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Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" album, released in November of 1973, was a critically-acclaimed masterpiece. It was named 1974's album of the year, and won the corresponding "Grammy Award--as well as a second award for "Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording."
Very few albums have ever been so deserving. Not only did Stevie write, sing, and play nearly every instrument on the album--including some incredible work on the relatively new synthesizer--his lyrics were filled with relevant social commentary.
It topped Billboard's Soul Album Chart, and reached #4 on the overall Top 200 Album Chart.
One of the centerpieces of the album was the single "Living for the City." In addition to being a "Great Song," it was a very pointed look at racial discrimination.
The story: A young black man from the South looking for work and finding none, takes a bus to New York City hoping to find a new life.
He arrives and is immediately framed for a crime, arrested, convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The song is one of the very first to use sound effect sampling and dialogue to help drive the story, and for its time, is quite amazing.
The song easily went to #1 on Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Chart, and reached #8 on the Hot 100...and that in itself was even MORE amazing when you consider this:
The album version was more than 7 minutes long, but the single was cut down 3:41...and doesn't include ANY of the sound effects--or, in fact, any of the New York part of the story! (Granted, the "N" word is used once during that part, but it could easily have been "bleeped out."
Still, thanks to word of mouth, people searched for and found the long version on the album, which is another testament on how great the song was (is). They WANTED to hear it!
I've provided links to BOTH versions so you can hear just how much they differ. But either way, "Living for the City" is a "Great Song of 1973-74!
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