“I Was Made To Love Her” by Stevie Wonder

This sweet slice of Motown soul was an early Stevie Wonder classic that was released when he was still in his teens in 1967. The 17-year-old wunderkind brings tons of soul and conviction to his sterling vocal performance. His harmonica playing at the intro is also excellent. The song is masterfully arranged and boasts an infectious melody. And James Jamerson takes the song to a whole other level with his brilliant bass work. It’s truly a joy to listen to Jamerson work his groove magic on this track. The smooth, effortless finesse he always brought to his playing was unparalleled. 

Stevie wrote “I Was Made To Love Her” with his mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Motown songwriter/producer Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby, who also produced the track. Stevie told Rock Around The World newspaper that the song, “kind of speaks of my first love to a girl named Angie, who was a very beautiful woman." He added, "Actually, she was my third girlfriend but my first love. I used to call Angie up and, like, we would talk and say, ‘I love you,’ and we’d talk and we’d both go to sleep on the phone. And this was like from Detroit to California, right? You know, mother said, ‘Boy, what you doing? Get off the phone!”

The song was a massive hit. It rose all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent four non-consecutive weeks atop Billboard’s R&B singles chart. It also performed well on the charts in other parts of the world: The UK (#5), New Zealand (#16), Canada (#5) and Australia (#40).

The personnel for “I Was Made To Love Her” was Stevie Wonder (lead vocals, clavinet, harmonica), James Jamerson (bass), Benny Benjamin (drums), Eddie Willis (guitar) and The Andantes (backing vocals). It was the title track from Stevie Wonder’s album I Was Made To Love Her, released on Motown’s Tamla Records on August 28, 1967. 

The song has been covered by a slew of major artists, including Whitney Houston, The Beach Boys, Chaka Khan, Tom Jones, Boyz II Men, The Jackson 5 and Sister Sledge. Also, Stevie played drums on The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s instrumental cover of the song. It was recorded sometime in 1967. It’s included on The Jimi Hendrix Experience: The BBC Sessions, released on June 2, 1998.

Additionally, “I Was Made To Love Her” has been sampled on five songs, according to WhoSampled.com. The song has been featured on the soundtracks for the films Dead Presidents (1995), Bobby (2006) and The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019).

This track was released during Motown’s golden era when artists from the label were a constant presence on the U.S. pop and R&B charts top 10. Many of the label’s releases during that period went on to become standards, including this one.

Stevie performing "I Was Made To Love Her" on The Merv Griffin Show in 1967

"I Was Made To Love Her" available at Amazon

Related blog entries:

"If You Really Love Me" by Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder Explores Love, Heartbreak and Spirituality on Fulfillingness' First Finale