The video above is from Wonder’s official YouTube Channel, and that makes it more likely to remain available long-term. Unofficial videos are far more likely to be taken down, which is a problem for blog posts like this one. However, there was an official music video, about which the Wikipedia article for the song (linked to above) says:
A music video of the song has Wonder, during a concert, singing into a telephone receiver while seated at a piano. By the end of the song, he and the audience are standing and swaying to the music. The video features concert footage recorded in Rotterdam Ahoy, in the Netherlands, on August 10, 1984.I don’t remember whether I saw the official video at the time—which, of course, doesn’t mean that I didn’t see it. After all, the song was a huge hit, and so I could well have seen it. However, the official video, if that's what it is, was difficult to find on YouTube, though I eventually found one that appears to be it. I’ve included it at the very end of this post in case the video is taken down at some point.
I never saw the film The Woman in Red, and I’m not sure whether I knew at the time that this song was used in the film—maybe I did? It wouldn’t have mattered to me either way, though, since I wasn’t interested in the movie. It’s a little unusual for music videos for songs from movies to not use any footage from the film it was in, but that wasn’t unheard of, either, of course.
Now, about the song itself. I have to be brutally honest here: I never liked this song. I found the melody bland and soporific, at least in part because in that era I liked uptempo music. I also absolutely loathed the way the song ends, though I couldn’t articulate why it bothered me so much. My reaction to it wasn’t improved by advertisers using it in far too many sappy, and even twee, TV commercials over the years, removing the emotional resonance that was in the original song and reducing it to what would now be called cringe.
Having said all of that, it was really just that one song. I’ve liked a lot of Wonder’s work over the years, especially, his legendary 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life. This song simply was not one I liked, and, despite how it may sound, I didn't hate it, either.
All up, “I Just Called to Say I Love You” topped 19 charts, and among the national charts for countries I write about, it reached Number One in Australia, Canada (3x Platinum), New Zealand (Gold), and the UK (Platinum), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, “Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs”, and “Adult Contemporary” charts, and was also Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100” chart. It was certified Gold in the USA.
The soundtrack album The Woman in Red reached Number 4 in Australia, Canada (2x Platinum), and New Zealand (Gold), Number 2 in the UK (Platinum), and Number 4 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart. It was Certified Platinum in the USA.
This series will return November 3 with the next Number One song of 1984.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
1 comment:
I do not particularly like the song either. It's pap. And I loved his 1970s output.
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