You Are The Sunshine Of My Life

The sunshine of Stevie Wonder's life when he wrote this song was Syreeta Wright, whom he married in 1970. Wright, who started at Motown Records as a secretary, co-wrote Wonder's hit "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" that same year, and also all nine songs on Stevie's 1971 album Where I'm Coming From. Wonder produced her debut album, Syreeta, in 1972 and her next one, Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta, in 1974. Some sources list the couple's divorce as happening in 1972, but Wright, who died in 2004, claimed they were married until 1975. The marriage was difficult, and exacerbated by their working relationship, which Wright found stifling. "I was always living in his shadow," she said. "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" finds wonder expressing his devotion to Syreeta - it's a husband looking upon his now-familiar wife and remembering why he loves her and always will. It didn't work out for this couple, but the sentiment was irrefutable. The song remains a heartfelt expression of undying love.

Wonder recorded this song impromptu at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, which he would keep booked when he was in the area. His band at the time included Ray Parker Jr. on guitar, Scott Edwards on bass, Keith Copeland on drums, and Steve Madaio, Trevor Lawrence and David Sanborn on horns. In a Songfacts interview, Edwards said: "He had been working with the structure by himself. But once he had all of us together, he just started playing it. And then we all joined in and we all could feel that the vibe and the way the tune was going, it was a hit. He was so excited, he said, 'Tonight we're going to the studio and record it.' And that's what we did." Wonder played many of his own instruments on Talking Book, but the album was one of the first to include musician credits, so we know who made it to wax on this track. The personnel were Edwards on bass, Daniel Ben Zebulon on congas, and Wonder on Fender Rhodes electric piano and drums. The male vocalist who first sings on the track is Jim Gilstrap, and the female singer who follows is Lani Groves - both were backup singers in his band. Stevie is the third singer heard on the track.

Marvin Gaye, whose "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" dealt with spirituality and the Earth, cited this song as an example of how the environment impacts songwriting. He told Sounds magazine in 1976: "A lot of the time, they don't even know it as writers, but they're just forced to put Mother Nature into the picture, like in 'You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.'"