Master Blaster (Jammin')

Wonder wrote it as an ode to Bob Marley, with whom he had been performing live on a US tour. It was the lead single from Hotter than July, spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart, reached number five on the pop chart, number two in the UK and Australia, and number one in New Zealand. The lyrics mention the children of Jah and the end of the civil war in Zimbabwe, and the song has a feel close to Marley's Jamming from 1977.

Pitchfork's Hanif Abdurraqib hears Jamming as the template, with Wonder adding layers and pace but keeping the ease. Wonder plays Fender Rhodes and clavinet, with Nathan Watts on bass, Benjamin Bridges and Rick Zunigar on guitar, Dennis Davis on drums, Earl DeRouen on percussion, Isaiah Sanders on organ, Hank Redd on saxophone and Larry Gittens on trumpet. The UK garage duo DJ Luck and MC Neat reworked it as Masterblaster 2000, which reached number five in the UK in 2000.