Too much talent for one man.

June 21, 2012 1:46 PM

Here's Stevie Wonder playing some drums.
posted by empath (25 comments total)

Is there NOTHING the man can't do??????
posted by Madamina at 1:48 PM on June 21, 2012 [3 favorites]

Here's a baby raccoon eating grapes.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:54 PM on June 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

He plays the drums on Superstition, which is a tough groove to get right.
posted by ChuqD at 2:09 PM on June 21, 2012

Is there NOTHING the man can't do??????

Um...
posted by davejay at 2:14 PM on June 21, 2012 [26 favorites]

Here's Stevie Wonder playing some bongos and a harmonica.
posted by box at 2:15 PM on June 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here's Stevie Wonder playing 'Superstition' on Sesame Street.
posted by box at 2:16 PM on June 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

Here's Stevie Wonder playing '123 Sesame Street.'
posted by box at 2:21 PM on June 21, 2012 [4 favorites]

Here's Stevie Wonder playing some bongos and a harmonica.

Yeah, that harmonica performance will always = "Little Stevie Wonder" to me.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:22 PM on June 21, 2012

He plays the drums on Superstition


Doesn't he play the drums on most of his records?

For that matter, doesn't he play most of the instruments on most of his records? The man is amazing.
posted by DiscountDeity at 2:28 PM on June 21, 2012

Therefore, Stevie Wonder is love.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 2:29 PM on June 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Here's Stevie Wonder playing 'Superstition' on Sesame Street.

I have always loved that clip, partly because of the little kid -- I cannot tell if that's a boy or a girl -- first visible at 0:40 and bopping like mad at 4:10 -- is somewhere today approaching fifty. A lot of the other kids are unenthusiastically shaking maracas but Red Sweater there is totally into it and is utterly unselfconscious. I wonder how he/she remembers that experience today.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:33 PM on June 21, 2012 [9 favorites]

Yes
posted by dry white toast at 2:41 PM on June 21, 2012

His drumming is his own. And it's awesome! Here's, for example, a discussion where a cover-drummer says he tried to get into all the ideosyncracies in Superstition, but eventually gave up on it

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=2830
posted by spbmp at 2:49 PM on June 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

box: Thanks for the link. It lead me to read about Motortown Revue. Wish they would release the full set of films, even if the audio isn't perfect!
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 2:50 PM on June 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here's Stevie Wonder doing "Desafinado" with Gilberto Gil.
posted by neroli at 3:09 PM on June 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

Does a double count as a double if the link to the video in the original post no longer functions?
posted by Flunkie at 6:01 PM on June 21, 2012

Didn't Stevie Wonder play drums for The Meters at one point? I know I've seen photo of if somewhere.
posted by furtive at 7:28 PM on June 21, 2012

Love his loose groove. Talking Book & Innervisions are both in my top 50 albums of all time.

Jeff Beck makes a cameo on talking book.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:48 PM on June 21, 2012

Shopped.
posted by Rykey at 8:42 PM on June 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

In-fuckin-effable!
posted by niceness at 9:39 PM on June 21, 2012

This is actually the third time this same Stevie-on-drums video has appeared in an FPP! But the previous two YT links are now dead. One of the threads features plenty of great Stevie links, though, if you wanna check 'em out.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:28 PM on June 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

hey box, that bongos n' harmonica video turned my inconsolable screamin' mad 2 year old into a gigglin' bubbly girl. Thumbs up!
posted by brappi at 2:56 AM on June 22, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here's my list of no-doubt musical geniuses of the last half-century:

Jimi Hendrix,
Stevie Wonder.

I'd say Lennon-McCartney, but it wouldn't be fair.
posted by dragonsi55 at 5:31 AM on June 22, 2012

Here's Stevie Wonder playing '123 Sesame Street.'

Every time I see this video again I am reminded that it is, in fact, the best thing on the entire god damn internet.
posted by cirrostratus at 8:05 AM on June 22, 2012

Didn't Stevie Wonder play drums for The Meters at one point?

Short answer: no. Long answer: he did sit in with them, on drums, at least once — the 1973 Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans. Two photos of this are included in the booklet that comes with The Meters anthology Funkify Your Life; one is reproduced here.

In the other photo both he and regular Meters drummer Zig Modeliste are playing, making the group even funkier than usual.
posted by LeLiLo at 12:30 PM on June 22, 2012 [2 favorites]