Fifty-two years ago tomorrow, on Nov. 2, 1974, Stevie Wonder hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his fourth No. 1 pop hit and his tenth No. 1 soul hit. If you were around then, you probably remember Stevie as the Motown star who has been blind since he was a baby.
This one came with a guest list.
The song came from his album “Fulfillingness’ First Finale,” released on July 22, 1974. That album went to No. 1 too, and it won the Grammy for Album of the Year. But the single that topped the chart had a little surprise tucked inside it, and a teenage Michael Jackson was part of it.
Michael was born on Aug. 29, 1958, so he was 16 that November. He and his brothers were still on Motown as the Jackson 5, and 1974 had been a good year for them. Their own song “Dancing Machine” had just become their first top 10 hit since 1971. Here they are performing it on “The Tonight Show” in 1974, so you can see the young group Stevie was about to call on.
The Jackson 5 perform “Dancing Machine” on TV in 1974
Now for Stevie’s record.
The song is “You Haven’t Done Nothin’.” Partway through, Stevie calls the brothers in by name: “Jackson 5, join along with me!”
And they do. But listen closely, because what comes back isn’t a line of lyrics. It’s a chant. Michael and his brothers answer with a wordless “Doo doo wop!” sung in harmony with Stevie.
Tom Breihan, who writes about every No. 1 hit for the music site Stereogum, put it simply: “When the kids jump on the song, they don’t sing any words.” He loved it anyway. “That refrain is a glorious piece of nonsense,” he wrote.
That’s the fun of it. Two of Motown’s brightest acts on one record, and the brothers’ whole part is a happy bit of sound you can’t stop humming. Play the original single here and wait for Stevie to call their name.
The original 1974 single, with Stevie’s call to the Jackson 5
The song spent one week at No. 1.
Stevie also performed it on TV that year. This clip is 1974 footage of Stevie himself singing it, a good look at him in the year the song ruled the chart.
Stevie Wonder performs “You Haven’t Done Nothin'” on TV in 1974
Not long after, things changed for the brothers. They left Motown for Epic and became the Jacksons.
That’s part of what makes this record such a treat to go back to. It catches Michael as a teenager, still with Motown, singing backup on somebody else’s No. 1 hit. Stevie called the group in by name, and the brothers made the most of a part that didn’t have one real word in it.
Nine years later, the tables turned. In this short 1983 clip, made for Stevie’s birthday, it’s Michael’s turn to talk about Stevie.
Michael talks about Stevie Wonder in 1983
Next time it comes on the radio, you’ll know exactly who’s behind those happy “Doo doo wop” voices, and which of them grew up to be the King of Pop.