"Lately"
Single by Stevie Wonder
from the album Hotter than July
B-side"If It's Magic"
Released1981 (1981)
Genre
Length4:05
LabelTamla
Songwriter(s)Stevie Wonder
Producer(s)Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder singles chronology
"I Ain't Gonna Stand for It"
(1980)		 "Lately"
(1981)		 "Happy Birthday"
(1981)

"Lately" is a song by American singer Stevie Wonder recorded for his album Hotter than July (1980). The song reached number three in the United Kingdom, and was later covered by R&B group Jodeci and released as a promotional single for the live album Uptown MTV Unplugged in June 1993, which reached number one on the R&B charts and the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Critical reception

Record World called it a "touching ballad [that] is perhaps his most beautiful, revealing work yet."[1]

Jason Elias at AllMusic retrospectively praised the song, believing that unlike some of Wonder's similar material, "Lately" in particular hit all the perfect emotional and musical notes. Of the song's emotional power itself Elias stated, "it's enough to make a listener fall prey to an old-fashioned cry."[2]

Charts

Chart (1981) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart (OCC)[3] 3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 64
U.S. R&B Singles[5] 29

Personnel

  • Stevie Wonder – lead vocals, bass synthesizer, piano

Jodeci version

"Lately"
Single by Jodeci
from the album Uptown MTV Unplugged
Released1993 (1993)
Recorded1993
Genre
Length
  • 5:49 (MTV Unplugged version)
  • 6:24 (studio version)
LabelUptown/MCA
Songwriter(s)Stevie Wonder, DeVante Swing
Producer(s)DeVante Swing
Jodeci singles chronology
"Let's Go Through the Motions"
(1993)		 "Lately"
(1993)		 "Cry For You"
(1993)

"Lately" was notably covered by R&B group Jodeci for the Uptown MTV Unplugged release in 1993. Executive producer Andre Harrell referred to it as their "End of the Road", analogous to the chart-topping single for Boyz II Men.[6] The group's version of the song was released as a promotional single, claiming the number one spot on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart as the group's fourth number one R&B hit. It was also Jodeci's highest peaking pop hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1993.[7] It sold 900,000 copies and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[8][9] This version also appears on Back to the Future: The Very Best of Jodeci, a greatest hits album from the group, released by Universal Records in 2005.

The group also recorded an alternate studio version of the song, produced by group leader DeVante Swing. It is slightly longer than the Uptown MTV Unplugged version and features an additional outro. They performed this version on The Arsenio Hall Show, with Stevie Wonder making a guest appearance and performing the song with Jodeci.

Chart performance

Chart (1993)[7] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 4
U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 12
U.S. Hot R&B Singles 1
U.S. Rhythmic Top 40 1
U.S. Top 40 Mainstream 17

Year-end charts

Chart (1993) Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] 15

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. March 28, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  2. ↑ Elias, Jason. ""Lately" Song review at Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  3. ↑ "STEVIE WONDER | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 2016-07-19. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 925.
  5. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 636.
  6. ↑ Vanity Fair 56 (1993), 240.
  7. 1 2 "allmusic ((( Jodeci > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  8. ↑ "Best-Selling Records of 1993". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 3. BPI Communications. January 15, 1994. p. 73. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  9. ↑ "American certifications – Jodeci – Lately". Recording Industry Association of America.
  10. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1993". Archived from the original on 2006-11-10. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  11. ↑ "British single certifications – Stevie Wonder – Lately". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
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