"Do I Do" is a song written and performed by American singer and songwriter

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, first released in 1982 on the compilation album, ''

Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I ''Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I'' is a compilation album by R&B/soul musician Stevie Wonder that was released in 1982 by Motown Records. It collects eleven Top-40 hit singles and five album tracks, including four previously unreleased t ...

'' (1982). The single peaked at #2 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' soul chart and #13 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. On the ''Billboard'' dance chart, "Do I Do" reached number one for two weeks. Overseas, it reached #10 in the UK.

Background

The album version of the song is ten and a half minutes long and features a rare example of Wonder

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

near the end of the track.

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

also appears on the track with a trumpet solo. Both of these elements are omitted from the single edit of the song (some longer edits retain the Gillespie solo but exclude the rapping). Wonder audibly counts down at the end of the track, which is not commonly heard at the conclusion of musical singles. The song is noted by bassists for its intricate bassline, played by

Nathan Watts Nathan Lamar Watts (born March 25, 1954, in Detroit, Michigan.) is an American session bassist, best known for his work with Stevie Wonder from the 1970s to the present. He has served as Stevie Wonder's musical director since 1994. Biography ...

. A commercial success, it received three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations including for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record five times, while Ba ...

. The song became the basis for Ja Rule's " Livin it Up."

Personnel

– lead vocals, piano, harmonica ''(uncredited in initial liner notes; credited in 2000 reissue)'', horn arrangements *

– trumpet * Nathan Lamar Watts – bass *

Dennis Davis Dennis Davis (August 28, 1951 – April 6, 2016) was an American drummer and session musician best known for his work with David Bowie, playing on ten albums—including seven successive studio albums—during the singer's classic mid- and late ...

– drums *Earl DeRouen – percussion *Rick Zunigar, Benjamin Bridges – guitars *Isaiah Sanders –

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

*Windy Barnes, Melody McCullough, Shirley Brewer, Alexandra Brown – background vocals *Eugene Ghee, Janice Robinson,

Britt Woodman Britt Woodman (June 4, 1920 – October 13, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist. Career Woodman was a childhood friend of Charles Mingus, but first worked with Phil Moore and Les Hite. After service in World War II he played with Boyd Rae ...

, Virgil Jones, Anthony Tooley, Victor Paz, Clifton Anderson, Earl McIntyre,

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band duri ...

, Robert Rutledge, Lorenzo Wyche, J. D. Parran, Robert Eldridge, Alfred Wilson, Larry Gittens – horns *

Paul Riser Paul Riser (born September 11, 1943) is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the " Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of ...

– string arrangements Stevie Wonder - ''At the Close of a Century'' (1999) compilation album liner notes.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References