"You Haven't Done Nothin" is a 1974 funk single by Stevie Wonder, taken from his album Fulfillingness' First Finale and featuring background vocals by the Jackson 5. The politically aware song became Wonder's fourth Number-1 pop hit and his tenth Number-1 soul hit.[2] It also reached Number 1 in Canada.[3] In the UK the single spent five weeks on the chart, peaking at Number 30.[4]
Background
The song was one of his angriest political statements and was aimed directly at PresidentRichard Nixon, who resigned two days after the record's release. The Jackson Five provided backing vocals, singing the words "Doo da wop!" during the chorus after Wonder sings "Jackson 5, join along with me, say".[5] The song also features a thick clavinet track and an early appearance of the drum machine. The B-side "Big Brother", also a political statement, was taken from Wonder's 1972 album Talking Book.
Billboard described "You Haven't Done Nothin'" as being "exceptionally powerful" and more subtle than most protest songs, particularly praising the synthesiser arrangement and the vocal performance.[6]Cash Box called it a "super track filled with the memories of the great 'Superstition' a while back" and said that "musically, horns, keyboards, bass and guitar highlight and vocally, aside from Stevie's magic, the Jackson 5 is right in there on 'doo wops.'"[7]Record World called it "a message song to end them all" in which Wonder "deals directly with those who'd only promise their way to a better world."[8]
