🎹 “Superstition” — How Stevie Wonder Built One of Funk’s Most Iconic Grooves

Some songs start with a melody.

Some start with a lyric.

“Superstition” starts like a door being kicked open.

That drum pickup, that clavinet riff, that low-end snap — within seconds, Stevie Wonder creates one of the most recognizable grooves in popular music history. Released in 1972 as the lead single from Talking Book, “Superstition” became a No. 1 hit, a Grammy-winning funk landmark, and one of the clearest statements of Wonder’s early-’70s creative transformation. (Eisenhower Public Library)

But what makes the song so fascinating is that it almost belonged to someone else.

Before “Superstition” became one of Stevie Wonder’s signature records, it was connected to guitarist Jeff Beck — a rock virtuoso who helped spark the groove, expected to record it first, and later watched Wonder’s version become the definitive one.

This is the story of how a studio jam, a clavinet riff, and one of the tightest grooves ever recorded became a funk masterpiece.