Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing: Stevie Wonder Vs Jacob Collier

Stevie Wonder and Jacob Collier: two artists who, although generations apart, are more similar than I had originally realized. This essay will examine the correlation between their careers, musical styles, lyrical complexity, and historical impact as musicians and artists in pop culture and the music business in both the 20th and 21st centuries. The first example of this correlation has already appeared; the title. The title of this essay is that of a song; a song that connects the two. While “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” may have been just another hit song to the likes of Stevie Wonder, to Jacob Collier it was the beginning of something greater. To start, let’s talk about arguably one of the greatest R&B artists that has ever lived; Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950. A multi-instrumentalist, and blind from birth, he quickly became a huge success after “Fingertips, Part 2”, his first single he recorded at the age of 12 when he was still under the name “Little Stevie Wonder”, went straight to number 1 on the Billboard pop charts in 1963. Between the years of 1963 and 1988, not a year went by where a single released by Wonder didn’t make the Billboard pop charts. At 21, he completely re-negotiated his contract with Berry Gordy and Motown records, demanding creative control saying “I’m going to have things my own way… I’m 21 now, I’m not gonna do what you say anymore.” It was then he gained complete control over his finances. Just prior to his 21st birthday, however, he married Syreeta Wright, a skilled lyricist and performer who helped co-write one of his biggest early hits, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours”. Throughout his career, and as of 2019, Stevie Wonder has earned 25 Grammy Awards and over 70 Grammy nominations. He still remains an active performer and musician to this day.

On top of being a phenomenal keyboardist, vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer (ok let’s be honest there’s not a whole lot he doesn’t do), Stevie Wonder is also a known social and political activist. He talks about real and intense subjects in some of his songs such as the ghetto, racism and being spiritual. He addresses these issues in pieces he wrote for Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever, and also on his album Conversation Peace released in 1995. Stevie also played a vital role in ensuring that Martin Luther King Jr Day was a national holiday, as well as advocated for the awareness of AIDS, gun control in the US, and South African apartheid. The more research you do into Stevie Wonder, the more you realize the love and soul doesn’t stop with his music. There are so many artists out there that could be compared to Stevie Wonder in a variety of ways, be it their activism, musicality, showmanship, etc. However, I chose Jacob Collier because they are incredibly similar in more ways than people may realize. Like Stevie, Jacob got his start at a young age. He is from London, born to parents who were both incredible musicians, and he took classical singing lessons from ages 8 to 13. At age 18, however, his career took off when he posted a cover of “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” by none other than Stevie Wonder. His video depicts him in 6 separate frames, singing the song and vocally overlapping harmonies. At one point, it zooms out to show him playing 22 different things all stacked on top of each other. This caught the eye of his, now manager, Quincy Jones, who hired him onto his record label Qwest Records where he then, like Stevie often did, played every instrument himself for the recording of his debut album In My Room.

Being a multi-instrumentalist, his musicianship and skills have been an inspiration to many people across the world. Especially so for former PhD student at MIT, Ben Bloomberg. Bloomberg and Collier collaborated to create a method in which Jacob could use his multi-instrument layering and looping techniques, and transfer them into a live performance setting. This performance method would debut at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 2015 where he opened for the legendary Herbie Hancock. Although he does not use this method of performance anymore, he is still very much a collaborative artists as he has performed with the likes of Snarky Puppy and even film score composer Hans Zimmer. When it comes to discussing songs, I could write an entire other paper on the songs of Stevie Wonder, but I am instead going to focus on “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”. “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” was written by Stevie Wonder in 1973 and was featured on the album Innervisions (1973). Innervisions as an album covers a lot of problems occurring in society like racism, violence, and corruption, another reason why it is so valid today in covers like Tori Kelly’s or Jacob Collier’s, because we are still suffering the same troubles in society. The upbeat, Latin-style sound of this track provides an upbeat and optimistic message of the title, “don’t you worry ‘bout a thing”. This message would have been important during this time due to the violence associated with the war in Vietnam, and the seemingly never-ending racial tension in America post-civil rights movement.

“Isn’t She Lovely”, while still upbeat and uplifting, has a much more personal and charming tone to it. This song was written in celebration of the birth of Stevie’s daughter, Aisha. Written in 1976 for his album Songs in the Key of Life, he praises the mother of his child, Yolanda Simmons, in the lyrics “Londi it could have not been done, without you who conceived the one”. Towards the end of the song, after a brilliantly improvised harmonica solo by Wonder, you can hear audio of him and his daughter during what is more than likely bath-time, giving the listener a quick insight into his personal connection with the song. Jacob Collier has also written his share of original works. Both of the songs I will be talking about on his end are from his 2016 album In My Room. In his song “Down the Line”, he sings, “if you’re lost now, maybe I could help you along and sing you a song and move you on.” This is meant to be a slightly uplifting message and also semi-reflective of his journey in life of singing songs and moving on “down the line”; staying positive and keeping watch for new opportunities for growth and excitement. This song in particular can be compared to Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” due to its subtle but uplifting message, and also its Latin feel in the music; it even has a chorus in Spanish.

The other song I chose for Jacob Collier is his song “In the Real Early Morning”. This piece is beautiful start to finish, lyrically and musically. Lyrically, it is similar to “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder in that there is a clear sense of enamoring between the perspective of the singer and the person or being they are singing to/about; a deep fascination and maybe even love. However, in contrast to Wonder’s song, this song seems to be taking the perspective of longing for something either lost or out of reach as opposed to new and welcomed. There is the same sense of passion and love in both songs, but presented in very different ways both musically and contextually, making the two songs a fascinating comparison indeed. When it comes to these two musicians, nothing less than the word incredible should be used when describing their talents. They have a deeper and more detailed, elegant, and invested understanding of music than any other artists I know of. One thing that shows through in both of these artist’s music is their love and joy they share in making it. Both Collier and Wonder specialize in similar genres, Jazz fusion, pop, and R&B, with lots of keyboards, bass, drums, and harmonica (although Collier switches this out for a melodica). They both play an insane amount of instruments, and most of the time looping them over each other in their album or studio recordings. When I compare the two of them, it really comes down to texture.

Stevie Wonder has a way of making complex riffs and compositions sound simple and clean. Jacob Collier on the other hand, makes what some people would typically view as a simple song, such as the theme from the TV cartoon Flintstones, and turn it into something outrageous, highly technical, and brilliantly arranged. Sometimes, this can actually be a negative thing for Jacob. Although it didn’t hurt him for his arrangement of “Flintstones”, as it won him a Grammy, his overly complex arrangements and arguably over-use of jazz harmonies and techniques, can sometimes just make his songs too busy. There are times when Jacob Collier songs take active listening and active thinking to enjoy. Alternatively, I can turn best of Stevie Wonder on shuffle and jam out to “Superstition” any time of day. To put it bluntly, Stevie Wonder is to easy listening, as Jacob Collier is to full-fledged sonata. A perfect example of this busyness I am referring to can be found in Collier’s video collaboration with Tori Kelly for “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. He layers 8 separate harmonies over top of her melody and at times it is hard to listen to. You can’t help but think to yourself “…I THINK this is good?” Now, all this to say I still firmly believe Jacob Collier is a phenomenal musician, but in direct comparison to Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonder has the same creative control Jacob does, yet shows restraint to create masterfully balanced works of art.

When it comes to the historical significance of the two artists, I think it is tough to compare just because of the age difference and generation gap. Stevie Wonder was (in his time) and still remains a huge success, while Jacob Collier is a great example of the pool of incredible musical talent this generation can offer. Quincy Jones said after one of Collier’s shows about the singer, 'I've been waiting for a young one like him for a long time man, he's an absolute genius,' and I think that is a good example of why artists like Collier are significant. They bring hope to the music business, as well as style, funk, and a breath of fresh air from the mainstream top pop we hear on the radio every day. One thing Jacob and Stevie both have in common that makes them special is their pure, undying love for the music.

In conclusion, Jacob Collier and Stevie Wonder are two artists with incredible gifts of being multi-instrumentalists, incredible collaborators, and dedicated musicians. Although generations apart, they each can create a sound that you can greatly appreciate for the complexity, or simplicity, that gives the listener a truly unique listening experience. The soul and passion comes through clearly in their work, and create art that future musicians can, should, and will aspire to achieve themselves.

Bibliography:

1. Werner, Craig Hansen. 2004. Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American Soul. 1st ed. New York: Crown.
2. Perone, James E. 2006. The Sound of Stevie Wonder: His Words and Music. The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.
3. Cawley, T. (2017, Aug 31). Jacob collier isn't the only wizard behind his one-man show. Boston Globe
4. Morrison, Allen. 2016. “In Jacob Collier's Room.” Down Beat 83 (9): 23–23.
5. Hum, Peter. 2017. “Youtuber Turned Performer; Jazz Prodigy Jacob Collier Reinvents the One-Man Band with One-Of-A-Kind Performances.” The Ottawa Citizen C.3: 3.
6. “Stevie Wonder – Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing.” 1973. Genius. August 3. https://genius.com/Stevie-wonder-dont-you-worry-bout-a-thing-lyrics.
7. Songfacts. 2019. “Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder.” Songfacts. Accessed April 26. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/stevie-wonder/isnt-she-lovely.
8. Gensler, Andy. 2016. “How Jacob Collier Is Blowing Minds With Help From YouTube & Quincy Jones.” Billboard. July 2. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7424005/jacob-collier-youtube-quincy-jones-in-my-room.
9. “Jacob Collier – Down the Line.” 2016. Genius. July 1. https://genius.com/Jacob-collier-down-the-line-lyrics.
10. “Jacob Collier – In the Real Early Morning.” 2016. Genius. July 1. https://genius.com/Jacob-collier-in-the-real-early-morning-lyrics.