalist Greg Kot comments that Drake does not "indulge in the macho poses that have dominated mainstream hip-hop for decades, and blur[s]
5542-529: Is interpreted by critics in relation to contemporary society. Newsday ' s Glenn Gamboa views that Drake's "emotional self-doubt and realizations about [...] success", along with the album's melancholy mood, "captur[es] today's zeitgeist of uncertainty and diminishing expectations." Music journalist Ann Powers cites Drake's "predicament — the inability to locate oneself within everyday power relations" as "one that's afflicted existential antiheroes throughout modernity." She denotes his point of view as that of
5705-552: Is not necessarily just in MP3 file format, in which higher quality formats such as FLAC and WAV can be used on storage media that MP3 albums reside on, such as CD-R-ROMs , hard drives , flash memory (e.g. thumbdrives , MP3 players , SD cards ), etc. The contents of the album are usually recorded in a studio or live in concert, though may be recorded in other locations, such as at home (as with JJ Cale's Okie , Beck's Odelay , David Gray's White Ladder , and others), in
5868-658: Is one of the best-selling music artists of all time , with sales of over 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a male solo artist) and one Academy Award ( Best Original Song , for the 1984 film The Woman in Red ). Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame , Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame . He is also noted for his political activism, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday
6031-518: Is one of the 15 best-performing 21st-century albums without any of its singles being number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 . The album's lead single, " Marvins Room " impacted urban radio on June 28, 2011; peaking at number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 . Following by the second single, " Headlines ", which was released through his blog on July 31, 2011. The production on both of these songs
6194-500: Is prevalent on the album, with songs that address past and potential lovers ("Marvins Room", "The Real Her") and songs about revering ("Make Me Proud") and lavishing them ("We'll Be Fine"). Juan Edgardo Rodriguez of No Ripcord denotes women as "the main force in his songs – he's consciously aware about what it takes to love them, but simply decides to thrust aside the guidelines because he's on an entirely different stratosphere from any female average joe ." The album's expositional content
6357-402: Is recorded on both the "A" and "B" side of the tape, with cassette being "turned" to play the other side of the album. Compact Cassettes were also a popular way for musicians to record " Demos " or "Demo Tapes" of their music to distribute to various record labels, in the hopes of acquiring a recording contract . Compact cassettes also saw the creation of mixtapes , which are tapes containing
6520-399: Is the main producer of the album), including T-Minus , the xx 's Jamie Smith and Boi-1da (who is a long-time Drake collaborator). He had initially recruited 9th Wonder for the album. He even appeared on 9th's documentary The Wonder Year and expressed his desire to make a number one hit with him, however, in an interview about a month prior to the slated release date, 9th said that he
6683-543: The Billboard 200 , selling 631,000 copies in its first week. It has been certified eight times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Four of the album's singles peaked in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 : " Headlines ", " Make Me Proud ", " The Motto " and " Take Care ". The album received acclaim from critics, with praise for its expansive production and emotional themes. It
Take Care - Misplaced Pages Continue
6846-539: The Boston Herald writes of the song structure on Take Care , "Musical themes vanish and re-appear, layers build upon layers and then strip down to bare bones as tightly wound tracks give way to gauzy, lush interludes. Most songs sound intentionally distorted and warped". Drake's vocals on the album feature emotional crooning , alto vocals, a guttural cadence, a melodic flow , and a larger emphasis on singing than on his previous album, Thank Me Later . Drake's not
7009-714: The Canadian Albums Chart , selling 48,000 copies in its first week. It has been certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association , indicating shipments of 160,000 copies. In the United Kingdom, Take Care entered at number five on the UK Albums Chart and on January 18, 2013, the album went platinum with the British Recorded Music Industry, with 300,000 copies shipped to UK retailers. Credits adapted from
7172-499: The Kurzweil K250 in 1984. In 1983, Wonder performed the song "Stay Gold", the theme to Francis Ford Coppola 's film adaptation of S. E. Hinton 's novel The Outsiders . Wonder wrote the lyrics. In 1983, he scheduled an album to be entitled People Work, Human Play . The album never surfaced and instead 1984 saw the release of Wonder's soundtrack album for The Woman in Red . The lead single, " I Just Called to Say I Love You ",
7335-561: The Michael Jackson memorial service in 2009, at Etta James ' funeral, in 2012, a month later at Whitney Houston 's memorial service, and at the funeral of Aretha Franklin in 2018. Wonder appeared on singer Celine Dion 's studio album Loved Me Back to Life , performing a cover of his 1985 song "Overjoyed". The album was released in October 2013. He was also featured on two tracks on Mark Ronson 's 2015 album Uptown Special , and
7498-600: The Obama Inaugural Celebration in 2009, and the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens , Greece. Wonder's first new album in 10 years, A Time to Love , was released in October 2005 to lower sales than previous albums, and lukewarm reviews—most reviewers appearing frustrated at the end of the long delay to get an album that mainly copied the style of Wonder's "classic period" without doing anything new. The first single, " So What
7661-404: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies in the United States. As of August 2015, the album has sold 2,260,000 copies in the United States. On October 25, 2023, the album was certified eight times platinum for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over eight million copies in the United States. In Canada, the album debuted at number one on
7824-422: The album era , crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown 's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder . Wonder's single " Fingertips " was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, when he
7987-517: The iPod , US album sales dropped 54.6% from 2001 to 2009. The CD is a digital data storage device which permits digital recording technology to be used to record and play-back the recorded music. Most recently, the MP3 audio format has matured, revolutionizing the concept of digital storage. Early MP3 albums were essentially CD-rips created by early CD- ripping software, and sometimes real-time rips from cassettes and vinyl. The so-called "MP3 album"
8150-552: The "Little" from his name, Moy and Wonder worked together to create the hit " Uptight (Everything's Alright) ", and Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid-1960s, including "With a Child's Heart", and " Blowin' in the Wind ", a Bob Dylan song, co-sung by his mentor, producer Clarence Paul. He also began to work in the Motown songwriting department, composing songs both for himself and his label mates, including " The Tears of
8313-514: The 1970s. Appraising the concept in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said most "are profit-taking recaps marred by sound and format inappropriate to phonographic reproduction (you can't put sights, smells, or fellowship on audio tape). But for Joe Cocker and Bette Midler and Bob-Dylan -in-the-arena, the form makes a compelling kind of sense." Among
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#17328589303678476-593: The 1994 tribute album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved ; sang at the 1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony ; collaborated in 1997 with Babyface on " How Come, How Long ", a song about domestic violence that was nominated for a Grammy award; and played harmonica on Sting 's 1999 " Brand New Day ". In early 1999, Wonder performed in the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show . In May 1999, Rutgers University presented Wonder with an honorary doctorate degree in fine arts . In December 1999, Wonder announced that he
8639-530: The 2010s (so far). In September 2020, it was named the 95th greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone . Take Care debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 , with first-week sales of 631,000 copies, becoming Drake's second number-one album. The album also topped the Billboard Rap Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in its debut week. On January 31, 2012, the album was certified platinum by
8802-415: The 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983, being gradually supplanted by the cassette tape throughout the 1970s and early 1980s; the popularity of the cassette reached its peak during the late 1980s before sharply declining during the 1990s. The cassette had largely disappeared by
8965-443: The 25-minute mark. The album Dopesmoker by Sleep contains only a single track, but the composition is over 63 minutes long. There are no formal rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as "albums". If an album becomes too long to fit onto a single vinyl record or CD, it may be released as a double album where two vinyl LPs or compact discs are packaged together in
9128-478: The Birthday Edition of the album. On September 10, 2011, Drake released a new song titled "Club Paradise" on his October's Very Own blog. "Dropping this for our boy Avery...this was his favorite sh*t during the recording process. 2 more songs coming tonight as well. ovoxo," he wrote on his blog. On September 11, 2011, Drake released another track entitled "Free Spirit" featuring Rick Ross and blogged that another
9291-506: The Blind in Lansing, Michigan . In 1961, at the age of 11, Wonder sang his own composition, "Lonely Boy", to Ronnie White of the Miracles ; White then took Wonder and his mother to an audition at Motown , where CEO Berry Gordy signed Wonder to Motown's Tamla label. Before signing, producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder . Because of Wonder's age, the label drew up
9454-565: The Canadian Hot 100. Take Care received acclaim from critics. John McDonnell of NME dubbed it "an affecting masterpiece" and commended its "delicate, mellifluous sound and unashamedly candid, emotive lyrics." Pitchfork ' s Ryan Dombal found Drake's "technical abilities" to be improved and stated, "Just as his thematic concerns have become richer, so has the music backing them up." Andy Hutchins of The Village Voice called it "a carefully crafted bundle of contradictory sentiments from
9617-695: The Fuss ", was released in April. A second single, " From the Bottom of My Heart ", was a hit on adult-contemporary R&B radio. The album also featured a duet with India Arie on the title track "A Time to Love". Wonder did a 13-date tour of North America in 2007, starting in San Diego on August 23; this was his first U.S. tour in more than 10 years. On September 8, 2008, he started the European leg of his Wonder Summer's Night Tour,
9780-658: The German television show Musikladen . On his return to the United States, he played a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in March 1974, highlighting both up-tempo material and long, building improvisations on mid-tempo songs such as " Living for the City ". The album Fulfillingness' First Finale appeared in July 1974 and set two hits high on the pop charts: the No. 1 " You Haven't Done Nothin' " and
9943-491: The Hollies described his experience in developing a solo album as follows: "The thing that I go through that results in a solo album is an interesting process of collecting songs that can't be done, for whatever reason, by a lot of people". A solo album may also represent the departure of the performer from the group. A compilation album is a collection of material from various recording projects or various artists, assembled with
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#173285893036710106-582: The Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year , making him the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. Wonder began his "commercial period" in the 1980s; he achieved his biggest hits and highest level of fame, had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations (including with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson ), political impact, and television appearances. Wonder has continued to remain active in music and political causes. Wonder
10269-488: The Long Playing record format in 1948, it was natural the term album would continue. Columbia expected that the record size distinction in 78s would continue, with classical music on 12" records and popular music on 10" records, and singles on 78s. Columbia's first popular 10" LP in fact was Frank Sinatra's first album, the four-record eight-song The Voice of Frank Sinatra , originally issued in 1946. RCA's introduction of
10432-424: The No. 1 R&B single of 1980. Hotter than July (1980) became Wonder's first platinum-selling single album, and its single " Happy Birthday " was a successful vehicle for his campaign to establish Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday as a national holiday . The album also included " Master Blaster (Jammin') ", " I Ain't Gonna Stand for It ", and the sentimental ballad, " Lately ". In 1982, Wonder released
10595-524: The R&;B charts. Popular ballads such as "Golden Lady" and "All in Love Is Fair" were also present, in a mixture of moods that nevertheless held together as a unified whole. Innervisions generated three more Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year . The album is ranked No. 34 on Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . Wonder had become the most influential and acclaimed black musician of
10758-561: The Sky ", one of his many classic compositions. He also gained a No. 1 hit that year in collaboration with Paul McCartney in their paean to racial harmony, " Ebony and Ivory ". Also in 1982, Wonder invited Raymond Kurzweil to his Los Angeles recording studio, Wonderland, and asked if "we could use the extraordinarily flexible computer control methods on the beautiful sounds of acoustic instruments?" In response, and with Wonder as musical advisor, Kurzweil founded Kurzweil Music Systems , which unveiled
10921-645: The Sunshine of My Life ", which also peaked at No. 1. During the same time as the album's release, Wonder began touring with the Rolling Stones to alleviate the negative effects from being pigeonholed as an R&B artist in America. His touring with the Stones was also a factor behind the success of both "Superstition" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Between them, the two songs won three Grammy Awards . On an episode of
11084-627: The Supremes or the Tempts could have, now didn't he? —Review of Stevie Wonder's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981) At the end of 1962, when Wonder was 12 years old, he joined the Motortown Revue , touring the " Chitlin' Circuit " of theatres across America that accepted black artists. At the Regal Theater , Chicago, his 20-minute performance
11247-484: The Top Ten " Boogie on Reggae Woman ". The Album of the Year was again one of three Grammys won. The same year, Wonder took part in a Los Angeles jam session with ex- Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney that would become known as the bootleg album A Toot and a Snore in '74 . He also co-wrote and produced the 1974 Syreeta Wright album Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta . On October 4, 1975, Wonder performed at
11410-514: The US Billboard Hot 100. "Take Care" became one of Drake's highest-charting songs as a solo artist in the United Kingdom and United S, with first-week sales of 162,000 in the US. In its seventeenth week on the Hot 100, the track rose to a new peak of number seven. As of July 2012 the single has sold over two million digital copies. " HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right) " was released as the album's sixth single. Lil Wayne
11573-459: The United Kingdom, the criteria for the UK Albums Chart is that a recording counts as an "album" if it either has more than four tracks or lasts more than 25 minutes. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs . Albums such as Tubular Bells , Amarok , and Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield , and Yes's Close to the Edge , include fewer than four tracks, but still surpass
11736-420: The United States, becoming the most successful single from the album thus far and his third single overall to reach the milestone. " Take Care " featuring Rihanna , was released as the album's fifth single. It impacted US rhythmic contemporary radio on January 17, 2012. Prior to its release as a single, the song entered the UK Singles Chart on November 20, 2011, at number 12. It also debuted at number nine on
11899-540: The Year Grammy for his Still Crazy After All These Years , he wryly noted: "I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder, who didn't make an album this year." The double album-with-extra- EP , Songs in the Key of Life , was released in September 1976. Sprawling in style and sometimes lyrically difficult to fathom, the album was hard for some listeners to assimilate, yet is regarded by many as Wonder's crowning achievement and one of
12062-421: The age of 20, Wonder married Syreeta Wright , a songwriter and former Motown secretary. Wright and Wonder worked together on the next album, Where I'm Coming From (1971), Wonder writing the music, and Wright helping with the lyrics. Around this time, Wonder became interested in utilizing synthesizers after hearing albums by electronic group Tonto's Expanding Head Band . Wonder and Wright wanted to "touch on
12225-413: The album can be cheaper than buying a domestically released version, Japanese releases often feature bonus tracks to incentivize domestic purchase. Commercial sheet music is published in conjunction with the release of a new album (studio, compilation, soundtrack, etc.). A matching folio songbook is a compilation of the music notation of all the songs included in that particular album. It typically has
12388-732: The album is called Take Care because "I get to take my time this go-round [rather than rush]". The album also expands on the low-tempo, sensuous, and dark sonic aesthetic of Thank Me Later . It incorporates several elements that have come to define Drake's sound, including minimalist R&B influences, existential subject matter, and alternately sung and rapped vocals. It features a mixture of braggadocio and emotional lyrics, exploring themes of fame, romance, and wealth. The album also highlights other topics, such as Drake's relationships with friends and family, as well as touching on sex and narcissism . Despite leaking online nine days before its scheduled release, Take Care debuted at number one on
12551-478: The album remixed by OG Ron C and DJ Candlestick of the Chopstars titled Chop Care was released on November 29, 2011, and received over 1 million downloads in the first 48 hours. It was featured on a variety of media blogs, magazines, and newspapers. It was included on year-end lists by several publications, including The New York Times which gave major praise. According to Billboard , as of 2022, Take Care
12714-516: The album's artwork on its cover and, in addition to sheet music, it includes photos of the artist. Most pop and rock releases come in standard Piano/Vocal/Guitar notation format (and occasionally Easy Piano / E-Z Play Today). Rock-oriented releases may also come in Guitar Recorded Versions edition, which are note-for-note transcriptions written directly from artist recordings. Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one-half of
12877-450: The album's liner notes. Notes Sample credits Credits for Take Care adapted from AllMusic and album's liner notes. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music ) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette ), or digital . Albums of recorded sound were developed in
13040-441: The album's music. NPR writer Frannie Kelley notes "minimalist reworkings of TLC 's minor-key soul and [...] trancey rhythms that land somewhere between paranoid Sly Stone and smoked-out Maxwell ". Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media comments that the music "breathes heavy somewhere between UGK 's deep funk , quiet-storm 90s R&B, and James Blake -inspired minimalism", and interprets its subtle style to be "a direct rebuke" to
13203-445: The album's musical content. Expressing a desire to reunite with 40 , his long-time producer who featured in parts on Thank Me Later , the duo worked extensively on the new album once recording sessions began in 2010. Drake's vocals on the album feature emotional crooning , alto vocals, a guttural cadence, a melodic flow , and a larger emphasis on singing than on Thank Me Later . In comparison to his debut album, Drake revealed that
13366-470: The album's production with murky beats, dark synth layers, atmospheric keyboards, moody guitar sounds, smooth piano, muffled drums, dramatic flourishes, and low-pass filters . Although he is credited as producer for only eight of the album's 17 songs, Shebib also served as audio engineer and mix engineer on the album. His production for the album is characteristic of the Toronto hip hop scene, which experienced
13529-503: The album. If a pop or rock album contained tracks released separately as commercial singles , they were conventionally placed in particular positions on the album. During the sixties, particularly in the UK, singles were generally released separately from albums. Today, many commercial albums of music tracks feature one or more singles, which are released separately to radio, TV or the Internet as
13692-739: The all-star charity single for African Famine Relief, " We Are the World ", and he was part of another charity single the following year (1986), the AIDS -inspired " That's What Friends Are For ". He played harmonica on the album Dreamland Express by John Denver in the song "If Ever", a song Wonder co-wrote with Stephanie Andrews; wrote the track "I Do Love You" for the Beach Boys ' 1985 self-titled album ; and played harmonica on " Can't Help Lovin' That Man " on The Broadway Album by Barbra Streisand . In 1987, Wonder appeared on Michael Jackson 's Bad album, on
13855-474: The amount of participation a band member can solicit from other members of their band, and still have the album referred to as a solo album. One reviewer wrote that Ringo Starr 's third venture, Ringo , "[t]echnically... wasn't a solo album because all four Beatles appeared on it". Three of the four members of the Beatles released solo albums while the group was officially still together. A performer may record
14018-510: The audience, comments by the performers between pieces, improvisation, and so on. They may use multitrack recording direct from the stage sound system (rather than microphones placed among the audience), and can employ additional manipulation and effects during post-production to enhance the quality of the recording. Notable early live albums include the double album of Benny Goodman , The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert , released in 1950. Live double albums later became popular during
14181-406: The best selling live albums are Eric Clapton 's Unplugged (1992), selling over 26 million copies, Garth Brooks ' Double Live (1998), over 21 million copies, and Peter Frampton 's Frampton Comes Alive! (1976), over 11 million copies. In Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , 18 albums were live albums. A solo album , in popular music , is an album recorded by
14344-494: The charts in a big way before Stevie turned twenty-one [in 1971]. Because he's grown up fast, the love lyrics are less teen-specific than a lot of early Smokey , say, but the music is pure puberty . Stevie's rockers are always one step ahead of themselves—their gawky groove is so disorienting it makes you pay attention, like a voice that's perpetually changing. The ballads conceive coming of age more conventionally, and less felicitously. But he sure covered Tony Bennett better than
14507-423: The children's television show Sesame Street that aired in April 1973, Wonder and his band performed "Superstition", as well as an original called "Sesame Street Song", which demonstrated his abilities with television. Wonder's studio album Innervisions , released in 1973, featured " Higher Ground " (No. 4 on the pop charts) as well as the trenchant " Living for the City " (No. 8). Both songs reached No. 1 on
14670-463: The creative direction of the album and will be featured on the album as well. Drake also revealed that the album was recorded mainly in Toronto . Debating whether to submit his final cut or not, Drake's preferred release date that motivated him to create a "Birthday edition", much like a deluxe edition to be released on the iTunes Store . Canadian singer The Weeknd stated in a 2013 interview that half of
14833-414: The duet "Just Good Friends". Jackson also sang a duet with him entitled "Get It" on Wonder's 1987 album Characters . This was a minor hit single, as were "Skeletons" and "You Will Know". Wonder played harmonica on a remake of his own song, "Have a Talk with God" (from Songs in the Key of Life in 1976), on Jon Gibson 's album Body & Soul (1989). Wonder continued to release new material, but at
14996-547: The early 1900s, the typical 10-inch disc could only hold about three minutes of sound per side, so almost all popular recordings were limited to around three minutes in length. Classical-music and spoken-word items generally were released on the longer 12-inch 78s, playing around 4–5 minutes per side. For example, in 1924, George Gershwin recorded a drastically shortened version of his new seventeen-minute composition Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. The recording
15159-634: The early 1970s. On August 6, 1973, Wonder was injured in a serious automobile accident while on tour in North Carolina , when a car in which he was riding hit the back of a truck. This left him in a coma for four days and resulted in a partial loss of his sense of smell and a temporary loss of sense of taste. Despite orders from his doctor to refrain from performing, Wonder performed at a homecoming benefit for Shaw University in Raleigh , in November 1973. Shaw
15322-456: The early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records (78s) collected in a bound book resembling a photo album ; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm . The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era . Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in
15485-506: The early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78s were bundled in book-like albums (one side of a 78 rpm record could hold only about 3.5 minutes of sound). When LP records were introduced, a collection of pieces or songs on a single record was called an "album"; the word was extended to other recording media such as compact disc, MiniDisc , compact audio cassette, 8-track tape and digital albums as they were introduced. An album (Latin albus , white), in ancient Rome,
15648-428: The episode "A Touch of Wonder", where he demonstrated his ability to sample. The following year's In Square Circle featured the No. 1 pop hit " Part-Time Lover ". The album also has a Top 10 Hit with "Go Home". It also featured the ballad " Overjoyed ", which was originally written for Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" , but did not make the album. He performed "Overjoyed" on Saturday Night Live when he
15811-612: The field – as with early blues recordings, in prison, or with a mobile recording unit such as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio . Most albums are studio albums —that is, they are recorded in a recording studio with equipment meant to give those overseeing the recording as much control as possible over the sound of the album. They minimize external noises and reverberations and have highly sensitive microphones and sound mixing equipment. Band members may record their parts in separate rooms or at separate times, listening to
15974-491: The first decade of the 2000s. Most albums are recorded in a studio , although they may also be recorded in a concert venue , at home, in the field, or a mix of places. The time frame for completely recording an album varies between a few hours to several years. This process usually requires several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or " mixed " together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in
16137-797: The first time he had toured Europe in more than a decade. His opening show was at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham , in the English Midlands . During the tour, he played eight UK gigs; four at the O2 Arena in London (filmed in HD and subsequently released as a live-in-concert release on DVD and Blu-Ray, Live At Last ), two in Birmingham and two at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester . Wonder's other stop in
16300-445: The first to ponder such dim realities ... Take Care , however, raises the stakes by fully dwelling in that discomfort zone where not just sex, but every personal exchange — with admirers, among friends, within a family — starts to feel like a financial transaction. Extending the mood of his self-doubt takes Drake beyond the realm of self-pity, offering a critique of the very culture that's created him as an artist. — Ann Powers , on
16463-494: The form of a prototype. Compact Cassettes became especially popular during the 1980s after the advent of the Sony Walkman , which allowed the person to control what they listened to. The Walkman was convenient because of its size, the device could fit in most pockets and often came equipped with a clip for belts or pants. The compact cassette used double-sided magnetic tape to distribute music for commercial sale. The music
16626-480: The form of boxed sets, although in that case the work is still usually considered to be an album. Material (music or sounds) is stored on an album in sections termed tracks. A music track (often simply referred to as a track) is an individual song or instrumental recording. The term is particularly associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks; the term is also used for other formats such as EPs and singles . When vinyl records were
16789-415: The front cover and liner notes on the back or inside cover. Most albums included three or four records, with two sides each, making six or eight compositions per album. By the mid-1930s, record companies had adopted the album format for classical music selections that were longer than the roughly eight minutes that fit on both sides of a classical 12" 78 rpm record. Initially the covers were plain, with
16952-474: The group Little Brother (who is a major influence on his career). The track was made for Take Care , but did not make it for the album, due to an issue he had with the producer. Drake admits in an interview to "dropping the ball" on the project and is optimistic about a future collaboration with Phonte. Another planned collaboration that never came to fruition would have featured Justin Timberlake . Reflecting on
17115-563: The historic " Wonder Dream Concert " in Kingston , Jamaica, a benefit for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind. In 1975, he played harmonica on two tracks on Billy Preston 's album It's My Pleasure . By 1975, at the age of 25, Wonder had won two consecutive Grammy Awards : in 1974 for Innervisions and in 1975 for Fulfillingness' First Finale . In 1976, when Paul Simon won the Album of
17278-477: The hit " It's a Shame " for fellow Motown act the Spinners . His contribution was meant to be a showcase of his talent and thus a weapon in his ongoing negotiations with Gordy about creative autonomy. Reaching his 21st birthday on May 13, 1971, Wonder allowed his Motown contract to expire. During this period, Wonder independently recorded two albums and signed a new contract with Motown Records. The 120-page contract
17441-514: The instrumental parts himself. Music of My Mind marked the beginning of a long collaboration with Tonto's Expanding Head Band ( Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil ), and with lyricist Yvonne Wright . Released in late 1972, Wonder's album Talking Book featured the No. 1 hit " Superstition ", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. Talking Book also featured " You Are
17604-533: The line between singing and rhyming", adding that he "makes his rhymes sound conversational, matter of fact, like he's talking to the listener one-one-one". Tim Sendra of AllMusic notes that his "introspective tone [...] is only rarely punctured by aggressive tracks, boasts, and/or come-ons." Drake's persona on songs shows traits of sincerity, self-doubt, regret, passive-aggressiveness, and self-absorption. Kazeem Famuyide of The Source explains his conflicted persona as being "arrogant enough to know his place as one of
17767-429: The little dramas he designs." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called it "an album of eccentric black pop that takes" hip hop and R&B "as starting points, asks what they can do but haven't been doing, then attempts those things. In the future an album like this will be commonplace; today, it's radical." With Take Care , he named Drake "hip-hop's current center of gravity". According to Metacritic , Take Care
17930-426: The low-tempo, sensuous, and dark sonic aesthetic of Thank Me Later . Primarily a hip hop album, it has a languid, grandiose production that incorporates R&B , pop , electronica , and post-dubstep styles. The music is typified by an atmospheric sound, muted textures, slow tempos , subtle chords , melodic synth tracks, low-end grooves , and sparse, ambient arrangements. Noah "40" Shebib contributed to most of
18093-479: The mid-1960s to the late 1970s when the Compact Cassette format took over. The format is regarded as an obsolete technology, and was relatively unknown outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation , along with Ampex , Ford Motor Company , General Motors , Motorola , and RCA Victor Records . It
18256-421: The most acclaimed and influential musicians of the 20th century, he is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B , pop , soul , gospel , funk , and jazz . A virtual one-man band , Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B . He also helped drive such genres into
18419-516: The most recognizable and accomplished albums in pop music history. The album became the first by an American artist to debut straight at No. 1 in the Billboard charts, where it stood for 14 non-consecutive weeks. Two tracks became No. 1 Pop/R&B hits: " I Wish " and " Sir Duke ". The baby-celebratory " Isn't She Lovely ?" was written about his newborn daughter Aisha, while songs such as " Love's in Need of Love Today " and "Village Ghetto Land" reflected
18582-547: The most successful artist in hip-hop, and comfortable enough to realize his own faults in his personal life." Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone writes that Drake "collapse[s] many moods – arrogance, sadness, tenderness and self-pity – into one vast, squish-souled emotion." Kevin Ritchie of NOW notes "an overwhelming sense of alienation, and sadness" on Take Care , calling it "an idiosyncratic, aggressively self-conscious and occasionally sentimental album". The first track Drake released
18745-481: The name of the selection and performer in small type. In 1938, Columbia Records hired the first graphic designer in the business to design covers, others soon followed and colorful album covers cover became an important selling feature. By the later '30s, record companies began releasing albums of previously released recordings of popular music in albums organized by performer, singers or bands, or by type of music, boogie-woogie , for example. When Columbia introduced
18908-577: The occasion of his 35th birthday, Stevie Wonder was honored by the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid for his stance against racism in South Africa that same year (1985). The album also featured a guest appearance by Dionne Warwick , singing the duet "It's You" with Stevie and a few songs of her own. Following the success of the album and its lead single, Wonder made an appearance on The Cosby Show , in
19071-443: The other parts of the track with headphones to keep the timing right. In the 2000s, with the advent of digital recording , it became possible for musicians to record their part of a song in another studio in another part of the world, and send their contribution over digital channels to be included in the final product. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing or multi-tracking are termed "live", even when done in
19234-438: The other parts using headphones ; with each part recorded as a separate track . Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of the recording, and lyrics or librettos . Historically, the term "album" was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage, the word was used for collections of short pieces of printed music from
19397-414: The other. The user would stack the two records onto the spindle of an automatic record changer, with side 1 on the bottom and side 2 (on the other record) on top. Side 1 would automatically drop onto the turntable and be played. When finished, the tone arm's position would trigger a mechanism which moved the arm out of the way, dropped the record with side 2, and played it. When both records had been played,
19560-478: The paper cover in small type were the words "Record Album". Now records could be stored vertically with the record not touching the shelf, and the term was applied to the collection. In the early nineteenth century, "album" was occasionally used in the titles of some classical music sets, such as Robert Schumann 's Album for the Young Opus 68, a set of 43 short pieces. With the advent of 78 rpm records in
19723-429: The prevalence of European dance influences in mainstream music. Los Angeles Times writer Todd Martens views that the album's mood and style are modelled after Kanye West 's 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak . Other producers' tracks are more up-tempo and shift from the melancholic mood of Shebib's production. Songs on the album are lengthy, sonically expansive, and accompanied by playful interludes. Lauren Carter of
19886-406: The primary medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves and many album covers or sleeves included numbers for the tracks on each side. On a compact disc the track number is indexed so that a player can jump straight to the start of any track. On digital music stores such as iTunes the term song is often used interchangeably with track regardless of whether there
20049-432: The publishers of photograph albums. Single 78 rpm records were sold in a brown heavy paper sleeve with a large hole in the center so the record's label could be seen. The fragile records were stored on their sides. By the mid-1920s, photo album publishers sold collections of empty sleeves of heavier paper in bound volumes with stiff covers slightly larger than the 10" popular records. (Classical records measured 12".) On
20212-404: The record industry as a standard format for the "album". Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, it has remained the standard format for vinyl albums. The term "album" was extended to other recording media such as 8-track tape , cassette tape , compact disc , MiniDisc , and digital albums, as they were introduced. As part of
20375-452: The release and distribution Compact Discs . The 2010s saw a revival of Compact Cassettes by independent record labels and DIY musicians who preferred the format because of its difficulty to share over the internet . The compact disc format replaced both the vinyl record and the cassette as the standard for the commercial mass-market distribution of physical music albums. After the introduction of music downloading and MP3 players such as
20538-448: The smaller 45 rpm format later in 1948 disrupted Columbia's expectations. By the mid-1950s, 45s dominated the singles market and 12" LPs dominated the album market and both 78s and 10" LPs were discontinued. In the 1950s albums of popular music were also issued on 45s, sold in small heavy paper-covered "gate-fold" albums with multiple discs in sleeves or in sleeves in small boxes. This format disappeared around 1960. Sinatra's "The Voice"
20701-624: The social problems of the world", and for the lyrics "to mean something". The album was released at around the same time as Marvin Gaye 's What's Going On . As both albums had similar ambitions and themes, they have been compared; in a contemporaneous review by Vince Aletti in Rolling Stone , Gaye's was seen as successful, while Wonder's was seen as failing due to "self-indulgent and cluttered" production, "undistinguished" and "pretentious" lyrics, and an overall lack of unity and flow. Also in 1970, Wonder co-wrote (and played numerous instruments on)
20864-461: The song's unexpected success, prompting it was released as a digital and radio single on July 22, 2011, and would be on Take Care . " Trust Issues " was then released shortly after on his blog, but was confirmed not to be on the album via Drake's Twitter. He explained that the song was an idea he had from I'm On One and made it "just for fun." However, in an interview, Drake stated that Trust Issues, along with Dreams Money Can Buy, would be included in
21027-546: The songs featured on Conversation Peace , and he would describe in a 1995 interview the powerful impact his visit to that country had: "I'd only been there for 18 hours when I decided I'd eventually move there permanently." In 1994, as co-chair of Panafest that year, he headlined a concert at the National Theatre in Accra . Among his other activities, Wonder played harmonica on the track " Deuce " (sung by Lenny Kravitz ) for
21190-507: The soundtrack. A piano and vocal version of "Feeding Off The Love of the Land" was also released on the Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal compilation. Conversation Peace and the live album Natural Wonder were released in the 1990s. In 1992, Wonder went to perform at Panafest , a new international festival of music held biennially in Ghana ; it was during this trip that he composed many of
21353-511: The theme of wealth, NPR The album's subject matter expands on Thank Me Later ' s theme of ambivalence and conflicted feelings toward fame. Drake's lyrics on Take Care address failed romances, missed connections , relationship with friends and family, maintaining balance with growing wealth and fame, concerns about leading a hollow life, the passage of young adulthood, and despondency. The album's slower songs generally explore themes of loneliness, heartbreak, and mistrust. The topic of women
21516-730: The title Eivets Rednow , which is "Stevie Wonder" spelled backward. The album failed to get much attention, and its only single, a cover of Burt Bacharach's and Hal David's " Alfie ", only reached number 66 on the U.S. Pop charts and number 11 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts. Nonetheless, he managed to score several hits between 1967 and 1970 such as " I Was Made to Love Her ", " For Once in My Life " and " Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours ". A number of Wonder's early hits, including " My Cherie Amour ", "I Was Made to Love Her", and "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", were co-written with Henry Cosby . The hit single " Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours "
21679-455: The tour's European leg also found him performing in the Netherlands (Rotterdam), Sweden (Stockholm), Germany (Cologne, Mannheim and Munich), Norway (Hamar), France (Paris), Italy (Milan) and Denmark (Aalborg). Wonder also toured Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane) and New Zealand (Christchurch, Auckland and New Plymouth) in October and November. His 2010 tour included
21842-483: The tracks he had written for his 2011 debut mixtape House of Balloons did happen to end up on Take Care . The singer said he “gave up almost half of [his] album” but that he is “thankful” because he would not know where he would be if it “wasn’t for the light [Drake] shined on [him].” Drake and the album's producer Noah "40" Shebib claimed the statement to be false. Several producers were revealed to be working with Drake on Take Care other than Noah "40" Shebib (who
22005-421: The unreleased song, Drake remarked: "It was solid, a solid little look. But he's so immersed in the acting thing, and I don't blame him, he's doing great at it. He was just like, 'I really want to work. I just can't do it right now. But we'll work as soon as I'm back in the studio.'" They later collaborated on the song " Cabaret " for Timberlake's 2013 album The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2 . Take Care expands on
22168-461: The user would pick up the stack, turn it over, and put them back on the spindle—sides 3 and 4 would then play in sequence. Record changers were used for many years of the LP era, but eventually fell out of use. 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8: commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology popular in the United States from
22331-423: Was "Dreams Money Can Buy" on May 20, 2011, through his October's Very Own blog. Drake mentioned this song was "A Story of Dreams, mixed with reality," and that this was not his first single off the album but that it would be included on Take Care . On June 9, 2011, a second track titled " Marvins Room " was released via his blog. Drake initially stated that the song would not be featured on Take Care , but because of
22494-514: Was 13, making him the youngest solo artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His "classic period" began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book , the latter featuring " Superstition ", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in
22657-455: Was a No. 1 pop and R&B hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, where it was placed 13th in the list of best-selling singles in the UK published in 2002. It went on to win an Academy award for best song in 1985. Wonder accepted the award in the name of Nelson Mandela and was subsequently banned from all South African radio by the Government of South Africa . Incidentally, on
22820-452: Was a board chalked or painted white, on which decrees, edicts, and other public notices were inscribed in black. It was from this that in medieval and modern times, album came to denote a book of blank pages in which verses, autographs, sketches, photographs and the like are collected. This in turn led to the modern meaning of an album as a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item. The first audio albums were actually published by
22983-492: Was a further development of the similar Stereo-Pak four-track cartridge created by Earl "Madman" Muntz . A later quadraphonic version of the format was announced by RCA in April 1970 and first known as Quad-8, then later changed to just Q8. The Compact Cassette was a popular medium for distributing pre-recorded music from the early 1970s to the early 2000s. The first "Compact Cassette" was introduced by Philips in August 1963 in
23146-517: Was a precedent at Motown and gave Wonder a much higher royalty rate. He returned to Motown in March 1972 with Music of My Mind . Unlike most previous albums on Motown, which usually consisted of a collection of singles, B-sides and covers, Music of My Mind was a full-length artistic statement with songs flowing together thematically. Wonder's lyrics dealt with social, political, and mystical themes as well as standard romantic ones, while musically he began exploring overdubbing and recording most of
23309-470: Was a rushed album, stating, "I didn't get to take the time that I wanted to on that record. I rushed a lot of the songs and sonically I didn't get to sit with the record and say, 'I should change this verse.' [...] Once it was done, it was done. That's why my new album is called Take Care because I get to take my time this go-round." Drake mentioned after OVO Fest 2011 that Take Care could have up to 18 songs on it, and added that Stevie Wonder contributed to
23472-553: Was aged 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. The single was simultaneously No. 1 on the R&B chart, the first time that had occurred. His next few recordings were not successful; his voice was changing as he got older, and some Motown executives were considering cancelling his recording contract. During 1964, Wonder appeared in two films as himself, Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach , but these were not successful either. Sylvia Moy persuaded label owner Berry Gordy to give Wonder another chance. Dropping
23635-409: Was also named as a longlisted nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize on June 14, 2012. In 2012, Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade. Take Care won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 55th Grammy Awards . In October 2013, Complex named it the fourth-best hip hop album of the last five years. In January 2015, Billboard named it the sixth-best album of
23798-743: Was facing financial difficulties, so Wonder, who was a member of the university's board of trustees, rallied other acts including Exuma , LaBelle , and the Chambers Brothers to join the concert, which raised more than $ 10,000 for the school's scholarship fund. Wonder embarked on a European tour in early 1974, performing in France at the Midem convention in Cannes , in England at the Rainbow Theatre in London, and on
23961-478: Was handled by Boi-1da and Noah "40" Shebib ; it was released to radio and iTunes on August 9, 2011. "Headlines" debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 98 on the Billboard 's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. " Make Me Proud " featuring Nicki Minaj , was released through Drake's blog on October 13, 2011, as the album's third single. The song was produced by T-Minus and Kromatik . It
24124-500: Was his first-ever self-produced song. In 1969, Wonder participated in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Se tu ragazzo mio", in conjunction with Gabriella Ferri . Between 1967 and 1970, he recorded four 45 rpm singles and an Italian LP. Wonder's appearance at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival opens the 2021 music documentary, Summer of Soul . Wonder plays a drum solo during his set. In September 1970, at
24287-460: Was interested in pursuing an intraocular retinal prosthesis to partially restore his sight. In 2000, Wonder contributed two new songs to the soundtrack for Spike Lee 's Bamboozled album ("Misrepresented People" and "Some Years Ago"). Wonder continues to record and perform; though mainly occasional appearances and guest performances, he did do two tours, and released one album of new material, 2005's A Time to Love . In June 2006, Wonder made
24450-399: Was issued in 1952 on two extended play 45s, with two songs on each side, in both packagings. The 10-inch and 12-inch LP record (long play), or 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. A single LP record often had the same or similar number of tunes as a typical album of 78s, and it was adopted by
24613-508: Was issued on both sides of a single record, Victor 55225 and ran for 8m 59s. By 1910, though some European record companies had issued albums of complete operas and other works, the practice of issuing albums was not widely taken up by American record companies until the 1920s. By about 1910, bound collections of empty sleeves with a paperboard or leather cover, similar to a photograph album, were sold as record albums that customers could use to store their records (the term "record album"
24776-514: Was leaked online. On October 8, 2011, Drake announced on his OVO blog that Take Care would be pushed back until November 15 because of three sample clearances (" Take Care ", "Cameras", and "Practice"). It was originally to be released on his 25th birthday, October 24, 2011. The Club Paradise Tour was revealed to start in November on Twitter. However, it was revealed that the tour was delayed until after Christmas/New Year break so Drake could perform at more schools. A chopped and screwed version of
24939-609: Was named one of 2011's best albums, and subsequently one of the best albums of the 2010s, by several publications. It won Drake his first Grammy Award , winning Best Rap Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards . In 2020, the album was ranked 95th on Rolling Stone ' s updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . In 2010, Drake released his debut album Thank Me Later , continuing his creative partnership with record producer and audio engineer Noah "40" Shebib , who had first introduced his distinct sound on Drake's breakthrough mixtape So Far Gone (2009). Thank Me Later became
25102-642: Was not on the album. 9th states that was a part of the reason, because he was going through an A&R and playing beats for them as opposed to the artist himself, which he is opposed to. Drake had also been planning on having Q-Tip , DJ Premier , and the Neptunes as producers on the album, but those projects fell through as well. Several artists were confirmed as collaborators with Drake on Take Care consist of Stevie Wonder , Kendrick Lamar , Chantal Kreviazuk , André 3000 , Rick Ross , Lil Wayne , Nicki Minaj and Rihanna . He had initially reached out to Phonte of
25265-462: Was printed on some covers). These albums came in both 10-inch and 12-inch sizes. The covers of these bound books were wider and taller than the records inside, allowing the record album to be placed on a shelf upright, like a book, suspending the fragile records above the shelf and protecting them. In the 1930s, record companies began issuing collections of 78s by one performer or of one type of music in specially assembled albums, typically with artwork on
25428-476: Was recorded and released in May 1963 as the album Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius . A single, " Fingertips ", from the album was also released in May, and became a major hit. The song, featuring a confident and enthusiastic Wonder returning for a spontaneous encore that catches out the replacement bass player, who is heard to call out "What key? What key?", was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when Wonder
25591-413: Was recorded first, when Wonder was still 11 years old. Mainly covers of Ray Charles 's songs, the album included a Wonder and Paul composition, "Sunset". The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie was recorded next, an instrumental album consisting mainly of Paul's compositions, two of which, "Wondering" and "Session Number 112", were co-written with Wonder. Feeling Wonder was now ready, a song, "Mother Thank You",
25754-739: Was recorded for release as a single, but then pulled and replaced by the Berry Gordy song "I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It the Blues" as his début single; released summer 1962, it almost broke into the Billboard 100, spending one week of August at 101. Two follow-up singles, "Little Water Boy" and "Contract on Love", both had no success, and the two albums, released in reverse order of recording— The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie in September 1962 and Tribute to Uncle Ray in October 1962—also met with little success. Most of these songs hit
25917-510: Was released to iTunes on October 16, 2011. The song peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album's fourth single, " The Motto " featuring Lil Wayne , impacted rhythmic radio and urban radio stations on November 29, 2011. It was re-released to rhythmic radio on January 10, 2012. It officially impacted Top 40/Mainstream radio on April 10, 2012. The single debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100, with first-week sales of 124,000 copies. It has since sold over 3 million copies in
26080-528: Was signed by Motown in 1961, his surname was legally changed to Morris, which (according to Lula Mae Hardaway's authorized biography) was an old family name. Berry Gordy was responsible for creating the stage name of "Little Stevie Wonder". Wonder attended Fitzgerald Elementary School in Detroit. After his first album was released, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie (1962), he enrolled in Michigan School for
26243-462: Was the host. He was also featured in Chaka Khan 's cover of Prince 's " I Feel For You ", alongside Melle Mel , playing his signature harmonica. In roughly the same period he was also featured on harmonica on Eurythmics ' single " There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart) " and Elton John 's " I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues ". Wonder was in a featured duet with Bruce Springsteen on
26406-546: Was the ninth-highest-ranked album in year-end top 10 lists by music critics, based on 135 lists. It was named the best album of 2012 by the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times , and was ranked number three by Now and MTV , number four by Slate , number five by Billboard and The Washington Post , number seven by Fact , number eight by The Globe and Mail , NPR, and Pitchfork , number 14 by Slant Magazine , and number 22 by Rolling Stone and Spin . It
26569-402: Was to be released that night, as well. Later that night he released a remix of Waka Flocka Flame's " Round of Applause ". On September 23, 2011, Drake released the official album cover to Take Care . With a striking resemblance, the album cover is likely inspired by Labi Siffre's 1975 album, Remember My Song . On October 20, 2011, an unfinished version of "The Real Her" featuring only Lil Wayne
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