The No. 1 Stevie Wonder Hit That Was Completely Improvised and “Gutted” the Rock Icon for Which It Was Originally Intended

Writing a hit song can often feel like catching lightning in a bottle, which seemed to be the case for this No. 1 hit Stevie Wonder improvised in the studio with the intention of gifting it to a rock ‘n’ roller who was working with him at the time. Unfortunately for that rock musician, a fight among band members meant it took him longer to get into the studio and record his version of the gifted song. Fortunately for Wonder, he had all the time (and insistence from Motown) he needed to cut the record first.

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Legendary guitarist and Yardbirds founder Jeff Beck began working with Wonder in the early 1970s. Wonder had Beck play guitar on his 15th studio album, Talking Book, and in return, Wonder agreed to write Beck a song. Wonder and Beck hadn’t hashed out the specifics about that song yet when the R&B artist happened upon Beck playing drums in the studio during a bit of session downtime. “Stevie came kinda boogying into the studio, ‘Don’t stop.’ ‘Ah, c’mon Stevie, I can’t play the drums.’ Then the lick came out. ‘Superstition’. That was my song in return for Talking Book. I thought, ‘He’s given me the riff of the century,’” Beck recalled in Jeff Beck: Crazy Fingers.

Wonder must have thought the same thing, because he insisted that they pause the session so that he could write lyrics for the rest of the song. Wonder, Beck, and the rest of the crew cut a quick demo of the song and sent it to Motown. Motown, also smelling a hit on their hands, quickly agreed to let Wonder cut the record. He released his version of “Superstition” on October 24, 1972.

Jeff Beck Released His Version Five Months After Stevie Wonder Went No. 1

Stevie Wonder cutting the same song as Jeff Beck wouldn’t necessarily have been a problem for the latter artist if only they had gotten the timing right. Wonder and his crew were quicker on the draw, releasing their version in October 1972, just in time for Halloween. Beck, meanwhile, was in the throes of band drama that stunted his progress. During one contentious session, Beck and his bassist got into an altercation in front of everyone in the studio. The incident was as embarrassing as it was unproductive. Beck’s manager fired the bassist the next week.

By the time Beck got a new lineup to record his version of “Superstition”, the song that was supposed to be his, Wonder’s version was already a hit. Beck understood why Wonder cut his version from a working musician’s standpoint, calling it “the right decision.” Still, he added, “We were gutted, you know, totally. We would have had a monstrous, monstrous hit.”

Wonder later offered his perspective, which portrayed the pianist as less of a willing participant and more of an artist bending to his label’s will. “Motown decided they wanted to release ‘Superstition’,” he recalled. “I said Jeff wanted it. And they told me I needed a strong single in order for the album to be successful. My understanding was that Jeff would be releasing ‘Superstition’ long before I was going to finish my album. Jeff recorded ‘Superstition’ in July, so I thought it would be out. I did promise him the song, and I’m sorry it happened and that he came out with some of the arrogant statements he came out with.”

The bad blood didn’t last long, and by the end of the decade, the two musicians were collaborating again.

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