{"id":446,"date":"2010-12-15T19:24:57","date_gmt":"2010-12-15T19:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thedrumdoctor.net"},"modified":"2018-08-04T14:36:34","modified_gmt":"2018-08-04T13:36:34","slug":"stevie-wonder","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thedrumdoctor.net\/inspired\/stevie-wonder","title":{"rendered":"Stevie Wonder"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Genius (Definition of)<\/dt>\n
1. exceptional intellectual<\/strong> or creative power<\/strong> or other natural ability<\/strong>.<\/dd>\n
2. an exceptionally intelligent<\/strong> person or one with exceptional skill<\/strong> in a particular area of activity.<\/dd>\n
Source: Oxford English Dictionary<\/cite><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

The noun \u2018genius\u2019 is often over used, especially in the narcissistic world of the music industry where opinions carrying little weight often reign supreme. Personally, I believe the definition describes an exceptionally gifted individual who is: as capable of creating a masterpiece, as they are of producing mediocrity, but without being able to consciously differentiate between the two extremes. If you need proof, sit \u2018As\u2019 next to \u2018I Just Called To Say I Love You\u2019 and then question how these could have possibly come from the same gifted source. Despite the odd faux pas, Stevie Wonder remains for me, a genius within his field as song-writer and multi-instrumentalist.<\/p>\n

One of the most extraordinary skills Stevie has in his trick-bag, is the ability to play the drum set like no other human on the planet; much to the chagrin of some \u2018real\u2019 drummers who simply don\u2019t \u2018get it\u2019. Personally, I love the way Stevie plays the drums as it is, so completely unique. Furthermore, I have yet to hear any one of Stevie\u2019s hired-hand drummers come close to replicating the feel of the parts he played – and we\u2019re not talking about some run-of-the-mill session players here; these guys are the cream of the crop. Not that I\u2019m implying any criticism (who am I to cast aspersions on musicians who hold much coveted positions?), but it remains a fact that Stevie Wonder is a truly inimitable drummer, which, I was to find out for myself back in the early 1990\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Back in that decade, I took up with a pro covers band who played some pretty high-brow material for their target audiences, including a few of Stevie\u2019s compositions. It was \u2018I Wish\u2019 in particular, that totally floored me on feel \u2013 and still does to this day. Back then, I wasn\u2019t, shall we say, as \u2018qualified\u2019 as I am today when it comes to approaching the drum parts of Mr Wonder and I struggled with the groove. The same applied to \u2018Superstition\u2019, another favourite I still get to play on a regular basis. After nearly twenty years, I believe I\u2019ve finally come to terms with the fact that Stevie Wonder is an impossible drummer to replicate and at best, I can only try and pay homage to his unique feel. One way to approach this is by attempting to forget that you are \u2018a drummer\u2019 when tackling his works; throw away the drummist baggage of striving for perfection and try to feel the song\u2019s groove without inhibition. That\u2019s a hard space to put any drummer\u2019s head in \u2013 but it\u2019s achievable.<\/p>\n

Going back to \u2018I Wish\u2019, although drummer Raymond Pounds is officially credited for the track, I always felt that the pocket was a million miles away from what Pounds laid down on \u2018Sir Duke\u2019, raising my gut suspicions that it was actually Stevie himself who played uncredited drums. Finally, in 1997, what appears to be confirmation was provided on the \u2018Classic Albums\u2019 documentary covering the making of \u2018Songs In The Key Of Life\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n