Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground one of the most influential songs of all time

Posted January 2021

By Andrew Gonzalez

Cub Reporter

Stevie Wonder was undoubtedly one of the most influential artists of his time and clearly has an incredible talent with playing music and portrayed topics through his music.

Higher Ground, released in 1973, by Stevie Wonder is the perfect example. It features a heavy emphasis on the bass, with it being the main melody of the song, accompanied by a jazzy drum line in the background and tamborine. Not only is the song heavy on the bass, however, there is also a jazz guitar that can be heard if listened to closely. The device that gives the bass its iconic sound is a machine called a moog synthesiser.

This song addresses the topic of reincarnation and different types of people walking through life.

“I would like to believe in reincarnation," Wonder stated in an interview with The New York Times. "I would like to believe that there is another life. I think that sometimes your consciousness can happen on this earth a second time around.”

Seventeen years ago, in 2004, Rolling Stone chose this song as number 265 on their list of 500 Greatest songs ever. An interesting coincidence about this song is that it was recorded just before Wonder was in an extremely dangerous car crash that almost ended his life. He mentioned after the crash in an interview 1973 that he felt as if it was his second chance at life, and that he should value life even more than he did already.

The song eventually grew so popular that the The Red Hot Chili Peppers wrote a cover of it in 1989 on their album Mother’s Milk. Eleven years later, it was named the second best cover ever by British magazine Total Guitar.

Overall, Higher Ground speaks to many on a deep level, but first time listeners to the song might not realize the message Wonder is portraying. Higher Ground is a song that is easy to enjoy, and if you’re a fan of jazz or R&B or upbeat music in general, it is highly recommended.