I was made to Love her

I finished my move, well it’s actually not really finished, but my computer is set up. And that means you get to read a new blog post. Hooray! This is already the eighth post since I started blogging again. Okay, so that’s not really so many, but it is more than none.

This time the song is I was made to Love her by Stevie Wonder and covered by the Beach Boys. It turns out this song was covered pretty often.  Here’s a list: Jimi Hendrix, The Jackson 5, Tom Jones, Whitney Houston, and Boyz II Men.

 Stevie Wonder recorded this song in 1967 it was included on his 1967 album of the same name. It peaked at number 2 on the billboard chart. Light my Fire by doors kept it from reaching number 1. It was number 1 on the R&B chart for 4 non-consecutive weeks. In an interview Stevie once said that I was made to Love her, is a true song. But according to Wikipedia, Stevie was born in Saginaw, Michigan, not Little Rock, Arkansas like he says in the song. I guess he didn’t think I’d check.

The Beach Boys covered I was made to Love her for their 1967 album Wild Honey. This is another case of a song where I heard the cover before hearing the original. The album wasn’t really that successful and it was viewed by most critics as inconsequential. However, it has received some good reviews. Producer Tony Visconti ranks it as one of his 13 favorite albums. I really like it too. Spencer Owen from Pitchfork Media burns Carl Wilson for his vocal on I was made to Love her saying, “[it’s] sung with as much faux-soul as Carl Wilson could have possibly mustered." Harsh.

Anyway give them a listen and decide for yourself.

Stevie Wonder:

The Beach Boys

Now that you’ve listened, hopefully you’re wondering what I think. Well, I’ll tell you. I like Stevie’s version better. But c’mon, there’s a reason why his last name is Wonder. If musical talent was a card game that guy was dealt 5 aces.

I like the Beach Boys version. I even like Carl Wilson’s vocals. It’s not my favorite song on the album, (but I think that album is solid. It has some serious songs. Check out: Wild Honey, Aren’t you Glad, Darlin’, and How she Boogalooed it. Trust me).  Anyway, I like the backing vocals and I like the instrumental portion of the song. Overall I think it’s really good. I just think Stevie’s version is better. It just seems so much more refined. There’s the little intro followed by Stevie doing a harmonic solo. After that I don’t even know what to say. It’s Stevie Wonder at his best.  That’s hard to beat.