"Ribbon in the Sky" is a song by American singer Stevie Wonder. The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

was first featured on the 1982

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

, '' Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I'', and charted at No. 54 pop, No. 21 Adult Contemporary, and No. 10 R&B in the US when it was released. The song also charted in the United Kingdom, reaching #45. In February 1983, Wonder was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B V ...

at the

25th Grammy Awards The 25th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 1983, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to Toto for ''Toto IV'', and Song of the Year went to ...

. In 2009, ''Essence'' magazine included "Ribbon in the Sky" in their list of the "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time". Wonder performed a version of the song at

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

's funeral on February 18, 2012.

Cover versions

"Ribbon in the Sky" has been covered by

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

Intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...

, Boyz II Men, 2 Men 4 Soul, Hiroshima, Lloydie Crucial and

Ivete Sangalo Ivete Maria Dias de Sangalo (; born 27 May 1972) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, TV host, and occasional actress. She was on six albums with Banda Eva, and seven more solo albums. Sangalo is noted for her powerful voice, charisma and live pe ...

, as well as being sampled by

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

and featured in Diana Ross's 1983 '' Central Park Concert'' (released 2012). The intro is also sampled in

Jamal Jamal ( ar, جمال ''/'') is an Arabic masculine given name, meaning "beauty",Jamal
at BehindTheName.com and a surna ...

's " Keep It Real".

References

External links

List of cover versions of "Ribbon in the Sky"
at SecondHandSongs.com * 1982 singles 1982 songs Stevie Wonder songs Songs written by Stevie Wonder Tamla Records singles 1980s ballads Soul ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Soul jazz songs Song recordings produced by Stevie Wonder {{1980s-R&B-song-stub