Stevie Wonder: The Deal That Built His Classic Period

Stevie Wonder walked into Motown's offices in 1971 holding real leverage for the first time in his career.

His old contract, signed when he was a child performer, had just expired on his 21st birthday.

He didn't re-sign right away.

Instead he negotiated total creative control, his own publishing company, and veto power over his own singles.

That one decision triggered five straight classic albums and three consecutive Grammys for Album of the Year.

Most retrospectives treat those albums as if they simply happened.

This one starts with the deal that made them possible.

Stevie Wonder in a recording studio in 1975, wearing headphones and sunglasses

Stevie Wonder in a Los Angeles recording studio, August 1975.

Image credit: Photo via UCLA Digital Library, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Deal Stevie Wonder Struck at 21

Letting the Old Contract Run Out

He had recorded for Motown since he was eleven years old.

Those early contracts were signed on his behalf, standard terms for a child performer under the label's system.

He turned 21 on May 13, 1971, and let that old contract expire rather than automatically renewing it.

He didn't sign anything new right away.

Instead he spent the following weeks testing new sounds and new collaborators, with no label deal locking him in.

That gap gave him real bargaining power for the first time in a decade-long career.

What Black Bull Music Actually Won Him

Stevie Wonder finally signed his new Motown contract later in 1971.

The terms were unlike anything the label had offered before.

He got full creative control over his own recordings.

He also got veto power over which of his songs Motown could release as singles.

He formed his own publishing and production company, Black Bull Music, to hold rights the label previously controlled outright.

The deal included an advance of more than $900,000, plus annual guarantees on top of it.

It even included a clause requiring his personal consent if Motown itself was ever sold.

No other Motown act at the time had leverage close to that.

The Weekend Stevie Wonder Found His New Sound

Stevie Wonder's new independence needed new tools to match it.

His bass player, Ronnie Blanco, played him an album called Zero Time.

It came from a duo called TONTO's Expanding Head Band.

Wonder wanted to know who built the sound on that record.

Blanco introduced him to the two men behind it, engineers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff.

Cecil had built and named the instrument himself: TONTO, short for The Original New Timbral Orchestra.

It combined Moog and ARP synthesizer modules into one sprawling machine.

The machine stood six feet tall and could extend to 25 feet in diameter.

In late May 1971, Wonder, Cecil, and Margouleff recorded 17 songs together over a single marathon weekend.

That weekend became the real starting point of his classic period.

Cecil and Margouleff stayed on as engineers through Music of My Mind, Talking Book, and Innervisions.

They helped Wonder layer keyboard, bass, and orchestral textures almost entirely by himself.

Five Albums, Three Straight Grammys for Album of the Year

The new contract fed directly into one of the most decorated album runs of the decade.

So did the new synthesizer partnership.

Stevie Wonder released six studio albums across the 1970s under his new creative control:

Music of My Mind (1972)
Talking Book (1972)
Innervisions (1973)
Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974)
Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (1979)

Three of those releases in a row won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

The winners were Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life.

No other artist had managed that run of consecutive wins before.

Songs in the Key of Life added a chart record on top of the Grammy history.

The double album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

It was the first album by an American artist to open at the top of that chart.

Every Song Stevie Wonder Put on the Charts Himself

The Early Singles That Set Up the Deal

Two charting singles from 1970 and 1971 show exactly why Stevie Wonder wanted more control before he had it.

"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (1970, #31 year-end): co-written with his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, and the first single Wonder produced entirely himself.
"If You Really Love Me" (1971, #48 year-end): one of several hits released as he pushed Motown for greater creative control ahead of his contract renegotiation.

The Classic Period Hits, Charted Year by Year

The new deal and the TONTO sessions were now in place.

The hits arrived in a steady run across the rest of the decade.

"Superstition" (1973, #26 year-end): originally written for Jeff Beck, who appeared on the recording, but Berry Gordy insisted Wonder keep it for himself.
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (1973, #19 year-end): the first single from Talking Book, and winner of the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Higher Ground" (1973, #62 year-end): written, arranged, and recorded entirely by Wonder alone in a single afternoon.
"Living for the City" (1974, #45 year-end): a seven-minute account of urban poverty and systemic racism, trimmed under four minutes for radio, and winner of the Grammy for Best R&B Song.
"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" (1974, #88 year-end): a Latin and Afro-Cuban-influenced track from Innervisions.
"Boogie On Reggae Woman" (1975, #26 year-end): a reggae-influenced funk single that won the Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Song.
"Sir Duke" (1977, #18 year-end): written as a tribute to Duke Ellington after his 1974 death, spending three weeks at number one.
"I Wish" (1977, #51 year-end): a nostalgic look back at childhood mischief, written during the Songs in the Key of Life sessions and spending one week at number one.

Ten separate charting records in one decade, all traceable back to the same 21st birthday decision.

Curious how his catalog stacks up against other acts from the era?

Try the Random Artist Picker.

Or test what you actually know about the decade with the 70s Music Trivia Quiz.

Frequently Asked Questions

What deal did Stevie Wonder make with Motown in 1971?

Stevie Wonder let his childhood Motown contract expire on his 21st birthday in 1971.

He then signed a new deal that gave him full creative control over his recordings.

The deal added veto power over singles and his own publishing company, Black Bull Music.

It also included an advance of more than $900,000.

Who produced Stevie Wonder's classic period albums with him?

Engineers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff worked alongside Stevie Wonder on his classic period albums.

They started with one marathon weekend in late May 1971.

That weekend the three of them recorded 17 songs together.

Cecil and Margouleff also built and operated TONTO, the massive modular synthesizer behind that sound.

What was TONTO, the synthesizer Stevie Wonder used?

TONTO stood for The Original New Timbral Orchestra.

Engineer Malcolm Cecil built it by combining Moog and ARP synthesizer modules into one instrument.

It stood six feet tall and could extend to 25 feet in diameter.

He used it across his classic period albums to layer keyboard, bass, and orchestral textures himself.

How many Grammy Awards for Album of the Year did Stevie Wonder win in the 70s?

Stevie Wonder won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year three times in a row.

The three winning albums were Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life.

Songs in the Key of Life also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

It was the first album by an American artist to open at the top of that chart.

What was Stevie Wonder's first self-produced single?

Stevie Wonder's first self-produced single was Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours.

He released it in 1970 and co-wrote it with his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway.

It reached number 31 on the Billboard year-end Hot 100.

That push for independence led directly to his 1971 Motown contract renegotiation.