Uptight (Everything's Alright)

"Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label.^[2] One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single that Wonder himself co-wrote.

"Uptight (Everything's Alright)"
One of label variants for a US reissue
Single by Stevie Wonder
from the album Up-Tight
B-side	"Purple Rain Drops"
Released	November 22, 1965
Genre	Soul funk[1]
Length	2:52
Label	Tamla
Songwriter(s)	Stevie Wonder Sylvia Moy Henry Cosby
Producer(s)	Mickey Stevenson Henry Cosby
Stevie Wonder singles chronology
"Hi Heel Sneakers" (1965) "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" (1965) "Nothing's Too Good For My Baby" (1966)
Audio sample
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Audio
"Uptight (Everything's Alright)" by Stevie Wonder on YouTube

A notable success, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" peaked at number three on the US Billboard Pop Singles chart in early 1966, at the same time reaching the top of the Billboard R&B Singles chart for five weeks.^[3] Billboard ranked it as the 59th biggest American hit of 1966.^[4] An accompanying album, Up-Tight (1966), was rushed into production to capitalize on the single's success. It also garnered Wonder his first two career Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance.

Background

Wonder had a US number-one hit with "Fingertips" in 1963, and two more singles in the Top 40: "Workout, Stevie, Workout" (1963) and "Hey Harmonica Man" (1964) . But in 1965 at age 15 his voice had begun to change, and Motown CEO Berry Gordy was worried that he would no longer be a commercially viable artist. As it turned out, however, producer Clarence Paul found it easier to work with Wonder's now-mature tenor voice, and Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby set about writing a new song for the artist, based upon an instrumental riff that Wonder had devised.^[5] Nelson George, in Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound,^[6] recorded that Wonder had been inspired by the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" after playing several tour dates with the Stones. As Wonder presented his ideas, finished or not, "he went through everything," remembered Moy. "I asked, 'Are you sure you don't have anything else?' He started singing and playing 'Everything is alright, uptight.' That was as much as he had. I said, 'That's it. Let's work with that.'"^[7] The resulting song, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", features lyrics depicting a poor young man's appreciation for a rich girl seeing beyond his poverty.

On the day of the recording, Moy had completed the lyrics, but didn't have them in braille for Wonder to read, and so sang the song to him as he was recording it. She sang a line ahead of him, and he simply repeated the lines as he heard them. In 2008, Moy commented that "he never missed a beat" during the recording.^[8]

Cash Box described it as a "rhythmic, fast-moving, chorus backed pop-r&b ditty all about a lucky fella who’s got the world on a string."^[9]

Personnel

• Stevie Wonder – vocals, keyboards
• James Jamerson – bass
• Benny Benjamin – drums
• The Funk Brothers – additional instrumentation
• Johnny Allen – horn arrangement
• The Andantes – background vocals

^[10]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1965–1966) Peak position UK Singles Chart 14 US Billboard Hot 100 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles 1 US Cash Box Top 100[11] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1966) Rank U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 59 U.S. Cash Box[12] 12

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other notable versions

A note-for-note re-recording of Wonder's version was used as the backing track for Bill Cosby's 1967 musical comedy single, "Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)", which was a US number 4 hit. Bill Cosby is not related to the song's co-writer Henry Cosby.

In 1994, British reggae singer C. J. Lewis released a cover version under the title "Everything Is Alright (Uptight)".^[14] His version reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his second and final UK top-10 hit.^[15] It also entered the top 20 in Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.^[16][17]

References

1. Pitchfork Staff (August 18, 2006). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2022. It's all in this rich girl/poor boy tale: the freakish optimism, opulent funk...
2. Stevie Wonder interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1970)
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 635.
4. "Top 100 Hits of 1966/Top 100 Songs of 1966". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
5. "Stevie Wonder Page". Soulwalking.co.uk. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
6. George, Nelson. Where Did Our Love Go?: the rise & fall of the Motown sound By Nelson George. Omnibus Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7119-9511-7
7. Mojo Magazine, January 1996, p. 32.
8. Martin Freeman Goes to Motown, BBC television, January 6, 2009
9. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 11, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
10. Liner notes. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965, Hip-O Select – B0006755-02, August 4, 2006
11. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles (February 19, 1966)". Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
12. "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1966 (December 24, 1966)". Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
13. "British single certifications – Stevie Wonder – Uptight (Everythings Alright)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
14. "Single Releases". Music Week. July 9, 1994. p. 25.
15. "C J Lewis". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Everything Is Alright (Uptight)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
17. "CJ Lewis – Everything Is Alright (Uptight)". charts.nz. Retrieved February 17, 2023.