You Haven't Done Nothin'

A clavinet protest song aimed at Richard Nixon, with the Jackson 5 on the chorus.
Stevie Wonder, from Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974)

Written by
Stevie Wonder
Released
1974
Length
3:27
Album
Fulfillingness' First Finale

One of Wonder's angriest political statements, it was aimed directly at President Richard Nixon, who resigned two days after the single came out. It became his fourth number one pop hit and his tenth number one soul hit, reached number one in Canada, and reached number 30 in the UK. The track has a thick clavinet part and an early appearance of a drum machine.

The Jackson 5 sing Doo da wop on the chorus after Wonder invites them to join along. Reggie McBride plays bass, and Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil programmed the synthesizers. The B-side was Big Brother, another political song, taken from Talking Book. Billboard described the song as exceptionally powerful and praised its synthesizer arrangement and the vocal performance.

Covers and versions

More songs by Stevie Wonder

Superstition, Living for the City, Higher Ground, Sir Duke, I Wish, Isn't She Lovely, Fingertips, You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Master Blaster (Jammin'), Happy Birthday, Pastime Paradise

Sources

  1. You Haven't Done Nothin', Wikipedia
  2. Fulfillingness' First Finale, Wikipedia
  3. Fulfillingness' First Finale (master release), Discogs