"You Haven't Done Nothin" is a 1974

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

single by

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 ...

, taken from his album ''

Fulfillingness' First Finale ''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from wha ...

'' and featuring background vocals by

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

. The politically aware song became Wonder's fourth Number-1 pop hit and his tenth Number-1

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 ...

hit. It also reached Number 1 in Canada. In the UK the single spent five weeks on the

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

, peaking at Number 30.

Background

The song was one of his angriest political statements and was aimed directly at

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, who resigned two days after the release of the single.

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

provided backing vocals, singing the words "Doo da wop!" during the chorus after Wonder sings "Jackson 5, join along with me, say". The song also features a thick

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

track and an early appearance of the

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

. The B-side "Big Brother", also a political statement, was taken from Wonder's 1972 album ''

Talking Book An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

''. ''

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 ...

'' described "You Haven't Done Nothin'" as being "exceptionally powerful" and more subtle than most protest songs, particularly praising the

synthesiser A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

arrangement and the vocal performance. ''

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 "super track filled with the memories of the great '

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

' a while back" and said that "musically, horns, keyboards, bass and guitar highlight and vocally, aside from Stevie's magic, the Jackson 5 is right in there on 'doo wops.'" ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it "a message song to end them all" in which Wonder "deals directly with those who'd only promise their way to a better world."

Personnel

* Stevie Wonder – lead vocal,

Hohner clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respo ...

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock music, rock, popular music, pop, jazz, an ...

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

* Reggie McBride –

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

– background vocals *

Robert Margouleff Robert Margouleff is an American record producer, recording engineer, electronic music pioneer, audio expert, and film producer. Career The Birth of TONTO Margouleff was an early customer, friend and collaborator of fellow New Yorker and music ins ...

and

Malcolm Cecil Malcolm Cecil (9 January 1937 – 28 March 2021) was a British jazz bassist, record producer, engineer, electronic musician and teacher. He was a founding member of a leading UK jazz quintet of the late 1950s, the Jazz Couriers,synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s * Uncredited – Horns, drum machine

Covers

Roger Daltrey Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...

covered the song on his 2018 album '' As Long as I Have You''.

References

1974 singles Stevie Wonder songs American funk songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Political songs Protest songs Songs written by Stevie Wonder Motown singles 1974 songs Tamla Records singles Songs about Richard Nixon RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Stevie Wonder {{1970s-single-stub