I Just Called to Say I Love You

"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a ballad written, produced, and performed by American R&B singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder.[2] It remains Wonder's best-selling single to date, having topped a record 19 charts.

"I Just Called to Say I Love You"
Single by Stevie Wonder
from the album The Woman in Red
B-side"I Just Called to Say I Love You" (instrumental)
ReleasedAugust 1, 1984[1]
Recorded1984
GenrePop, R&B
Length6:44 (Extended version)
6:16 (Album version)
4:25 (Single version)
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Stevie Wonder[2]
Producer(s)Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder singles chronology
"Front Line"
(1983)		 "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
(1984)		 "Love Light in Flight"
(1984)
Music video
"I Just Called To Say I Love You" on YouTube

The song was the lead single from the 1984 soundtrack album The Woman in Red,[2] along with two other songs by Wonder, and scored number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks from October 13 to October 27, 1984. It also became his tenth number-one on the R&B chart, and his fourth on the adult contemporary chart; it spent three weeks at the top of both charts, and for the same weeks as on the Hot 100.[3] The song also became Wonder's only solo UK number-one success, staying at the top for six weeks, in the process also becoming Motown Records' biggest-selling single in the UK, a distinction it still held as at 2018.[2] In addition, the song won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.[2] The song also received three nominations at the 27th Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

The song's lyrics have Wonder surprising his love interest with an unexpected telephone call. Throughout the song, Wonder lists events in a yearly calendar that might prompt someone to call a loved one. Yet he explains no special annual event such as New Year's Day or Halloween spurred the call. He simply wants to tell her he loves her from the bottom of his heart.

There was a dispute among Wonder, his former writing partner Lee Garrett, and Lloyd Chiate as to who actually wrote the song. Chiate claimed in a lawsuit that he and Garrett wrote the song years before its 1984 release. However, a jury ultimately sided with Wonder.[4]

Personnel

Music video

A music video of the song has Wonder, during a concert, singing into a telephone receiver while seated at a piano.[5] By the end of the song, he and the audience are standing and swaying to the music. The video features concert footage recorded in Rotterdam Ahoy, in the Netherlands, on August 10, 1984.[6]

Charts

Sales and certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[42] 3× Platinum 300,000^
France (SNEP)[43] Gold 926,000[44]
Germany (BVMI)[45] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[46] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[47] Gold 10,000*
Portugal (AFP)[48] Platinum 170,000^
Russia (NFPF)[49]
Ringtone 		Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[50] Platinum 1,874,225[51]
United States (RIAA)[52] Gold 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. "RIAA Gold and Platinum Database". Riaa.org. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 136. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. "I Just Called to Say I Love You" topped the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and R&B charts simultaneously from October 13 to 27, 1984:
  4. Weinstein, Henry (February 23, 1990). "Wonder Wins Suit Over Song". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  6. NPO Radio 5: Clip van 'I Just Called To Say I Love You'
  7. Grant. "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1984". Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  8. "Austriancharts.at – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8968." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  10. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8937." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  11. "Danish Chart Archive - Singles 1979 - ____ (B.T./IFPI DK)". www.ukmix.org. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  12. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. No. 27. 1 October 1984. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  13. Timo (13 August 2015). "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit WIL - WOY". Sisältää hitin. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  14. "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque artiste commençant par W". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  16. "Greece Single Charts - Number Ones". UKMIX Forums. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  17. "Topp 10 vinsælustu lögin". DV (in Icelandic). 31 August 1984. p. 37. ISSN 1021-8254. Retrieved 25 July 2020 – via Timarit.is.
  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Irish Singles Chart.
  19. "Israel Singles Charts 1987-1995". www.ukmix.org. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  20. "Indice per Interprete: W" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  21. Chartsventes (2015-09-08). "World singles charts and sales TOP 50 in 58 countries: Stevie WONDER". World singles charts and sales TOP 50 in 58 countries. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  22. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Stevie Wonder" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  24. "Charts.nz – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Top 40 Singles.
  25. "Norwegiancharts.com – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". VG-lista.
  26. "Archiwum LP3, notowanie 128, z dn. 29.09.1984". www.lp3.pl. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  27. "TOP 20 TMP Portugal - number one in the 80's airplay charts". www.laurentpons.com. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  28. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  29. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  30. "Swedishcharts.com – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Singles Top 100.
  31. "Swisscharts.com – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Swiss Singles Chart.
  32. "Stevie Wonder: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  33. "Stevie Wonder Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  34. "Stevie Wonder Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  35. "Stevie Wonder Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  36. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 13, 1984". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  37. "Number one hits in Zimbabwe". UKMIX Forums. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  38. "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  39. "Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 96 no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-19.
  40. "The UK's biggest selling singles of all time". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  41. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  42. "Canadian single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Music Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  43. "French certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved March 29, 2012. Select STEVIE WONDER and click OK. 
  44. "Les Singles en Or" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  45. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Stevie Wonder; 'I Just Called to Say I Love You')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  46. "Dutch single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 February 2020. Enter I Just Called To Say I Love You in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  47. "New Zealand single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  48. Tenente, Fernando (March 2, 1985). "Fourth-Quarter Upturn in Portugal". Billboard. p. 71. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via American Radio History.
  49. "РОССИЙСКАЯ ИНДУСТРИЯ ЗВУКОЗАПИСИ - Год 2011 I полугодие" [Top 50 RBT 2011] (PDF) (in Russian). Lenta.ru. 2011. p. 4. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  50. "British certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 29, 2012. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type I Just Called to Say I Love You in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  51. Copsey, Rob (September 19, 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  52. "American single certifications – Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 29, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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