Released June 3, 1970 Genre Soul | Recorded 1970 Length 2:45 | |
B-side "I'm More Than Happy (I'm Satisfied)" Format Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) | ||
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is a soul single by Stevie Wonder, recorded for Motown's Tamla label. Released in June 1970, the song 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.
Contents
- Awards
- Peter Frampton cover
- Other covers
- Political significance
- Blue Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone version
- Track listing
- Ronan Keating version
- References
The song was arranged by Paul Riser and featured a distinctive "sitar-guitar" in the introduction.
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), Syreeta Wright (who also co-wrote the song), and Venetta Fields.
During a 2008 appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Wonder credited the song title and chorus "signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours" to his mother Lula, who exclaimed the words after listening to her son experiment with the melody. This song also marked Wonder's first Grammy nomination. The award went to Ronald Dunbar and General Johnson for writing the Clarence Carter song "Patches".
Awards
In 2009 Stevie Wonder was welcomed by President Barack Obama to receive the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress.
Peter Frampton cover
In 1977, Peter Frampton recorded the song on his album I'm in You. His version also contains instrumental elements from Wonder's hit "For Once in My Life". Mick Jagger 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.
Other covers
Shortly before being signed by Uni Records, Elton John (then performing under his birth name, Reg Dwight) recorded a cover of it for a collection of top hits of the day that were released as discount LP "sound-alike" versions. It was later released on several CD compilations, perhaps the most notable of which was Reg Dwight's Piano Goes Pop! Elton's (or rather Reg's) version was later included under the end titles of the 2004 romantic comedy film Laws of Attraction starring Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore.
In the early 1970s, Bobby Byrd performed an up-tempo cover of this song on a single with other songs performed by James Brown and Lyn Collins.
In 1975, The Osmonds covered the song, and it appears on their album Around the World, Live in Concert.
In 1976, Marcia Hines covered the song on her album, Shining.
In 1980, co-writer Syreeta Wright released her own version of the song on her second self-titled album.
In 1988, Chaka Khan released her album CK of which the song was the first track. Wonder played harmonica on Khan's version.
Released in 1988, the TV special Meet the California Raisins! featured the song covered by fictional band "The California Raisins".
During the mid-1990s, Mazda released a series of TV commercials that used a re-recorded version of the song, with the lyrics "Here it is/Signed, sealed, delivered/It's yours!" including a Mazda 626 commercial from 1995.
In 1995, Kim Wilde performed the track during the last episode of Don't Forget Your Toothbrush on UK television.
Jazz fusion and contemporary jazz group Pieces of a Dream presented their version from the band's album Pieces.
In 2003, for his first in a two-volume collection of Motown cover songs, Michael McDonald recorded his own version of the song. Later that same year, Wonder recorded a similar remake with British boy band Blue. The song hit number 11 in the UK charts.
Human Nature successfully remade the song to feature in their Motown album released in 2006.
Lead singer for the band Train, Pat Monahan, covered the hit in 2003.
A mostly instrumental version of the song has been released by the James Taylor Quartet.
Former adult film star Colton Ford and dance diva Pepper Mashay recorded a club version of this song. This version went to number 9 on the Hot Dance Club Play and number 25 on the Hot Dance Singles Sales charts.
English singer Craig David has covered the song on his fifth studio album, inspired by the same name Signed Sealed Delivered.
The television reality show The Glee Project featured the song as a homework assignment, in the first episode of season one. Also, Becca Tobin as Kitty Wilde covered the song in the season 4 episode of Glee "Wonder-ful".
British singer Olly Murs covered the song as part of a medley of Stevie Wonder hits in his 2011 theatre tour of the UK.
Michael Bolton released a cover of the song in early 2013 on his album Ain't No Mountain High Enough: A Tribute to Hitsville.
In 2004, Arkells released a version of the song as the A-side to their Record Store Day release entitled Arkells Sing Motown.
In movie Valentine's Day (2010) soundtrack, there is a version sung by Anju Ramapriyam.
The song was part of a medley of songs in the 2012 film Joyful Noise, starring Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah.
In 2013, Delvin Choice vs. Josh Kaufman love this song in the Battles, round 2 covered as a duet on sixth season of The Voice.
In 2013, Straight No Chaser covered the song with Wonder on their Under the Influence album.
In 2015, Ariana Grande and Babyface covered the song as part of the "Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life — An All-Star Grammy Salute" at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on February 16, 2015.
In 2015, Mark Hood covered the song through the instant save he has eliminated Ninth Season of The Voice.
Political significance
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 at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado. During the campaign, Obama's chief campaign strategist, David Axelrod, used the song as the special ring tone on his cellular phone whenever he received a call from Obama.
At Obama's election night rally at Grant Park in Chicago, the song was one of the first of three songs played to warm up the audience for Obama's victory speech upon winning the election. The song was used in the same fashion the Clinton-Gore campaign used Fleetwood Mac's hit, "Don't Stop." The Obama family came out to the song again on Election Night in 2012 for Obama's victory speech.
At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, the song played after Barack Obama's speech, at which point Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton came out on stage.
Blue, Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone version
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" was covered in 2003 by English boy band Blue. Their version included vocals from Angie Stone and Wonder. This was the second single from Blue's third album, Guilty (2003), and it peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. In Japan, the song was issued as a double A-side with Japanese exclusive track "The Gift". Janet Jackson was originally approached to cover the song with the group, but could not proceed due to scheduling conflicts.
Track listing
- "Signed, Sealed, Delivered... I'm Yours" – 3:39
- "One Love" – 3:25
- "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) – 3:33
- "The Gift" – 4:58
- "Signed, Sealed, Delivered... I'm Yours" (Radio Edit) – 3:33
- "4 Play" – 3:22
- "Guilty" (Original Demo) – 3:25
Ronan Keating version
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" was covered in 2014 by Ronan Keating for the film Postman Pat: The Movie.