Higher Ground

Issued as a single in July 1973, it was recorded in a three-hour burst of creativity in May 1973. The album version has an extra verse and runs 30 seconds longer than the single. Wonder sang and played clavinet, drums and percussion, with the clavinet given a wah sound through a Mu-Tron III, while Cecil and Margouleff programmed the Moog bass. The song is about reincarnation, and Wonder told the New York Times it reflected his sense of a "second chance for life." It reached number four on the Hot 100 and number one on the R&B chart, and number 29 in Britain. Rolling Stone placed it at number 113 on its 2021 list of the greatest songs.

After the car crash, Wonder's tour director Ira Tucker sang the song into his ear in the hospital, and Wonder's fingers began to move in time with it.

Live and covers

The Red Hot Chili Peppers released their version on 10 April 1989 as the first single from Mother's Milk, and it reached number 11 on the Alternative Airplay chart. Its video, directed by Drew Carolan and Bill Stobaugh, was nominated for Breakthrough Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. The band played the song at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in 2012, and Total Guitar named it the second greatest cover in 2000. Wonder himself performed it at the Democratic National Convention on 21 August 2024.