Latest / Drive with John Perlman / Randall's One Song - I Can See The Sun in Late December, by Stevie Wonder

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Randall's One Song - I Can See The Sun in Late December, by Stevie Wonder · Drive with John Perlman

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Randall's one song on 702 Drive with John Perlman. 702
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Drive with John Perlman.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Randall, I have to ask you, I mean, are you
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: going to, will you sit and watch a football match
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: or a match of any kind with someone who supports
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: the other team, especially in your house where you can't leave?
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: I've done it a few times, but I'm insufferable. So
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: good luck to them.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Word got out. Even if you extend invitations, people go, oh, sorry,
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: I'm actually busy. I'm going to be doing something. That's
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: a good way of doing it, actually. Let the word
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: get out just how unpleasant you might be, and then
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: the matter doesn't arise. Much more pleasant music. We're doing
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Stevie Wonder today, Roberta Flack track, if I'm not mistaken.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Such a vast body of music that this musical genius
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: has created. But you've picked one particular song today. Let's
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: hear why.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: So, John, it's the 50th anniversary of Stevie's double album,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Songs in the Key of Life, released on the 28th
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: of September, 1976. Not only was it a double album,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: people might forget that it also came with an extra EP,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: the original release. So that's how much music he had.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: He'd recorded it between 1974 and 1976. And it came
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: in the wake of other masterpieces, including Music of My Mind,
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Talking Book, and Inner Visions.
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: It is.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Clearly Stevie's golden period. I mean, it is a vein
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: of music that doesn't matter what you're into. If you're
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: into metal, go and listen to the albums from Music
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: of My Mind through to Songs in the Key of Life.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: In those four years, he was just absolutely incredible. He
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: was in fact... planning, a concert had in fact been
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: planned for him, he was going to give up the
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: music business to move to Ghana to help underprivileged people.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: And he then changed his mind, signed another contract with Motown,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: and of course the rest is history. But that album
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: was just so exploratory, big hit songs, and there was
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: just so much music that the song we're going to
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: listen to today has only been released 50 years later,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: four songs released on streaming, including this one. which, as
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: you say, went on to be a hit for Roberta Flack.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: And as I say, he'd written so much music, it
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: was almost like Prince in the 80s, as it were,
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: that there were too many songs for him to consume himself.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: So he handed it over to other musicians. And then,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: you know, if you go and listen to the EP,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: which is on all your favorite streaming services at the moment,
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: there are four songs. There are three others which are
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: pretty darn good, but were left off the album.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is amazing, that level of productivity. This has
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: just come out, even though it was written way, way, way,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: way back. This is Stevie Wonder. I can see the
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: sun in late December.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: I bet you you can't even see the sun. Oh,
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: but the sun is shining right before you.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: I bet you you can't even.
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: See yourself Cause when you're lost Sometimes yourself is hard to.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Find I.
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: Can see the sun in late December I see forgotten
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: treasures near the sea. Tides that defeat identity. Washing away
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: the beauty that was in your eyes. I can hear
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: the sounds you don't remember The sounds of birds and
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: trees and harmony Chords being blown by a tempered breeze
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: Making the perfect melody left behind I bet you you
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: can't even see the moon.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: Cause through your eyes, you.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: Only see the dark inside. I bet you can't wish
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: upon a star. Cause in your life, your pride has
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: pushed your dreams aside. I can see the sun in
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: late December. I see forgotten treasures near the sea.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: Tides that defeat identity.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: Washing away the beauty that I can hear the sounds
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: you don't remember. The sounds of birds and trees and harmony.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: Chords being blown by a gentle breeze. It's making the
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: earth get madder the way you left me high. The
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: sun is shining, the moon is shining. Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah.
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: Open your eyes. I can see the sun in late
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: December I see forgotten treasures near the sea Tides that
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: defeat identity.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: The sounds of Stevie Wonder just released EP material from
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: the work he did 50 years ago in producing that
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: quite remarkable, remarkable double album, Songs in the Key of Life. Randall,
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: we talk about so many musicians, and I think what's
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: wonderful about the conversations we have with you is you
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: give every musician we talk about their absolute due, but
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: then there are people like Stevie Wonder who just cast
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: such a huge shadow over their past and music's presence
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: and its future. I mean, where do you begin talking
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: about his influence? Quite a task.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, quite a task. I mean, let's not forget he
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: kicked off his career at Motown as little Stevie Wonder.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: He was a teenager. He plays mouth organ. He plays,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: you know, the amazing synthesizers on these albums from the 1970s.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: He was, in fact, one of the first musicians really
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: to incorporate synthesizers, you know, not just as a novelty,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: but really as the sound of his albums. Brilliant arranger.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: brilliant songwriter. His wife, Sarita, at the same time, same
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: kind of period, produced some great albums for her. It's just,
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: you know, absolutely remarkable. And let's not forget his singing voice. Yes.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: And the fact that he's actually on tour now, 50
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: years later, in celebration of this album.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is remarkable. By the way, if you want
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: to really dig deep and be absolutely drawn into how
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: extraordinary Stevie Wonder is, there is a podcast, I've mentioned
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: it before, I cannot recommend it enough. It's helmed by
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic Wesley Morris, produced actually by the
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: media company that Michelle and Barack Obama created, and it's
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: called The Wonder of Stevie. I think there's six or
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: seven episodes, but it is breathtakingly good. Whether you're a
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Stevie Wonder fan or you just are fascinated by music
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: and the process of creating it, really treat yourself. You'll
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: find it on Audible.com. You'll find it on most podcast
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: platforms like the Apple Podcast platform. I'm just looking at
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: that online. But that's truly, truly special if you want
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: to just learn something about the man, get a sense
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: of the music in its time and context. And there
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: are some fall-out-of-your-chair funny moments there. as they talk about
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: someone who is clearly or is clearly an amazing character.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: Randall's one song celebrating the work of Stevie Wonder as
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: we mark 50 years of the release of his double album,
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: Songs in the Key of Life. And Randall will be
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: back with us at the same time next Friday.