Up-Tight


Up-Tight is the fifth album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder. It was released by Motown on the Tamla label on May 4, 1966.

Production

Up-Tight was recorded at Motown's studio Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit. It includes two earlier recordings, the 1962 single "Contract on Love" and the un-issued 1964 single "Pretty Little Angel".
Also included on the album are "Nothing's Too Good for My Baby", another Wonder co-write, and a remake of folk star Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind", which made Wonder popular with crossover audiences, and a recording of the standard "Teach Me Tonight", featuring vocals by the Four Tops.
Stevie was backed by the Funk Brothers, the uncredited Motown Records studio musicians who helped define the '60s Motown sound. Motown's in-house female backing group, the Andantes, also accompany Wonder on the album. For one recording session, vocalist Pat Lewis stepped in as a replacement for a member of the Andantes.
"Pretty Little Angel" was listed as a single release in 1964. The track was mastered for single release in the fall of 1964 but not issued at that time. However, some copies were pressed two years later when the track was reconsidered for single release. These copies, of which there are very few, were pressed with the later style Tamla label that was introduced in the US during the second half of 1966. The recording was again withdrawn when "A Place In The Sun" was considered superior.

Release

The album was released on May 4, 1966, on Motown Records' Tamla label. The album features the U.S. Top 5 single "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", which Wonder co-wrote with Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby.

Commercial performance

The album reached No. 33 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and No. 2 on the R&B Albums chart.

Personnel