https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Tue, 05 May 2026 11:11:14 +0000 Sat, 30 May 2015 23:59:48 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.07 360 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=2285 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum//images/Top-40-Music-on-CD-Forum-Logo.png https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=43688&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#43688 Author: EdisonLite
Subject: 2285
Posted: 30 May 2015 at 11:59pm

After writing the above post, I thought I'd check one more site - discogs.com - because it's got a lot of info on singles, and I found this:

http://www.discogs.com/Stevie-Wonder-Isnt-She-Lovely/release /1312786

(In order for the above link to work, you must remove the space after the word "release". For some reason, I can't get rid of the space by editing, and I didn't put it there in the first place.)

It was released in the UK as a 12" "limited edition", on Motown. It actually says "limited edition" on the 12" label. Discogs describes it as an "unofficial release", though I don't see those words on the label. I think it might better be described as a "promo release". Sadly, I can't tell if a time is listed on the 12" label.

UPDATE: I just did an ebay search on this song, and it seems to have come out in Poland as a "flexi". I assume that's some kind of vinyl, as the seller has it listed under:

Music-->Records

But I don't know if this was '77 or was even a legitimate release. And my gut instinct is that the edit was not used on this (but I could be wrong.)

Edited by EdisonLite]]> Sat, 30 May 2015 23:59:48 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=43688&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#43688 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=43687&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#43687 Author: EdisonLite
Subject: 2285
Posted: 30 May 2015 at 11:52pm

Going back to this thread from nearly 8 years ago (!) ... I now have the import version of "Song Review" (which is a single disc set, not double like the US), and which includes an edit of "Isn't She Lovely". In fact, the CD opens with the song. Basically, they start the song about 0:30 in, on the downbeat, and simply fade early - it comes to about 3:19.

I do believe Jim is correct that there were NEVER any edits done of this song back in the '70s; furthermore, I wondered if this may have been a single overseas, so I did some checking. The wikipedia page for Stevie Wonder's discography lists "Isn't She Lovely" (because it peaked on the AC chart) but also lists 9 countries in total for all his singles - and "Isn't She Lovely" just didn't chart in any other country listed. Nine countries isn't a whole lot (and Australia is not even listed on the Stevie Wonder singles page), but there seems to be no evidence that this ever came out as a single anywhere. I believe this edit was made for this import CD (released in 1996 and probably created in 1996) in order to fit 21 songs on this one-disc set - which times out at 78:47, making it impossible for the 6-minute version to be included without cutting out another song.

Edited by EdisonLite]]> Sat, 30 May 2015 23:52:04 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=43687&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#43687 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11048&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11048 Author: jimct
Subject: 2285
Posted: 07 August 2007 at 11:10pm

Thanks, Gary. As always, your "in the trenches" recollections/contributions to this Board continue to be absolutely invaluable to us all.]]> Tue, 07 Aug 2007 23:10:21 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11048&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11048 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11045&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11045 Author: Gary Mack
Subject: 2285
Posted: 07 August 2007 at 6:48pm

Jim,

Absolutely correct. I was in regular contact with Motown and their local distributor at the time, for our station, KFJZ-FM (Z-97), was far and away the dominant Top 40 in Dallas/Fort Worth at the time. We charted Isn't She Lovely extremely high based on our call-out research and request activity. Motown asked us to hold off (we didn't), then admitted that they pressured Stevie to OK a 45 release. He refused. Tensions were so high that Motown had to back off for fear of completely alienating their main artist. So there was never a 45 of that song in the US, ever.

GM]]> Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:48:35 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11045&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11045 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11039&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11039 Author: jimct
Subject: 2285
Posted: 07 August 2007 at 8:29am

I admitted in my previous post that I didn't have "solid" proof; I was merely attempting to suggest that, IMHO, THE DOOR IS STILL OPEN, even if only a tiny bit. Nothing more... :-)

80smusicfreak, it is clear that there are at least a couple of people out there who will simply NOT accept that there was NO U.S. promo 45 for "Isn't She Lovely." How can anyone prove, with 100% certainty, that something DOESN'T exist? UFOs? Loch Ness Monster? You have people with strong opinions either way. I was only a sophomore in college when this LP was issued, but I was already interning in the music department of the Top 40 station I was later hired at, and, in fact, only just retired from this past November. I have had, every week for more than 30 years, all at ONE "reporting-to-all-the-trade-magazines", Top 40 station, daily contact with thousands of radio promo issues, communicating with label reps, etc. I am SO familiar with this situation that I can state that some initial "buzz" came from two of the cuts included on that bonus EP, inserted inside the "Songs In The Key Of Life" LP ("Saturn" and "Ebony Eyes"), before there was ANY radio fuss about "Isn't She Lovely." Those two tracks received at least a little airplay, during the weeks of 10/10, 10/17 and 10/24/76, before our first airplay listing for "Isn't She Lovely" as a non-charting "extra", occured, on 10/31/76 - I still have our original lists. Our station then continued to list this track, for many weeks thereafter. It was doing very well for us, and when I asked the MD why it didn't make our "Top 30 Survey," he gave me two reasons. One was "it wasn't a 45 yet", and 2) I REALLY don't like to "name names" on this Board, but this situation appears to have now, regrettably, escalated to this point. Our local Motown record rep at the time, Bill Beamish, (who happened to be a former legendary jock at our station, and had a couple of different tours of duty with us, from the early 60's, to 1972 - Bill would even come back to work for us again, on-air, in the early 80's. During his years at Motown, we sometimes got additional, internal details that most other stations didn't, due to our long-standing relationship with Bill) had told us HOW important it was to Motown for Top 40 stations to give "I Wish" 90%-plus of our airplay and positive chart action, and to please, ONLY list "Isn't She Lovely" as a non-charting "extra", so as not to undermine "I Wish." He also told us, like an earlier poster has also said, that Stevie didn't really want to release "Isn't She Lovely" as a 45, but that the label was hoping to perhaps change his mind in the coming weeks, and maybe get him to agree to release it as a subsequent 45 from the album. (Well, they didn't, and Motown never did; "Sir Duke", "Another Star" and "As" were the final 3 45s from that LP.) Why on EARTH would Motown put out a simultaneous, promo-only 45 for "Isn't She Lovely", if THIS was their ultimate hope for the song, in late '76? It would simply make NO business sense whatsoever - they were working on persuading Stevie, and save it for a possible later 45 release. 80smusicfreak, Bill is currently retired down in Florida, and who knows WHAT he'd still remember about this situation, 30+ years later - probably not much. I'd really hate to have to bother Bill about this, but I'm anxious to give you "closure", regarding your lingering suspicions. Would you consider the guy who came to our station EVERY week, an ACTUAL employee of Motown, who HAND-delivered and promoted Motown product of that era to us, as ENOUGH of an authority for you? I WILL look him up, if you want. But, of course, anything's still possible!!!! (Maybe I can at least get the chance of there being a promo 45 for "Isn't She Lovely" down to 0.000000000000000000001% for you, sir!)   :)]]> Tue, 07 Aug 2007 08:29:41 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11039&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11039 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11037&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11037 Author: BillCahill
Subject: 2285
Posted: 07 August 2007 at 5:16am

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but at that time I believe that to make it in the Billboard Top 100 singles there had to BE an actual single available for purchase. But for the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart, as well as other formats, they just measured airplay. So, a song not released as a single could make it to the AC chart but not the Hot 100 chart.
I was in CHR radio at the time and we didn't get a promo, at least at WTRY Albany. We played it from the album.

That doesn't mean that there wasn't one absolutely for sure, but it doesn't seem likely to me that AC got an edited promo 45, or a promo of any kind. It's just that Billboard WOULD measure airplay on album cuts at AC.

]]> Tue, 07 Aug 2007 05:16:26 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11037&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11037 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11036&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11036 Author: 80smusicfreak
Subject: 2285
Posted: 07 August 2007 at 3:14am

Sorry to be getting back to this one a little late...

jimct wrote: ...where's your alleged "monkey wrench?"

The "monkey wrench" comment referred to the fact that I have an example of a promo 45 in my collection that is indeed labeled specifically for AC radio, and indicates that the label was definitely trying to push more than one song by that artist simultaneously. And since it also happened to be from the exact same time period that "Isn't She Lovely" was hitting the airwaves, and it went against your original statement, I felt it was worth pointing out, that's all. Does it PROVE that Tamla/Motown issued a promo 45 (or 12" single) w/ "Isn't She Lovely" on it??? Certainly not - nor did I ever say it did...

I also have all of the Tim Neely/Goldmine books, and while there are omissions, he RARELY has holes in his discographies when it comes to "superstar" artists, such as Stevie Wonder...I have many other reference guides as well, however, and from one of them comes this info: Tamla only released 12 singles in 1976 (54266 to 54277), and 14 in 1977 (54278 to 54291), and I have full title/artist info for ALL 26 of these releases. NOTHING for "Isn't She Lovely."...If you would like me to list all of the 1976/77 Tamla 45 specific release info, just ask, and I will be happy to provide it.

I will now steal another quote of YOURS that you made THE VERY NEXT DAY (i.e., 23 July 2007) to Pat, on another thread:

Even within reference documents, you can't ALWAYS believe everything that you read...

BINGO! Although I didn't state it that way in my previous post above, that's exactly what I was getting at! We all know there are holes in ALL detailed reference works of a discography nature; I own literally dozens of such music-related books myself, dating back to the '70s. As a matter of fact, while doing a personal research project a few years ago, I discovered that Tim Neely's books also have holes under both AC/DC and Ozzy Osbourne, and the missing titles still haven't been added to the newer editions to this day - do you not consider those two artists "superstar" acts??? And yes, of course both Pat's and Joel Whitburn's works have plenty of errors and omissions as well (I've contributed to Whitburn's books in the past, too) - and I'm willing to wager that the one you have w/ the supposedly "complete" Motown discography isn't perfect, either. You refer to "all" of Tamla's single releases from 1976-77 using specific, sequential catalog nos., and I don't dispute their existence. However, as my Rick Springfield promo 45 from that same era also proves, labels did indeed sometimes give special non-numbered or out-of-sequence nos. to their promos, and aside from its sheer rarity, I'm sure that's a big part of why that particular promo 45 has slipped under the radar of both hardcore Springfield fans and knowledgeable rock music researchers like Neely all these years...

...certainly a Rick Springfield rarity could've been left out [of Tim Neely's books].

Just a rarity??? Heck, the fact is, his books are missing more than a DOZEN U.S. releases and pressing varieties for Rick Springfield (spread out over his LPs, 45s, and 12" singles, both commercial & promo) - some of them very common, and others quite collectible, actually... :-(

Are you speculating/guessing about this?...If you have solid information to the contrary, I would ask you to provide SPECIFIC catalog information to confirm your statement above - anything is possible.

I admitted in my previous post that I didn't have "solid" proof; I was merely attempting to suggest that, IMHO, THE DOOR IS STILL OPEN, even if only a tiny bit. Nothing more... :-)]]> Tue, 07 Aug 2007 03:14:11 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=11036&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#11036 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=10887&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#10887 Author: EdisonLite
Subject: 2285
Posted: 22 July 2007 at 10:09am

Does anyone know if "Isn't She Lovely" was released as a single in any other country? If so, maybe an edit was done for that and it flowed over to American stations that were wanting to play the song.]]> Sun, 22 Jul 2007 10:09:50 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=10887&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#10887 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=10878&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#10878 Author: Paul Haney
Subject: 2285
Posted: 22 July 2007 at 7:23am

I'll back up both Jim and Andy on this one. In all of my years collecting and the years I spent working in radio I never saw any kind of promo for "Isn't She Lovely".]]> Sun, 22 Jul 2007 07:23:25 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=10878&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#10878 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=10874&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#10874 Author: jimct
Subject: 2285
Posted: 22 July 2007 at 7:08am

80smusicfreak wrote: With all due respect to your extremely impressive collection of 45s, jimct, I can throw a monkey wrench into your statements above, and w/ a promo 45 from the exact same time period in question (i.e., late '76/early '77)!

80smusicfreak, with all due respect to you as well, sir, where's your alleged "monkey wrench?" Are you speculating/guessing about this? I also have all of the Tim Neely/Goldmine books, and while there are omissions, he RARELY has holes in his discographies when it comes to "superstar" artists, such as Stevie Wonder; certainly a Rick Springfield rarity could've been left out. I have many other reference guides as well, however, and from one of them comes this info: Tamla only released 12 singles in 1976 (54266 to 54277), and 14 in 1977 (54278 to 54291), and I have full title/artist info for ALL 26 of these releases. NOTHING for "Isn't She Lovely." If you have solid information to the contrary, I would ask you to provide SPECIFIC catalog information to confirm your statement above - anything is possible. If you would like me to list all of the 1976/77 Tamla 45 specific release info, just ask, and I will be happy to provide it.

Edited by jimct]]> Sun, 22 Jul 2007 07:08:13 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2285&PID=10874&title=stevie-wonder-isnt-she-lovely#10874