Tribute to Uncle Ray is the second studio album by Little Stevie Wonder, released by Motown in October 1962, shortly after The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie. Even though it was released second, it had been recorded first, when Wonder was 11 years old.[5] The album was an attempt by Berry Gordy and Motown to associate the young "Little Stevie Wonder" with the successful and popular Ray Charles, who was also a blind African-American musician.[6] Like Wonder's debut, this album failed to generate hit singles, as Motown struggled to find a sound to fit Wonder, who was just 12 when this album was released.
| Tribute to Uncle Ray | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1962 | |||
| Recorded | 1962 | |||
| Studio | Hitsville U.S.A. Studio A, Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Genre | Jazz pop[1] | |||
| Length | 31:13 | |||
| Label | Tamla | |||
| Producer | Henry Cosby, Clarence Paul | |||
| Little Stevie Wonder chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Tom Hull | B[3] |
| New Record Mirror | [4] |
Track listing
editAll songs composed by Ray Charles, except where indicated.
- Side one
- "Hallelujah I Love Her So" – 2:28
- "Ain't That Love" – 2:42
- "Don't You Know" – 3:03
- "(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over" (Herbert Magidson, Allie Wrubel) – 4:19
- "Frankie & Johnny" (Traditional; arranged by Clarence Paul) – 2:51
- Side two
- "Drown in My Own Tears" (Henry Glover) – 4:01
- "Come Back Baby" – 2:50
- "Mary Ann" – 2:59
- "Sunset" (Stevie Wonder as Stevie Judkins, Clarence Paul) – 3:32
- "My Baby's Gone" (Berry Gordy, Jr.) – 2:28
References
edit- ^ Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "The Supremes - "Where Did Our Love Go". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 56.
- ^ Tribute to Uncle Ray review by William Ruhlmann, AllMusic.
- ^ Hull, Tom (November 2013). "Recycled Goods (#114)". A Consumer Guide to the Trailing Edge. Tom Hull. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Watson, Jimmy (14 September 1963). "Little Stevie Wonder: Tribute To Uncle Ray" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 131. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 314. ISBN 9780313340468.
- ^ Ribowsky, Mark. Signed, Sealed and Delivered: The Soulful Journey of Stevie Wonder.