Stevie Wonder Living For The City (1973)

What more can be said about this song that hasn't been said? possibly the song that hallmarked Stevie as a true musical genius and arguably the most complete artist ever to grace the Motown label.
Rolling Stone ranked the song No.104 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Not high enough for my liking.

From the Album Innervisions.

Stevie Wonder ~ Superstition (1972)

Written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie  in 1972 while still only 22. it reached No.1 in the USA and No. 11 in the UK. It continued an evolution in Stevie's music from his earlier fit with the Motown Sound to a more personal style. This shift had been evident on his two prior albums, Where I'm Coming From and Music of My Mind, but it was Talking Book and Superstition that really underlined the change in his style
Jeff Beck created the original drum beat while in the studio with Wonder. After writing the song, Stevie offered it to Beck to record, but at the insistence of Berry Gordy Wonder himself recorded it first. Beck was instead offered Cause We've Ended As Lovers, which he recorded on Blow by Blow in 1975. Jeff Beck played guitar on Talking Book and later recorded his own version of Superstition as a part of the group Beck, Bogert & Appice.

Love Unlimited - Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love (1972)

The backing vocalist for American R&B/soul singer Barry White on his albums and on tour. They also found success in their own right. Formed in 1969, the group included Barry White’s future wife, Glodean James, her sister, Linda James, and their cousin Diane Taylor. Their first hit was Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love in 1972, a song that so paints an accurate picture of it's title I'd swear it was raining outside every time I listen to it. They never quite hit the heights of success as they did with this song (although I Belong To You did top the U.S. R&B chart in 1974), but did put out some memorable material. 

The group disbanded in 1985, with the death of Diane Taylor.

The Crusaders - Street Life (1979)

A version of the  iconic tune you might not be aware of: the full album version with the Wilton Felder sax solo at the start.
Its ironic that I didn't really like the album version of the title cut when I first heard, as I thought it was over-long, but now it is one of my two favorite tracks on the album. Its not just the tremendous voice of Randy Crawford, its the awful plain truth of the lyrics. The instrumentals are great too, but the real stand-out is the sax-powered Rodeo Drive (High Steppin'). I can listen to that over and over again.
I've owned the Street Life album for more than 15 years and I never get tired of hearing it as it is positively mesmerising.

The Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23 (1977)

One of my personal favourite songs, I can never get tired of hearing it. And have - ahem - played air guitar to the guitar solo...

Written by Shuggie Otis, although known to most by The Brothers Johnson's version. Otis wrote the song for a girlfriend who used strawberry-scented paper when she wrote letters to him. George Johnson of The Brothers Johnson was dating one of Otis' cousins when he came across Freedom Flight, Otis' 1972 album that featured the song. The group later recorded it for their 1977 album Right On Time, under producer Quincy Jones, and the album went platinum. Strawberry Letter 23, as recorded by The Brothers Johnson in a funkier, more dance-oriented vein than the original Otis version, hit the Hot 100, peaked at number five and reached number one on the U,S. Soul Singles chart in 1977. The famous guitar solo in this song was originally recorded by Shuggie Otis; Lee Ritenour later recreated the solo for Right On Time.

An instrumental version was done by Phil Upchurch around the same time as the Brothers Johnson version, which is a more upbeat funky version. The song has been sampled and covered by numerous acts, such as Kiara in 1988, Tevin Campbell on his debut release, T.E.V.I.N. in 1992; Digital Underground also did a hiphop version in the early 90s. It was as you're no doubt aware also used in Quentin Tarantino's film Jackie Brown.

We won't mention the Akon version. Shame on you, Quincy...

- FVS