Stevie Wonder, All I Do | COVERS

In the 41^st edition of COVERS (2025), Stevie Wonder delivers a compelling rendition of “All I Do,” originally recorded by Tammi Terrell.

[nx_dropcap]A[/nx_dropcap]h, it’s time to get cozy and cover up! In COVERS, we highlight a musician or band covering songs by another musician (likely a popular musician). COVERS focuses solely on the musician who covers.  It is open to established musicians and musicians who may not be as well-known. In the 41^st  edition of COVERS (2025), Stevie Wonder delivers a compelling rendition of “All I Do”, originally performed by Tammi Terrell.  

[nx_pullquote]“And let me tell you, girl / I hope and pray, each day I live – / A little more love, I’ll have to give / A little more love that’s devoted and true.”[/nx_pullquote] Question: How can a song be a cover if it was the first version of the song released? Well, it’s complicated. Stevie Wonder (b. 1950) originally released “All I Do”.  It appears as the second track from his 1980 album, Hotter Than July. Wonder penned “All I Do” with Clarence Paul and Morris Broadnax. However, the song dates back to the 1960s.  The first person to record this classic written by Wonder was the short-lived but ultra-talented Tammi Terrell (1945 – 1970) as “All I Do Is Think About You”.  While Terrell recorded it in 1966, it wasn’t released until 2002, more than two decades after Terrell’s death.  So, music enthusiasts, we have a cover that the world heard long before the original!

[nx_pullquote]“Baby, just suppose, I should happen to cross your mind / And, by some chance, a boy like me, you’ve really been trying to find.”[/nx_pullquote] Woo! Stevie Wonder made “All I Do” fit the 1980s R&B/soul aesthetic.  This very much sounds like a Stevie Wonder original.  It is smooth, rhythmic, funky, and soulful to the nth degree.  Vocally, Stevie shows off the sophisticated nature of his pipes, while also digging in and delivering a powerful performance.

This blend of buttery smooth and gritty is what makes Wonder a once-in-a-lifetime vocalist, not to mention his top-notch musicianship as a multi-instrumentalist.  “All I Do” grooves hard from the get-go, mesmerizing the listener with its undeniable goodness.  Combine elite vocals and marvelous accompaniment with relatable, love-oriented lyrics, and “All I Do” is the sugar, honey, iced tea, no cap. “Well, I’m gonna tell you, girl / I’d light a candle every day,” he asserts in the second verse, and adds, “And pray that our love will forever be new / ‘Cause all I do is think about you.” The chorus is the crème de la crème, confirming what Stevie does:

“All I do

Is think about you

All I do

Is think about you.”

Notably, there is a smooth saxophone solo (Hank Redd) that ups the ante before the third verse.  There is also a bridge, where Stevie and his background vocals, simply put, have been “thinking, baby / ‘bout you, baby.” Some of the background vocalists are legends themselves: Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009), Eddie Levert (b. 1942), Walter Williams (b. 1943), Betty Wright (1953 – 2020), and Jamil Raheem. All told, the original release of “All I Do” is R&B, funk, and soul pop at its finest.