The Lost Songs Project

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The Lost Songs Project
The Lost Songs Project
"I Ain't Gonna Stand For It," Stevie Wonder (1981)

"I Ain't Gonna Stand For It," Stevie Wonder (1981)

Did you know Stevie could go country?

Mark Blankenship's avatar
Mark Blankenship
Mar 08, 2023
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The Lost Songs Project
The Lost Songs Project
"I Ain't Gonna Stand For It," Stevie Wonder (1981)
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Peak: #4 on the R&B chart (#11 on the Hot 100)
Streams: 3.5 million

The roots of country music and R&B are fully entwined, and “I Ain’t Gonna Stand For It” makes that clear. Yes, that is actually Stevie Wonder singing in the verses, even though he sounds like a grizzled old Nashville troubadour. When he switches from that voice into his soulful wails on the chorus, he’s basically saying, “Look, it’s all just music, and I need all of it to tell this particular story about a cheating woman.”

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