He's Misstra Know-It-All
"He's Misstra Know-It-All" | ||||
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Tamla | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
He's Misstra Know-It-All (album version) on YouTube |
"He's Misstra Know-It-All" is a single by
UK Singles Chart in April 1974.[2] The song takes the form of a mellow ballad with a steady beat, principally a solo performance with Wonder providing lead vocal, background vocal, piano, drums, handclaps and congas. Ethereal flute-like sounds are provided by his TONTO modular synthesiser. Willie Weeks
, on electric bass, is the only other musician. Towards the end of the song the mood changes to a stronger feel, more strident singing and with hand-claps emphasising the beat, half-beat and quarter-beat.
The song was released again in 1977 in both the UK and US as the B-side to "Sir Duke".
The song is essentially a long description of a
confidence trickster character who is a "man with a plan", who has a slick answer to all his critics and who has "a counterfeit dollar in his hand." It has been alleged that this is a reference to United States' President Richard Nixon.[3][4]
Track listing
A. "He's Misstra Know-It-All" – 3:25 (Stevie Wonder)
B. "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" – 2:32[5] (Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy)[6]
Personnel
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, drums, handclaps, TONTO synthesizer, congas
- Willie Weeks – electric bass
References
- ^ John McFerrin. "Stevie Wonder- Innervisions". Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "Official Charts Company - Stevie Wonder". Official UK Charts. July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ Arthur Chappell, "The Story In The Song - Stevie Wonder - He's Misstra Know It All", Bubblews, January 10, 2014. Archived April 22, 2015, at archive.today.
- ^ Daniel E. Frick, "Reinventing Richard Nixon", 2008.
- ^ "Stevie Wonder – He's Misstra Know It All", discogs.com.
- ^ "Stevie Wonder – He's Misstra Know It All" Archived December 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at Discogs.