''Up-Tight'' (shown as ''Up-Tight Everything's Alright'' on the cover) is a 1966 album by American singer Stevie Wonder, released by Motown on the Tamla label. It was his fifth studio release.

Production

''Up-Tight'' was recorded at Motown's studio Hitsville U.S.A. in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. It includes two earlier recordings, the 1962 single "Contract on Love" and the un-issued 1964 single "Pretty Little Angel". Also included on the album are "Nothing's Too Good for My Baby", another Wonder co-write, and a cover of folk star

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions abou ...

", which made Wonder popular with

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

audiences, and a cover of the standard,'' Teach Me Tonight'', featuring vocals by

The Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

. Stevie was backed by the

Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

, the legendary, but uncredited, early period Motown Records studio musicians, creators of the famous, recognisable '60s Motown sound. Motown's in-house female backing group,

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Ma ...

, also accompany Wonder on the album. Backing vocalist

Pat Lewis Pat Lewis is an American soul singer and backing vocalist since the 1960s. Biography Patsy Lewis was born October 23, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States, and moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1951. In the early 1960s, Pat, her sister Dia ...

stepped in (as a replacement for one of the singers who couldn't make it to one of the recording sessions) and recorded with the group. "Pretty Little Angel" was listed as a single release in 1964. The track was mastered for single release in the fall of 1964 but not issued at that time. However, some copies were pressed two years later when the track was reconsidered for single release. These copies, of which there are very few, were pressed with the later style Tamla label (i.e. the post globes label) that was introduced in the US during the second half of 1966. The recording was again withdrawn when "A Place In The Sun" was considered superior.

Release

The album was released on May 4, 1966 on Motown Records' Tamla label. The album features the U.S. Top 5 single "

Uptight (Everything's Alright) "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a 1965 hit single recorded by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single Wonder co-wrot ...

", which Wonder co-wrote with Sylvia Moy and

Henry Cosby Henry R. "Hank" Cosby (May 12, 1928 – January 22, 2002) was an American songwriter, arranger, producer and musician who worked for Motown Records from its formative years. Along with Sylvia Moy, Cosby was a key collaborator with Stevie Wonder ...

.Soul walking.co.uk - "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" writing credits
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Commercial performance

The album reached No. 33 on the '' Billboard'' Pop Albums chart and No. 2 on the R&B Albums chart.

Track listing

Side one

#"Love a Go Go" (Beth Beatty, Ernie Shelby) – 2:42 #"Hold Me" (

Morris Broadnax Morris Ervin Broadnax (February 9, 1931 – February 17, 2009), sometimes credited as Luvel Broadnax (the name of his first wife), was an American songwriter for Motown in the 1960s, most notably working with Stevie Wonder with whom, along ...

Clarence Paul Clarence Otto Pauling (March 19, 1928 – May 6, 1995) better known and published as Clarence Paul, was an American songwriter, record producer and singer who was best known for his career with Detroit's Motown Records. Early life and career Bo ...

, Wonder) – 2:35 #"

" (

) – 3:45 #"Nothing's Too Good for My Baby" (

, Sylvia Moy, William Stevenson) – 2:38 #"

Teach Me Tonight Teach Me Tonight is a popular song that has become a jazz standard. The music was written by Gene De Paul, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was published in 1953. Early recordings Five versions charted in 1954 and 1955: *Janet Brace was appa ...

" (

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

, Gene De Paul) – 2:38 #"

" (Wonder as Stevie Judkins, Moy, Cosby) – 2:53

Side two

#"Ain't That Asking for Trouble" (Moy, Paul, Wonder) – 2:47 #"I Want My Baby Back" (

Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of th ...

Cornelius Grant Cornelius Grant (born April 27, 1943) is an American guitarist, composer, and band leader. He served as the musical director, guitar player, and live show arranger for Motown vocal group The Temptations from 1964 until 1982. Early life Grant was ...

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptation ...

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Mo ...

) – 2:46 #"Pretty Little Angel" (Paul, Mike Valvano, Wonder) – 2:11 #"Music Talk" (Ted Hull, Paul, Wonder) – 2:52 #"Contract on Love" (

Janie Bradford Janie Bradford (born June 2, 1939 in Charleston, Missouri, United States) is an American songwriter, most known for her tenure with Motown. With Berry Gordy, she co-wrote "Money (That's What I Want)", originally recorded by Barrett Strong, and ...

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous h ...

) – 2:02 #"

With a Child's Heart "With a Child's Heart" is a song by the singer Stevie Wonder, from his album ''Up-Tight''. The song was released as the b-side to the single "Nothing's Too Good for My Baby". Stevie Wonder version Stevie's original version of ''With a Child's Hea ...

" (Vicki Basemore, Cosby, Moy) – 3:03

Personnel

* Stevie Wonder – lead vocals; harmony vocals (side 1, tracks 1 and 2; side 2, track 3); harmonica; keyboards; percussion *

– co-lead vocals (on "Blowin' in the Wind") *

Levi Stubbs Levi Stubbs (born Levi Stubbles, June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, who released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He h ...

– co-lead vocals (on "Teach Me Tonight") * Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Lawrence Payton, and

Renaldo "Obie" Benson Renaldo "Obie" Benson (June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perfo ...

– backing vocals (on "Teach Me Tonight") *

– backing vocals (side 1, tracks 2, 4, and 6; side 2, tracks 1, 2, and 4) **

– backing vocals (with The Andantes; unknown tracks) * The Originals – backing vocals (on "Nothing's Too Good For My Baby") *

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

– backing vocals (on "Contract on Love") *

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

– instrumentation * Detroit Symphony Orchestra – instrumentation (on "Pretty Little Angel" and "With a Child's Heart")

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1966 albums Stevie Wonder albums Albums recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. Albums produced by Henry Cosby Albums produced by Clarence Paul Albums produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson Albums produced by Brian Holland Albums produced by Lamont Dozier Tamla Records albums