Higher Ground (song)
Encyclopedia
"Higher Ground" is a funk
song written by Stevie Wonder
and first appearing on his 1973 album Innervisions
. The song reached #4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart
and #1 on the U.S. Hot Soul Singles
chart. Wonder wrote and recorded the song in a three-hour burst of creativity in May 1973. The album version of the song contains an extra verse and runs 30 seconds longer than the single version. The unique wah-Clavinet
sound in the song was achieved with a Mu-tron envelope filter pedal. The bass is a Moog synthesizer
. Via overdubs, Wonder played all instruments on the track, including drums.
ranked the song #261 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, offering the following explanation: "'Ground' was recorded just before Wonder was involved in a near-fatal accident in August '73 that left him in a coma
. Early in Wonder's recovery, his road manager sang the melody of 'Ground' into the singer's ear; Wonder responded by moving his fingers with the music."
and Lenny Kravitz
, performed it at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards
. Wonder and Keys sang it again at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
Wonder performed it on January 18, 2009 at the Lincoln Memorial
festivities
in honor of the inauguration of President
Barack Obama
along with Shakira
and Usher
.
Wonder performed it on October 29, 2009, at the 25th Anniversary of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert. It was performed with Sting. The song broke into "Roxanne
" by The Police
in the middle and concluded with a return to "Higher Ground".
Wonder performed it live with America's Got Talent Contestants 'Poplyfe' on September 14th, 2011.
released a cover as the second single from their fourth studio album Mother's Milk
. Their version earned an MTV Video Award nomination.
It was featured in the films Passenger 57
(1992), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
(1995), Center Stage
(2000), Walking Tall (2004), The Longest Yard
(2005), The Karate Kid (2010), and The Change-Up (2011) . This version has also been played in a season one episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
. It is also featured in the video games Guitar Hero
, Rocksmith
, and SSX3 (in SSX3, a remixed version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers version done by the X-Ecutioners was used). The music video was featured in an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head
.
As part of the "Year of a Million Dreams" Celebration, Space Mountain at Disneyland in Anaheim, California used this song as its soundtrack for 16 weeks, from January 3, 2007 to April 26, 2007.
British magazine Total Guitar
named it the second greatest cover ever in 2000.
UK 1989 CD Single
covered the song.
Michael McDonald
covered this song on his "Very Best Of" album.
A version was recorded by singer Ellen McIlwaine
for her 1975 album The Real Ellen McIlwaine.
A version was also recorded by gospel group The Blind Boys Of Alabama for their 2002 album Higher Ground.
In 2006, American Idol
contestant Chris Daughtry
performed it on the show's fifth-season.
Ashley Cleveland
covered the song on her 2006 album "Before The Daylight's Shot".
At the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival
, bassist Marcus Miller
also performed this song. "Higher Ground" was later released on his 2007 album Free.
More recently in the 2007 run of Australian Idol, contestant Ben Mackenzie sung his own version, which was a mixture of a ballad and the hard rock from the version recorded by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
In 2009, funk/soul group Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters
, released a version of the song on the compilation album Oh Happy Day
.
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
song written by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
and first appearing on his 1973 album Innervisions
Innervisions
Innervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period"...
. The song reached #4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and #1 on the U.S. Hot Soul Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart. Wonder wrote and recorded the song in a three-hour burst of creativity in May 1973. The album version of the song contains an extra verse and runs 30 seconds longer than the single version. The unique wah-Clavinet
Clavinet
A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
sound in the song was achieved with a Mu-tron envelope filter pedal. The bass is a Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
. Via overdubs, Wonder played all instruments on the track, including drums.
Critical reception
In 2004, Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked the song #261 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, offering the following explanation: "'Ground' was recorded just before Wonder was involved in a near-fatal accident in August '73 that left him in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Early in Wonder's recovery, his road manager sang the melody of 'Ground' into the singer's ear; Wonder responded by moving his fingers with the music."
Live performances
Wonder, joined by Alicia KeysAlicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
and Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, performed it at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
. Wonder and Keys sang it again at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
Wonder performed it on January 18, 2009 at the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
festivities
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial was a public celebration of the then forthcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2009. By some estimates the...
in honor of the inauguration of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
along with Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
and Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
.
Wonder performed it on October 29, 2009, at the 25th Anniversary of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert. It was performed with Sting. The song broke into "Roxanne
Roxanne (song)
"Roxanne" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour. It was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.- History :...
" by The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
in the middle and concluded with a return to "Higher Ground".
Wonder performed it live with America's Got Talent Contestants 'Poplyfe' on September 14th, 2011.
Chart history
| Chart (1973) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
29 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
4 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
1 |
Red Hot Chili Peppers version
The Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
released a cover as the second single from their fourth studio album Mother's Milk
Mother's Milk
Mother's Milk is the fourth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1989, on EMI America Records. It was the first album to feature the band's most well-known lineup...
. Their version earned an MTV Video Award nomination.
It was featured in the films Passenger 57
Passenger 57
Passenger 57 is a 1992 American action film starring Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne. The film's success made Snipes a popular action hero icon.-Plot:...
(1992), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is a 1995 American superhero action fantasy based on the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on Fox Kids. It featured the characters and actors from the series itself, and used the zords from Ninja Sentai Kakuranger...
(1995), Center Stage
Center Stage
Center Stage is a 2000 American drama film, directed by Nicholas Hytner, about a group of young dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City...
(2000), Walking Tall (2004), The Longest Yard
The Longest Yard (2005 film)
The Longest Yard is a 2005 American sports comedy film remake of the 1974 film of the same name. Adam Sandler plays the protagonist, Paul Crewe, a disgraced former professional football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, who is coerced to form a team from the prison inmates to play...
(2005), The Karate Kid (2010), and The Change-Up (2011) . This version has also been played in a season one episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
. It is also featured in the video games Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
, Rocksmith
Rocksmith
Rocksmith is a music video game produced by Ubisoft similar to Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString and Offbeat Guitarist, and based on the technology in Guitar Rising. The game's main focus is the unique feature that allows players to plug in virtually any electric guitar and...
, and SSX3 (in SSX3, a remixed version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers version done by the X-Ecutioners was used). The music video was featured in an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
.
As part of the "Year of a Million Dreams" Celebration, Space Mountain at Disneyland in Anaheim, California used this song as its soundtrack for 16 weeks, from January 3, 2007 to April 26, 2007.
British magazine Total Guitar
Total Guitar
Total Guitar is a monthly magazine based in the United Kingdom. The magazine is the best selling guitar magazine in Europe.The magazine is owned by Future Publishing, who publish many other magazines ranging from drums and video games to mountain bikes and knitting magazines.Total Guitar regularly...
named it the second greatest cover ever in 2000.
UK 1989 CD Single
- "Higher Ground"
- "Higher Ground" (munchkin mix)
- "Millionaires Against Hunger"
- "Mommy Where's Daddy?"
- "Politician (Mini Rap)"
Other versions
Ike & Tina TurnerIke & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo's repertoire included rock & roll, soul, blues and funk...
covered the song.
Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
covered this song on his "Very Best Of" album.
A version was recorded by singer Ellen McIlwaine
Ellen McIlwaine
Ellen McIlwaine is an American singer-songwriter and musician best known for her career as a slide guitarist.-Biography:...
for her 1975 album The Real Ellen McIlwaine.
A version was also recorded by gospel group The Blind Boys Of Alabama for their 2002 album Higher Ground.
In 2006, American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
contestant Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry
Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol, from which he was eliminated on May 10, 2006...
performed it on the show's fifth-season.
Ashley Cleveland
Ashley Cleveland
Ashley Cleveland is an American singer/songwriter perhaps best known as a background vocalist and Grammy-winning gospel singer. Ashley Cleveland was born in Knoxville, Tennessee...
covered the song on her 2006 album "Before The Daylight's Shot".
At the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
, bassist Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
also performed this song. "Higher Ground" was later released on his 2007 album Free.
More recently in the 2007 run of Australian Idol, contestant Ben Mackenzie sung his own version, which was a mixture of a ballad and the hard rock from the version recorded by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
In 2009, funk/soul group Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters
The Clark Sisters
The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of four sisters:Jacky Clark Chisholm, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, and Karen Clark Sheard. A fifth sister, Denise Clark Bradford, no longer performs with the group. The Clark Sisters are the daughters of legendary...
, released a version of the song on the compilation album Oh Happy Day
Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration
"Some of secular music's top acts -- among them Queen Latifah, Jon Bon Jovi, Joss Stone and 3 Doors Down -- take a walk on the spiritual side for Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration."...
.