"Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" 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 written by Ron Miller and Bryan Wells, released by American

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 ...

singer-songwriter-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 ...

on the album '' My Cherie Amour'' (1969). It peaked at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the weeks of December 13 and 20, 1969 and become Wonder's ninth Top 10 single of the 1960s. In November 1969, it reached number 2 on the UK singles chart, making it at that time, Wonder's biggest UK hit. Stevie also recorded an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

version with the title "Solo te, solo me, solo noi" (''Only you, only me, only us''), translated by Peter Ricci. The song was later reworked into an electronic version by

Jennifer Rush Jennifer Rush (born Heidi Stern; September 28, 1960) is an American pop and rock singer. She achieved initial success during the mid-1980s with several singles and studio albums, including the million-selling single " The Power of Love", whic ...

on her 1985 '' Movin''' album.

Background

The song had been first recorded, in 1966, by blue-eyed Motown soul singer Chris Clark. At the time the song was released, Wonder was going through some vocal problems and was required to wait before recording a song. Due to this, instead of making Wonder record new ones, they decided to release songs that he had recorded years earlier, and this song was one of them (it was recorded two years earlier). The song's main theme is

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...

for a loved one. ''

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 ...

'' called it a "sparkling easy-blues-beat

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

" with "interesting lyric, performance and production."

Personnel

* Lead vocals:

* Background vocals: ** The Originals:

Freddie Gorman Freddie Gorman (born Frederick Cortez Gorman, April 11, 1939 – June 13, 2006) was an American musician and record producer, most famous as a singer, songwriter for the Motown Records, Motown label in the late 1960s and mid 1970s. He was a n ...

, Walter Gaines, Hank Dixon, C. P. Spencer **

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 M ...

: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, Louvain Demps * Instrumentation:

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 ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

List of cover versions of "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday"
at SecondHandSongs.com 1966 songs 1969 singles Motown singles Number-one singles in Norway Songs about nostalgia Songs written by Ron Miller (songwriter) Stevie Wonder songs {{1960s-single-stub