You Are the Sunshine of My Life

"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his first No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart.^[1] It won Wonder a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.^[2] This song was the second single released from the 1972 album entitled Talking Book, which stayed at number one on the R&B charts for three weeks.^[2] The song opened 194 Radio City on 21 October 1974.

Rolling Stone ranked the song #281 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The first two lines of the song are sung, not by Wonder, but by Jim Gilstrap and with Gloria Barley singing the next two lines.^[3] The single version of the song differs from the album version with the addition of horns to the mix.

There is a live version of "You are the Sunshine of My Life" in Frank Sinatra's 1974 "Some Nice Things I've Missed" album.

Language versions

The song has been translated to many languages, notably in French as "Le soleil de ma vie" (literally "the sun of my life") sung by Sacha Distel and Brigitte Bardot.

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Australia	10
Canada	5
Germany	42
Ireland	23
UK	7
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard R&B	3
U.S. Cash Box Top 100^[4]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)	Rank
Australia	74
Canada	64
UK ^[5]	100
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 ^[6]	19
U.S. Cash Box ^[7]	59

In popular culture

The song was used in the ABC sitcom Taxi in the season 5 episode "Jim's Inheritance". A tape was left by Jim Ignatowski's late father to remind him that he was his favorite of his three children.

The song was sung in the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond twice during the series run, both times by Ray. The first was in the season 5 finale and the other was in the series finale.^[8]

References

↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 262.
1 2 Hogan, Ed. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (song review), AllMusic.com.
↑ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: Updated and Expanded 5th Edition. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 333.
↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles.
↑ "Top 100 1973", uk-charts.top-source.info.
↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1973/Top 100 Songs of 1973", Music Outfitters.
↑ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1973",
↑ "Everybody Loves Raymond Season 9 Episode 17: Finale". TV.com. July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2015.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Preceded by "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single May 19, 1973 (one week)	Succeeded by "Frankenstein" by The Edgar Winter Group

Stevie Wonder

Studio albums	The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie Tribute to Uncle Ray With a Song in My Heart Stevie at the Beach Up-Tight Down to Earth I Was Made to Love Her Someday at Christmas Eivets Rednow For Once in My Life My Cherie Amour Signed, Sealed & Delivered Where I'm Coming From Music of My Mind Talking Book Innervisions Fulfillingness' First Finale Songs in the Key of Life Hotter than July In Square Circle Characters Conversation Peace A Time to Love Ten Billion Hearts When The World Began Lula

Live albums	Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius Stevie Wonder Live Live at the Talk of the Town Natural Wonder

Soundtracks	Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" The Woman in Red Jungle Fever

Compilations	Looking Back Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection At the Close of a Century Ballad Collection The Definitive Collection 20th Century Masters The Complete Stevie Wonder

Top ten singles	"Fingertips - Part 2" "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" "Blowin' in the Wind" "A Place in the Sun" "I Was Made to Love Her" "I'm Wondering" "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" "For Once in My Life" "My Cherie Amour" "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" "Never Had a Dream Come True" "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" "Heaven Help Us All" "If You Really Love Me" "Superstition" "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" "Higher Ground" "Living for the City" "He's Misstra Know-It-All" "You Haven't Done Nothin'" "Boogie On Reggae Woman" "I Wish" "Sir Duke" "Send One Your Love" "Master Blaster (Jammin')" "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" "Happy Birthday" "That Girl" "Do I Do" "Ebony and Ivory" "I Just Called to Say I Love You" "Love Light in Flight" "Part-Time Lover" "That's What Friends Are For" "Go Home"

Other singles	"Hey Harmonica Man" "I Don't Know Why" "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" "As" "Another Star" "Lately" "Ribbon in the Sky" "Overjoyed"

Other songs	"You and I (We Can Conquer the World)" "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" "They Won't Go When I Go" "Knocks Me Off My Feet" "Pastime Paradise" "Isn't She Lovely" "Black Man"

Collaborations	"Ebony and Ivory" "We Are the World" "Just Good Friends"

Related articles	Discography Lula Mae Hardaway Syreeta Wright KJLH Motown Soul music Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Wonderin' Wonder-ful

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