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Lauren Johnson

“That Girl” – Stevie Wonder Cover by Nadir Omowale for The Year of Living Stevie

So a couple of years ago Daryl Bean asked us to participate in his Year of Living Stevie podcast. We were one of several artists he asked to perform their own take on a couple of Stevie Wonder tunes and to talk about how Stevie has influenced their music.

Now as any real musician knows, taking on a Stevie song is always a challenge. He has an uncanny knack for writing compositions that seem simple, but are deceptively difficult. But it’s Stevie. You have to accept the challenge, and his catalog is so deep, you can’t take on one of the more well known classics. So you dig deep into the Book of Stevie, and you dig deep into yourself.

We chose one of my favorite songs that I’ve always wanted to cover that few people ever do, “That Girl”, one of the new songs he wrote for his 1982 greatest hits compilation Original Musiquarium.

We quickly learned why people don’t do this tune. It kicked our behinds from jump. Luckily we had the professor, Philip Whitfield, on hand to help us navigate the changes. Steve Caldwell and I then turned up the dirt on top of the funky, nasty groove laid down by the dynamic duo of Christopher Spooner and Lauren Johnson. And yes, if you know the original, you’ll hear that I took it upon myself to learn how to play Stevie’s harmonica solo on guitar.

This was a really fun project, and I’m so glad Daryl shared it today to celebrate the Master Blaster. Hope you enjoy! #HappyBirthdayStevieWonder

 

The Year of Living Stevie: Nadir Omowale and his Band Discuss and Perform The Music of Stevie Wonder

The Year of Living Stevie” is host Daryl Bean’s biweekly podcast about life, creativity, and the music of Stevie Wonder. In each episode, musicians explore Stevie’s influence, and the affect his music has had on them.

In this episode, musician/vocalist/songwriter/producer Nadir Omowale and his band (Steve Caldwell, guitar; Phil Whitfield, keyboards; Chris Spooner, bass; Lauren Johnson, drums) talk about political activism through music, their deep well of experience in the industry, and what made Nadir want to throw his bass at a drummer (not Lauren). Plus they perform two deep Stevie tracks, “That Girl”, from Original Musiquarium, and “Let’s Get Serious” (a hit for Jermaine Jackson, but written and produced by Stevie).

Click HERE to Listen.

© Nadir Omowale