Superstition

“Superstition” is the sixth track from iconic American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder and his fifteenth studio album: “Talking Book”, released in October 1972.

“Superstition” was written by Wonder, as well as produced by him, along with Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff. The track talks about there being no need to be superstitious, or to have superstitions. In an interview with NPR Music in December 2000, Wonder went into depth about the track: “”I think that the reason that I talked about being superstitious is because I really didn’t believe in it. I didn’t believe in the different things that people say about breaking glasses or the number 13 is bad luck, and all those various things. And to those, I said, ‘When you believe in things you don’t understand, then you suffer.’” Wonder also stated that he imagined the whole track while being on tour with The Rolling Stones. “”I was sitting on the drums, and the first thing that I put down were the drums and then after that I put the Clavinet down, and really, I just starting singing the melody. Probably the first thing–the only thing I can remember that I said that I remember keeping was the line ‘Wash your face and hands.’ I think that was from when I was real little, I remember hearing this song saying ‘Get out of that bed, wash your face and hands.’ [It was the song] ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll.'”

There is no official music video for “Superstition”, but the audio of the track was uploaded to Stevie Wonder’s official YouTube channel in December 2018, and has almost 80,000 views. Alternatively, a YouTube user named “lozzagermain” uploaded the audio of the track in June 2009, and as of December 2019, the video has almost half a million likes and over 132 million views. “Superstition” has over 330.8 million Spotify plays and counting.

Release Date: 24th October 1972

Songwriter: Stevie Wonder

Producer/s: Stevie Wonder, Malcolm Cecil & Robert Margouleff

Label: Tamla

Chart Rankings, Certifications & Accolades: Within a year of its release, “Superstition” hit the peak chart positions in the following countries: #16 in Belgium, #6 in Canada, #21 in Germany, #10 in the Netherlands, #11 in the UK, #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B charts. It also ranked #38 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. “Superstition” is certified Gold in Denmark, and Platinum in Italy and the UK. In November 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #74 on their list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.

The lyrics to “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder can be accessed here: LINK