"Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" is a

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

song, by American musician

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 ...

, released in June 1970 as a single on

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

's Tamla label. It spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart. In the same year, the song was also released on the album '' Signed, Sealed & Delivered''. The song was arranged by

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 ...

and features an

electric sitar An electric sitar is a type of electric string instrument designed to mimic the sound of the sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instru ...

played by Eddie "Chank" Willis. In the lyrics, the singer has left his girlfriend but realizes it was a mistake. "I've done a lot of foolish things that I really didn't mean." Now he has returned, making the commitment that he's back, similar to a special delivery package from the post office, "signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours." The song was a series of firsts for the 20-year-old Wonder: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" was the first single Wonder produced on his own, and was also the first to feature his female backup singing group composed of Lynda Tucker Laurence (who went on to become a member of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright (born Rita Wright, February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), known mononymously as Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs ...

(who also co-wrote the song and later married Wonder), and

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born Australian singer and musical theater actress, and vocal coach. Fields was a backing vocalist for touring American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as working as a ...

. The song gave Wonder his sixth

Grammy 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 a ...

nomination, with the award that year going to the

Clarence Carter Clarence George Carter (born January 14, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include "Slip Away (Clarence Carter song), Slip Away", "Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), "Patches (Ch ...

song " Patches". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' stated that the song is "polished and powerful enough to maintain an adult market power as well pointing toward giant sales." ''

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 ...

'' called it a "funky beat swinger" with "blockbuster sales appeal." It is ranked number 203 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Political usage

During the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama's presidential campaign frequently played the song immediately after Obama's speeches at campaign events. Wonder performed the song live on the final night of the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform an ...

at Invesco Field in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. During the campaign, Obama's chief campaign strategist, David Axelrod, used the song as the special ring tone on his

cellular phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radi ...

whenever he received a call from Obama. At the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the maj ...

, the song played after Barack Obama's speech, at which point Democratic nominee

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

came out on stage.

Peter Frampton cover

In 1977,

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

recorded the song on his album ''

I'm in You ''I'm in You'' is the fifth studio album by English musician and songwriter Peter Frampton. It was released on 3 June 1977, almost a year and a half after his 1976 signature breakthrough live album, '' Frampton Comes Alive!'' It was recorded at E ...

''. His version also contains instrumental elements from Wonder's hit " For Once in My Life".

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

is featured on backing vocals. Frampton's version was released as a single, reaching number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 13 on the '' Cashbox'' Top 100. His cover also reached number 13 in Canada. In Chicago, the song reached number nine on superstation WLS-AM, and in Toronto it reached number one on CHUM.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Blue version

"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" was covered in 2003 by English boy band

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

. Their version includes vocals from

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Stone (née Brown; December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. With a career spanning over four decades, she has been credited with revolutionizing the sound of Ol ...

and Wonder. This was the second single from Blue's third album, '' Guilty'' (2003), and was released in Australia two weeks before it was issued in the UK. The cover peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 20 on the charts of six other countries.

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

was originally approached to cover the song with the group but could not proceed due to scheduling conflicts.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" – 3:39 # " One Love" – 3:25 UK CD2 # "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (radio edit) – 3:33 # "4 Play" – 3:22 # " Guilty" (original demo) – 3:25 # "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (video and photo gallery enhanced) – 3:33

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Other covers

* In the early 1970s, Bobby Byrd performed an up-tempo cover of this song on a single with other songs performed by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

and

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". A favorite ...

. * In 1982, the Boys Town Gang covered "Signed, Sealed, Delivered". It became a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands. * In 1995,

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...

performed the track during the last episode of '' Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' on UK television. *

Jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

and contemporary jazz group

Pieces of a Dream Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES * ...

presented their version from the band's 1998 album ''Pieces''. * Former adult film star Colton Ford and dance diva Pepper Mashay recorded a club version of this song in 2004. This version went to number 9 on the

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

and number 25 on the

Hot Dance Singles Sales The Dance Singles Sales was a record chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine listing each week's best-selling dance singles in the United States. Its previous names include Hot Dance/Disco 12-inch Singles Sales (1985–1987), Hot Dance Mu ...

charts. * In 2004,

Arkells Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Music Canada. They have released nine albums: '' Jackson Square'' (2008), '' Michigan Left'' (2011) ...

released a version of the song as the A-side to their

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

release entitled ''Arkells Sing Motown''. *

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

released a cover of the song in early 2013 on his album ''Ain't No Mountain High Enough: A Tribute to Hitsville''. * In 2013, Straight No Chaser covered the song with Wonder on their '' Under the Influence'' album. * Becca Tobin as her character

Kitty Wilde Kitty Wilde is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Becca Tobin, and appeared for the first time during the first episode of the fourth season, " The New Rachel", first ...

covered this song on the fourth season of the musical comedy ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' as part of a tribute episode to Stevie Wonders titled "

Wonder-ful "Wonder-ful" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season of the American musical television series ''Glee'', and the eighty-seventh episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 2, 2013, and features the introduction of s ...

". *

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

released a version in 2017 that was part of a tribute for a fundraising gala that honored Wonder. * In 2018, The Fearless Flyers covered the song (as ″Signed Sealed Delivered") as part of their eponymous debut EP. The track features Sandra Crouch on tambourine and Blake Mills on guitar. * For the 2021

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared Christmas in literature, in literature and Christmas music, in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth o ...

of the

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

franchise ''

Trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

'', titled '' Trolls: Holiday in Harmony'' this song is covered by Anderson .Paak,

Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. Known for playing upbeat and endearing characters in comedies and musicals, List of awards and nominations received by Anna Kendrick, her accolades include nominations for an Aca ...

, Anthony Ramos, Ester Dean, and

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

References

External links

List of cover versions of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"
at SecondHandSongs.com * * {{Authority control 1969 songs 1970 singles 1977 singles 2003 singles Stevie Wonder songs Peter Frampton songs Boys Town Gang songs Blue (English band) songs Angie Stone songs Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Stevie Wonder Songs written by Syreeta Wright Songs written by Lula Mae Hardaway Songs written by Lee Garrett Tamla Records singles A&M Records singles Polydor Records singles Innocent Records singles Virgin Records singles Song recordings produced by Stevie Wonder Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign Presidential campaign songs