The Woman in Red (soundtrack)

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The Woman in Red
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedAugust 28, 1984
Recorded1983–1984
Genre
Length41:19
LabelMotown
Producer
  • Stevie Wonder
  • Gary Olazabal
Stevie Wonder and Dionne Warwick chronology
Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I
(1982)
The Woman in Red
(1984)
In Square Circle
(1985)
Singles from The Woman in Red
  1. "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
    Released: August 1, 1984
  2. "Love Light in Flight"
    Released: November 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB+[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

The Woman in Red: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the second soundtrack album released by American musician Stevie Wonder on the Motown label. Also featuring Dionne Warwick, the album was released in 1984 for the film of the same name (starring Gene Wilder). It features Wonder's biggest hit, "I Just Called to Say I Love You", which hit number one internationally and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and also features the follow-up hit, "Love Light in Flight" (a US top-20 hit) and "Don't Drive Drunk", the song and the accompanying music video for which were used in the Ad Council and the US Department of Transportation's Drunk Driving Prevention public service announcement the following year.

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Stevie Wonder, except "It's More Than You" by Ben Bridges.

Side one

  1. "The Woman in Red" – 4:38
  2. "It's You" (featuring Dionne Warwick) – 4:56
  3. "It's More Than You" – 3:15
  4. "I Just Called to Say I Love You" – 6:17

Side two

  1. "Love Light in Flight" – 6:54
  2. "Moments Aren't Moments" (solo by Dionne Warwick) – 4:33
  3. "Weakness" (with Dionne Warwick) – 4:13
  4. "Don't Drive Drunk" – 6:33
  • Note: Later pressings of the compact disc have the single version of "I Just Called to Say I Love You", due to its popularity.

Personnel[edit]

  • Stevie Wonder – piano, synthesizers, drums, harmonica, vocoder, lead vocals, backing vocals (1–5, 7–8)
  • Dionne Warwick – lead vocals (2, 6–7)
  • Nathan Watts – bass guitar (2–3,7)
  • James Allen – drums (2,7)
  • Isaiah Sanders – piano, synthesizer, drums (3,7)
  • Ben Bridges – electric guitar (3)
  • Lenny Castro – congas (5)
  • Larry Gittens – trumpet (6)
  • Bob Malach – saxophone (7)

Commercial performance[edit]

The album reached number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, number one on the R&B Albums chart (for four weeks) and number two on the UK Albums Chart, where it was kept off the top spot by the albums Now That's What I Call Music 3 and David Bowie's Tonight. Wonder's albums Songs in the Key of Life and Hotter than July also reached number two in the UK and to date he has failed to achieve a number-one album there. However, the single "I Just Called to Say I Love You", taken from The Woman in Red, was a massive hit in the UK, reaching number one and becoming the second best-selling single of 1984 (only behind Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?") and the third most successful single of the entire 1980s there.

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

Certifications and sales for The Woman in Red soundtrack
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[27] Platinum 53,626[27]
Germany (BVMI)[28] Gold 250,000^
Japan (Oricon) 286,000[8]
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[29] Platinum 20,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[30] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] Gold 7,500^
Portugal (AFP)[32] Gold 70,000[32]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] Gold 300,000[34]
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] Platinum 1,000,000^

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

Accolades[edit]

Award Category Song Recipient Result Ref.
Academy Awards Best Original Song "I Just Called to Say I Love You" Stevie Wonder Won [37]
British Academy Film Awards Best Original Song Written for a Film Nominated [38]
Golden Globe Awards Best Original Song Won [39]
Grammy Awards Song of the Year Nominated [40]
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male Nominated
Best Pop Instrumental Performance Nominated
Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male The Woman in Red Nominated

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William (1984-08-28). "AllMusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1984). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. No. October 30. New York. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  3. ^ "Stevie Wonder: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 283. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / Stevie Wonder – The Woman in Red" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  6. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Archived 2012-12-28 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 20, 2013
  7. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Stevie Wonder – The Woman in Red" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  9. ^ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack / Stevie Wonder – The Woman in Red". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  10. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack / Stevie Wonder – The Woman in Red". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  12. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Soundtrack / Stevie Wonder – The Woman in Red". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  13. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack / Stevie Wonder – The Woman in Red". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "Stevie Wonder Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  16. ^ "Album Search: Soundtrack/Stevie Wonder – The Woman in Red" (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1984" (ASP) (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  19. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1984". RPM. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  20. ^ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1984" (in Dutch). Archived from the original (ASP) on January 7, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  21. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1984 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  22. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  23. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1985". RPM. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  24. ^ 1985年アルバム年間ヒットチャート [Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1985] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  25. ^ "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1985". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  26. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Stevie Wonder – The Woman In Red". Music Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  27. ^ a b "Stevie Wonder" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  28. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Stevie Wonder; 'The Woman In Red')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  29. ^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1985". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  30. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Stevie Wonder – The Woman In Red" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 April 2019. Enter The Woman In Red in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1984 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  31. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Stevie Wonder – Living In The Present Future". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  32. ^ a b Tenente, Fernando (March 2, 1985). "Fourth-Quarter Upturn in Portugal" (PDF). Billboard. p. 71. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via World Radio History.
  33. ^ Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979–1990. Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  34. ^ "El exito de Stevie Wonder". Diario de Burgos (in Spanish). February 24, 1985. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  35. ^ "British album certifications – Stevie Wonder – The Woman In Red". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  36. ^ "American album certifications – Stevie Wonder – Woman In Red". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  37. ^ "The 57th Academy Awards (1985) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2011-12-28. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  38. ^ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1985". BAFTA. 1985. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  39. ^ "The Woman in Red – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  40. ^ "1984 Grammy Award Winners". Grammy.com. Retrieved 1 May 2011.