"Gotta Have You" is a 1991 song by American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. The song was the first release from the 1991

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the film ''

Jungle Fever ''Jungle Fever'' is a 1991 American romantic drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, ...

''. Wonder wrote the song, and co-produced it with Nathan Watts. It peaked at No. 3 in the Hot R&B/ Hip Hop chart, making it one of Wonder's very few Top 10s of the 90s.

Content and reception

James E. Perone wrote in ''The Sound of Stevie Wonder: His Words and Music'' that "it anticipates the regularly 6-minutes-plus songs of his next album, '' Conversation Peace''" and that it "is not one of Wonder's best-remembered compositions and recordings, but it does feature a fine funky, blues-infused lead vocal melody in the verses". In a review of the album,

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that "While the keyboard funk of 'Chemical Love,' 'Gotta Have You,' and 'Queen in the Black' doesn't sound new, it does sound alive, which is better than Wonder has sounded in years." A review in ''

Musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

'' was less favorable, calling it "generic, repetitive 70s-style

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

". Edwin Pouncey from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' commented, "An excerpt ..which finds him moving into a well rehearsed, but ultimately funkier groove than of late. I gave up paying attention to Stevie Wonder soon after he chose to share his piano stool with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, but "Gotta Have You" is a return to ''

Talking Book ''Talking Book'' is the fifteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, released on October 27, 1972, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. This album and '' Music of My Mind'', released earlier the same y ...

'' form...Well, almost."

B-side

The B-side, Feeding off the Love of the Land which featured in the films end credits was written during the Fulfillingness First Finale sessions but was shelved. It was updated with strings before its release.

Track listing

Per

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

. #"Gotta Have You" (Radio Edit) - 4:30 #"Gotta Have You" (Album Version) - 6:26 #"Gotta Have You" (Instrumental) - 4:48 #"Feeding Off the Love of the Land" - 5:55

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1991 singles 1991 songs Stevie Wonder songs Songs written by Stevie Wonder Motown singles Song recordings produced by Stevie Wonder