Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#3) & R&B (#1 for 6 weeks); 1970
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In 1970 Stevie Wonder made the break from his label’s hit-making assembly line and released his first self-produced album: Signed Sealed & Delivered. His co-writers on the title track – Hardaway, Garrett, and Wright – were a trio of Stevie’s past, present, and future significant others.
Mother Lulu Mae Hardaway moved her blind three-year-old son Stevie from Saginaw to Detroit, Michigan; dead center in the fertile R&B music scene of the Motor City.
Singer/radio deejay Lee Garrett first met Stevie while attending the Michigan School for the Blind, and had recently collaborated with Stevie on a song for the Spinners, It’s A Shame, as had secretary-turned-singer Syreeta Wright.
Presented with a new instrumental track from Stevie, Wright and Garrett spontaneously launched into the “signed, sealed, delivered” refrain, then tossed out lyrics in a back-and-forth creative flow. Their collaboration caught fire and stood at #13 on September 14, 1970, Stevie and Syreeta’s wedding day,.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Stevie Wonder
Lyrics Written by:
- Stevie Wonder
- Lee Garrett
- Syreeta Wright
- Lula Mae Hardaway
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).