Back in the summer of 1966, Stevie Wonder took his cover of "Blowin' in the Wind" to Number Nine on the pop charts and to Number One on the R&B charts. (For the record, Peter, Paul and Mary's version went to Number Two in 1963; Dylan's version did not chart.) Stevie was 16 at the time, and he's backed on the single by another, older-sounding male voice, echoing his lines gospel-style.
After a while, it becomes less of a backing vocal than a duet. When Stevie sings the line "How many years can a man exist before he's allowed to be free," the other voice chimes in, "Too many years have gone by already now, Stevie." It's a brilliant line, but the "Stevie" is what really makes it poetry.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
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