Editing Talking Book

{{Short description|1972 studio album by Stevie Wonder}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{about|the 1972 album}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Talking Book
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Stevie Wonder]]
| cover        = Talking Book.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = {{Start date|1972|10|27}}
| recorded     = May–July 1972<ref>{{cite book |last=Power |first=Martin |title=Hot Wired Guitar: The Life of Jeff Beck |publisher=Omnibus Press |date=2014 |isbn=9781783233861 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5egBAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref name="NYT-2022">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=November 6, 2022 |title=Stevie Wonder's Masterpiece |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/10/27/arts/music/stevie-wonder-talking-book.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |page=L20 |access-date=23 September 2024}} (Published online, under a different title, on October 27, 2022).</ref>
| studio       = *[[Electric Lady Studios|Electric Lady]], New York City
*Crystal Sound, Hollywood
*[[Record Plant]], Los Angeles
*[[AIR Oxford Circus|AIR]], London
| genre        = {{hlist|[[Progressive soul]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Martin |first=Bill |title=Listening to the Future: The Time of Progressive Rock |year=1998 |place=Chicago |publisher=Open Court |isbn=0-8126-9368-X |author-link=Bill Martin (philosophy)|page=41}}</ref>|[[funk]]|[[Soul music|soul]]|[[rock music|rock]]|[[jazz]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Perone|first=James E.|year=2012|title=The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations, Volume 1|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-0313379062|page=x|quote=Wonder integrated soul, funk, rock, torch song, and jazz on his 1972 album Talking Book and his 1973 album Innervisions.}}</ref>}}
| length       = {{Duration|m=43|s=29}}
| label        = [[Motown|Tamla]]
| producer     = {{hlist|Stevie Wonder|[[Robert Margouleff]] (assoc.)|[[Malcolm Cecil]] (assoc.)<ref name="prod"/>}}
| prev_title   = [[Music of My Mind]]
| prev_year    = 1972
| next_title   = [[Innervisions]]
| next_year    = 1973
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Talking Book
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Superstition (song)|Superstition]]
 | single1date = October 24, 1972
 | single2     = [[You Are the Sunshine of My Life]]
 | single2date = February 1973
}}
}}

'''''Talking Book''''' is the fifteenth [[studio album]] by American singer, songwriter, and musician [[Stevie Wonder]], released on October 27, 1972, by [[Tamla]], a subsidiary of [[Motown|Motown Records]]. This album and ''[[Music of My Mind]]'', released earlier the same year, are generally considered to mark the start of Wonder's "classic period".<ref>Some observers count six classic albums, some count five, and others count four.<br />{{cite book |editor-last1=Bogdanov |editor-first1=Vladimir |editor-link1=Vladimir Bogdanov (editor) |editor-last2=Woodstra |editor-first2=Chris |editor-last3=Erlewine |editor-first3=Stephen Thomas |editor-link3=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |date=2001 |name-list-style=amp |title=All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music |edition=4th |location=San Francisco |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=0879306270 |pages=447–448 |quote=Stevie Wonder came into his own with ''Music of My Mind'', but ''Talking Book'' is where he hit his stride...}}<br />{{cite book |last=Cramer |first=Alfred William |date=2009 |title=Musicians and composers of the 20th century |volume=5 |publisher=Salem Press |isbn=978-1587655173 |page=1645}}<br />{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Jeremy K. |date=2010 |title=Stevie Wonder: Musician |series=Black Americans of Achievement |location=New York |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |isbn=978-1604136852 |page=57}}</ref> The sound of the album is sharply defined by Wonder's use of [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]] and [[synthesizer]]s.

The album peaked at number three on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Billboard Top LPs|Top LPs]] chart and finished at number three on ''Billboard''{{'}}s [[Billboard Year-End|year-end chart]] for 1973. "[[Superstition (song)|Superstition]]" reached number one on the ''Billboard'' [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]] and [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Hot Soul Singles]] charts, and "[[You Are the Sunshine of My Life]]" hit number one on the Hot 100 and [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Easy Listening]] charts. ''Talking Book'' earned Wonder his first [[Grammy Award]], with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" winning [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]] at the [[16th Annual Grammy Awards|16th Grammy Awards]]; "Superstition" also won [[Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance]] and [[Grammy Award for Best R&B Song|Best R&B Song]]. Often included in lists of the greatest albums of all time, ''Talking Book'' was voted number 322 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000),<ref name="Larkin" /> and ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked it number 59 on its list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]" in 2020.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/stevie-wonder-talking-book-2-1063174/ |title=Talking Book ranked 59th greatest album by Rolling Stone magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=September 22, 2020 |access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref>

==Recording==
[[File:Stevie wonder july 22 1972 Billboard.png|thumb|Wonder {{circa}} 1972]]
Much of the material on ''Talking Book'' was recorded at the same time as that on ''[[Music of My Mind]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haskins |first1=Jim |last2=Benson |first2=Kathleen |name-list-style=amp |date=1978 |title=The Stevie Wonder Scrapbook |location=New York |publisher=Grosser & Dunlop |isbn=0448144646 |page=89}}</ref> As the album saw Wonder enjoying more artistic freedom from [[Motown]] and relying less on Motown's head [[Berry Gordy]] for musical direction and expression, it is often seen as the beginning of his transition from a youthful prodigy into an independent and experimental artist. Speaking of the album in 2000, Wonder said: "It wasn't so much that I wanted to say anything except where I wanted to just express various many things that I felt—the political point of view that I have, the social point of view that I have, the passions, emotion and love that I felt, compassion, the fun of love that I felt, the whole thing in the beginning with a joyful love and then the pain of love."<ref>{{cite episode |last=Williams |first=Deborah |date=December 30, 2000 |title=The Story Of Stevie Wonder's 'Talking Book' |url=https://text.npr.org/s.php/1116295 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027214108/https://text.npr.org/1116295 |archive-date=October 27, 2022 |series=All Things Considered |network=[[NPR]] |access-date=December 31, 2019}}</ref>

The sound of the album is sharply defined by Wonder's [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]] work, especially [[synthesizer]]s. While the synthesizers give a [[funk]]y edge to tracks like "Maybe Your Baby", the [[Hohner]] [[Clavinet]] embellishments on "Big Brother" evoke a six-string acoustic guitar, and the note-bending [[harmonica]] work on several tracks touches on some folk and blues influences. Wonder's use of the Clavinet Model C on "[[Superstition (song)|Superstition]]" is widely regarded as one of the definitive tracks featuring the instrument.<ref name="prod" /> Wonder played the majority of the instruments on the album himself, but he received some support from such guest musicians as [[Jeff Beck]], [[Ray Parker Jr.]], [[David Sanborn]], and [[Buzz Feiten]].

[[Robert Margouleff]] and [[Malcolm Cecil]] collaborated with Wonder on four of his "classic" albums: ''[[Music of My Mind]]'', ''Talking Book'', ''[[Innervisions]]'' and ''[[Fulfillingness' First Finale]]'', as well as several albums by [[the Isley Brothers]] and others. Their unusual [[Record producer|production]] technique of using multiple layers of instruments like the Clavinet, [[rhodes piano|Fender Rhodes]] electric piano, and [[ARP Instruments, Inc.|Arp]] and [[Moog synthesizer]]s, rather than the more-typical [[string orchestra]], helped to give ''Talking Book'' and these other three albums their distinctive sound.{{cn|date=March 2022}}

==Packaging and title==
The album's cover photo, taken by [[Robert Margouleff]] in [[Los Angeles]],<ref name="NYT-2022"/> features Wonder with his hair in [[cornrows]], wearing [[jewelry]], and dressed in African-style robes, in a "quasi-Biblical desert landscape". The inner photo of the [[gatefold]] sleeve shows Wonder in silhouette against a dramatic landscape sunrise.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thers500.com/albums/90-stevie-wonder-talking-book-1972 |title=#90: Stevie Wonder, "Talking Book" (1972) |date=September 17, 2018 |access-date=November 8, 2018}}</ref>

The packaging of original pressings of the album incorporated both the album's title and Wonder's name embossed in [[braille]] (as well as being printed in English), along with a message that was only embossed in braille until the 2000 release of the album.{{cn|date=September 2024}} The message reads:<ref>{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Sharon |date=2006 |title=Stevie Wonder: Rhythms of Wonder |location=London |publisher=Robson Books |isbn=1861059655 |page=89}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=Here is my music. It is all I have to tell you how I feel. Know that your love keeps my love strong.|sign=Stevie}}

Margouleff later recalled that it had been difficult to get Wonder to choose which songs to put on the album, because there were so many. Associate producer Malcolm Cecil said, "Steve, you know, this is an album. It's not a [[Audiobook|talking book]]... Oh, I think you should call this album ''Talking Book''" and Wonder agreed.{{efn|"[[Audiobook|Talking books]], which were vinyl recordings of books for blind people, were recorded at half normal album speed, at 16 2/3 rpm, and which therefore ran twice as long}}

==Reception==
{{Album reviews
|title=Retrospective professional reviews
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22214|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]''
|rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Moser|first=Margaret|date=May 19, 2000|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2000-05-19/77259/|title=Review: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale|newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]]|access-date=September 26, 2015}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
|rev3Score = A<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: W|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=W&bk=70|access-date=March 9, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
|rev4Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Larkin |editor1-first=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2007 |publisher=Omnibus |page=1522 |edition=5th concise |ol=11913831M}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[The Great Rock Discography]]''
|rev5Score = 9/10<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |date=2004 |publisher=Canongate |location=New York |page=1688 |ol=18807297M |edition=7th}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
|rev6Score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Hilburn|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Hilburn|date=April 1, 2000|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-01-ca-14758-story.html|title=Motown Releases Remind Us of Stevie Wonder's Impact|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=September 25, 2015}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[MusicHound Rock]]''
|rev7Score = 5/5<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Graff |editor1-first=Gary |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1996 |publisher=Visible Ink |location=Detroit |page=741 |ol=8145585M}}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Considine">{{cite book|last=Considine|first=J. D.|author-link=J. D. Considine|year=2004|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/885 885–87]|chapter=Stevie Wonder|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA885|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|isbn=0743201698|access-date=September 25, 2015|title-link=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide}}</ref>
|rev9 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
|rev9Score = 10/10<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/stevie-wonder-talking-book/ |last=Cooper|first=Carol|date=February 27, 2022|title=Stevie Wonder: Talking Book Album Review {{!}} Pitchfork|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=March 27, 2022}}</ref>
|rev10 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
|rev10score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|page=123|date=August 2000|title=none}}</ref>
}}

Released after Wonder toured with [[the Rolling Stones]] in 1972, ''Talking Book'' became a major hit, peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' [[Billboard 200|Pop Albums]] chart in February 1973,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.superseventies.com/albumsbymonth73.htm |title=1973 Albums - Month By Month |publisher=Super Seventies Rocksite! |access-date=May 5, 2014 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> and became the first album by Wonder to reach the top of the [[Top R&B Albums]] chart, where it remained for three weeks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allmusic.com/album/talking-book-r22214/charts-awards |title=Talking Book - Stevie Wonder |website=AllMusic |date=October 27, 1972 |access-date=January 12, 2012}}</ref> The popular appeal of the recording helped destroy the myth that [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] artists were incapable of creating music that could be appreciated by rock audiences, and marked a unique period for R&B artists (especially [[Motown]] artists).{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} Wonder won three awards for ''Talking Book'' at the [[Grammy Awards of 1974|1974 Grammys]]: [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]] for "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", and both [[Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance]] and [[Grammy Award for Best R&B Song|Best R&B Song]] for "Superstition". Incidentally, at the same ceremony, Wonder's next album, ''[[Innervisions]]'', won [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]], and ''Talking Book''{{'}}s associate producers,<!--<ref>https://cdn.discogs.com/ofvTaRQttmX09WDhkEkGfAbLmi4=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc%28%29:format%28jpeg%29:mode_rgb%28%29:quality%2896%29/discogs-images/R-174477-1261227531.jpeg.jpg{{dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>--> [[Malcolm Cecil]] and [[Robert Margouleff]], won the [[Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical|Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical]] award for their work on that album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/news/stevie-wonder-innervisions-50th-anniversary-reflection-lionel-richie-producer-robert-margouleff|title='Innervisions' At 50: Revisiting Stevie Wonder's Trailblazing, GRAMMY-Winning Album|first=Rob|last=LeDonne|author-link=Rob LeDonne|website=Grammy Awards|date=August 3, 2023|access-date=May 13, 2024}}</ref>
Reviewing the album for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' at the time of its release, [[Vince Aletti]] called ''Talking Book'' "ambitious" and "richly-textured", writing that "even at its dreamiest, the music has a glowing vibrancy" and makes for an altogether "exceptional, exciting album, the work of a now quite matured genius".<ref name="Aletti">[[Vince Aletti|Aletti, Vince]] (January 4, 1973). [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/talking-book-19730104 Talking Book by Stevie Wonder | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. [[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]]. Retrieved on April 19, 2011.</ref> Writing a few years later in ''[[The Village Voice]]'' about Wonder's ''[[Songs in the Key of Life]]'' (1976), [[Robert Christgau]] said that "''Talking Book'' is closer to a perfect album", as "a more complex and satisfying delight—a delight that combines the freewheeling energy of [[Bob Dylan|Dylan]] and [[the Rolling Stones|the Stones]] with the softer accessibility of a [[Carole King]]—is provided by an artist with the ambition to ride his own considerable momentum and the talent to do more than just hang on while doing so."<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=November 8, 1976|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/wonder-76.php|title=Stevie Wonder Is a Masterpiece|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|access-date=December 18, 2020|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref> In ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981), Christgau said the album found Wonder taking artistic control and breaking through, continuing his "wild multi-voice experiments" and writing better ballads without losing "his endearing natural [[bathos]]"; Christgau also highlighted "Superstition" as a translation of Wonder's "way of knowledge into hard-headed, hard-rocking political analysis".<ref name="CG"/> [[J. D. Considine]], in ''[[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), called the album "a pop tour de force".<ref name="Considine"/>

''Talking Book'' has appeared in professional rankings of the greatest albums of all time. It was voted number 322 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2006|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=131|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums}}</ref> In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 90 on the magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]];{{CN|date=December 2023}} it maintained that ranking on the 2012 version of the list,<ref name=":1">{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/stevie-wonder-talking-book-151736/|year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| website=[[Rolling Stone]]| access-date= September 19, 2019}}</ref> and was number 59 on the 2020 edition.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/stevie-wonder-talking-book-2-1063174/|title=Talking Book ranked 59th greatest album by Rolling Stone magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=September 22, 2020 |access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref>

It was the first album purchased by former US president [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Obama |first1=Barack |author-link1=Barack Obama |last2=Springsteen |first2=Bruce |author-link2=Bruce Springsteen |name-list-style=amp |date=2021 |title=Renegades: Born in the USA |location=London |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0241561249 |page=76}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{tracklisting
|headline=Side one
|all_writing=[[Stevie Wonder]], unless otherwise noted
|title1=[[You Are the Sunshine of My Life]]
|length1=2:58
|title2=Maybe Your Baby
|length2=6:45
|title3=[[You and I (We Can Conquer the World)]]
|length3=4:39
|title4=Tuesday Heartbreak
|length4=3:09
|title5=You've Got It Bad Girl
|length5=4:55
|writer5= {{flatlist|
*Wonder
*[[Yvonne Wright]]
}}
|total_length=22:13
}}
{{tracklisting
|headline=Side two
|title1=[[Superstition (song)|Superstition]]
|length1=4:26
|title2=Big Brother
|length2=3:35
|title3=Blame It on the Sun
|length3=3:28
|writer3= {{flatlist|*Wonder
*[[Syreeta Wright]]}}
|title4=Lookin' for Another Pure Love
|length4=4:45
|writer4= {{flatlist|*Wonder
*Syreeta Wright}}
|title5=[[I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)]]
|length5=4:48
|writer5= {{flatlist|*Wonder
*Yvonne Wright}}
|total_length=21:16
}}

==Personnel==
'''"You Are the Sunshine of My Life"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, [[Fender Rhodes]], drums}}
*{{small|[[Jim Gilstrap]] – first lead vocal, background vocal}}
*{{small|Lani Groves – second lead vocal, background vocal}}
*{{small|Gloria Barley – background vocal}}
*{{small|Scott Edwards – electric bass}}
*{{small|Daniel Ben Zebulon – congas}}
*{{small|Uncredited - horn section}}
'''"Maybe Your Baby"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, [[Hohner Clavinet]], drums, [[Moog bass]]}}
*{{small|[[Ray Parker Jr.]] – electric guitar}}
'''"You and I (We Can Conquer the World)"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, piano, [[T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer]], Moog bass}}
'''"Tuesday Heartbreak'''"
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, Hohner Clavinet, drums, Moog bass}}
*{{small|[[Deniece Williams]] – background vocal}}
*{{small|Shirley Brewer – background vocal}}
*{{small|[[David Sanborn]] – alto saxophone}}
'''"You've Got It Bad Girl"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer}}
*{{small|Jim Gilstrap – background vocal}}
*{{small|Lani Groves – background vocal}}
*{{small|Daniel Ben Zebulon – congas}}
'''"Superstition"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, Hohner Clavinet, drums, Moog bass}}
*{{small|[[Trevor Lawrence (musician)|Trevor Lawrence]] – tenor saxophone}}
*{{small|Steve Madaio – trumpet}}
'''"Big Brother"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocals, Hohner Clavinet, drums/percussion, harmonica, Moog bass}}
'''"Blame It on the Sun"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, harpsichord, drums, Moog bass, T.O.N.T.O. synthesizer}}
*{{small|Jim Gilstrap – background vocal}}
*{{small|Lani Groves – background vocal}}
'''"Lookin' for Another Pure Love"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums, Moog bass}}
*{{small|Debra Wilson – background vocal}}
*{{small|Shirley Brewer – background vocal}}
*{{small|Loris Harvin (Delores Harvin) – background vocal}}
*{{small|[[Jeff Beck]] – electric guitar}}
*{{small|[[Buzz Feiten]] (Howard "Buzz" Feiten) – electric guitar}}
'''"I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)"'''
*{{small|Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, Hohner Clavinet, drums, Moog bass}}

==Additional personnel==
* [[Malcolm Cecil]] – associate producer, engineering, Moog programming<ref name="prod">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/culture/2012/10/praise-clavinet|title=In praise of the clavinet|first=George|last=Chesterton|date=October 5, 2012 |magazine=[[New Statesman]]|access-date=May 12, 2021}}</ref>
* [[Robert Margouleff]] – associate producer, engineering, Moog programming, photography
* Austin Godsey – engineer, recording
* Joan Decola – recording
* [[George Marino]] – mastering

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|[[RPM (magazine)|Canadian RPM Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4827&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=a52tdjk2pthulskt5cj0394740 |title=Top Albums/CDs - Volume 19, No. 16 |magazine=RPM |format=PHP |date=June 2, 1973 |access-date=April 29, 2014}}</ref>
|12
|-
!scope="row"|Italian Albums Chart<ref name="itye">{{cite web |url=http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1973.htm |title=Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1973 |language=it |publisher=hitparadeitalia.it |access-date=April 29, 2014}}</ref>
|16
|-
!scope="row"|[[Oricon|Japanese Oricon LPs Chart]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005 |publisher=Oricon Entertainment |location=[[Roppongi]], [[Tokyo]] |year=2006 |isbn=4871310779}}</ref>
|44
|-
!scope="row"|[[Norwegian Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |title=norwegiancharts.com Stevie Wonder - ''Talking Book'' |url=http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Stevie+Wonder&titel=Talking+Book&cat=a |format=ASP |access-date=April 24, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507053927/http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Stevie+Wonder&titel=Talking+Book&cat=a |archive-date=May 7, 2014 }}</ref>
|24
|-
!scope="row"|[[UK Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/Stevie%20Wonder/ |title=Stevie Wonder > Artists > Official Charts |publisher=[[UK Albums Chart]] |access-date=April 28, 2014}}</ref>
|16
|-
!scope="row"|U.S. [[Billboard 200|Billboard Pop Albums]]<ref name="USchart">{{cite web |title=Allmusic: ''Talking Book'': Charts & Awards: Billboard Albums |publisher=allmusic.com |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22214/charts-awards|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=April 28, 2014}}</ref>
|3
|-
!scope="row"|U.S. Billboard R&B Albums<ref name="USchart"/>
|1
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col"| Chart (1973)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|French Albums Chart<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infodisc.fr/B-CD_1973.php |title=Les Albums (CD) de 1973 par InfoDisc |language=fr |format=PHP |publisher=infodisc.fr |access-date=April 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027132903/http://www.infodisc.fr/B-CD_1973.php |archive-date=October 27, 2012 }}</ref>
|61
|-
!scope="row"|Italian Albums Chart<ref name="itye"/>
|54
|-
!scope="row"|[[Billboard Year-End|U.S. Billboard Pop Albums]]<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204135943/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855834?imw=Y |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855834?imw=Y |title=Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1973 |publisher=billboard.biz |archive-date=December 4, 2012 |access-date=April 28, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|3
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col"| Chart (1974)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|U.S. Billboard Pop Albums<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231123035/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855864?imw=Y |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855864?imw=Y |title=Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1974 |publisher=billboard.biz |archive-date=December 31, 2012 |access-date=April 28, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|27
|}
{{col-end}}

===Certifications===
{{certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|region=Canada|title=Talking Book|artist=Stevie Wonder|type=album|relyear=1973|certyear=1978|award=Gold|access-date=July 14, 2022}}
{{certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Talking Book|artist=Stevie Wonder|type=album|relyear=1973|certyear=1974|award=Gold|id=6464-3788-2|access-date=July 14, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==See also==
*[[List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1973|List of ''Billboard'' number-one R&B albums of 1973]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Notes==
{{noteslist}}

==External links==
* ''[http://www.discogs.com/Stevie-Wonder-Talking-Book/master/87446 Talking Book]'' at [[Discogs]]

{{Stevie Wonder}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1972 albums]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Stevie Wonder]]
[[Category:Stevie Wonder albums]]
[[Category:Tamla Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Malcolm Cecil]]
[[Category:Progressive soul albums]]
[[Category:Jazz fusion albums by American artists]].