Overjoyed (Stevie Wonder song)
| "Overjoyed" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||||||||
| from the album In Square Circle | ||||||||||
| B-side | Instrumental | |||||||||
| Released | 1985 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||||||||
| Genre | R&B | |||||||||
| Length | 3:41 | |||||||||
| Label | Tamla | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||||||||
| Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Overjoyed" is a 1985 hit single written and performed by American R&B singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder on the Tamla (Motown) label from his 1985 album In Square Circle. The single peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1986, remaining in the Top 40 for six weeks. In addition, "Overjoyed" was a No. 1 hit on the adult contemporary chart, the eighth (and, to date, last) of his career. An alternate single release featured an instrumental version on the B-side.
The song was written first for the 1979 album Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, but was left off the album, and re-recorded for the album In Square Circle. In the liner notes for the song, "crickets, nightingale & additional bird sounds, ocean, pebbles in pond, stone dropped, crushing leaves" are listed under "environmental percussion". The song was first performed live on the May 7, 1983 broadcast episode of Saturday Night Live, where Wonder was the host and musical guest.
Bassist Stanley Clarke recorded a cover for his 1986 album Hideaway. It was later covered by Diana Ross for her 1994 Christmas album, A Very Special Season, and by Mary J. Blige as a rare track on her Ballads collection released only in Japan, the latter version famously used in a mid-1990s Air Jordan commercial. Jane Monheit included a cover of the song in her 2007 album Surrender.
Bass virtuoso Victor Wooten included an instrumental cover of the song on his album A Show of Hands. In 2002, guitarist Blake Aaron covered the song on his album With Every Touch. The same year Belgian-French singer Viktor Lazlo recorded the song for her album Amour(s).
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