What song did Stevie Wonder sing at the Michael Jackson memorial?”
What: Stevie Wonder’s “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer.” A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version “so incredibly,” said Wonder. Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is “the most personal-feeling tribute yet.” “I never dreamed you’d leave in summer,” Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into “They Won’t Go When I Go,” extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one. If it would have continued, no one would have complained, as Wonder looked as if he had knocked Staples Center still. Wonder shouted the refrain of the song, letting his voice crack, calling Michael’s name.
At Michael Jackson’s public memorial on Tuesday, many may have expected Stevie Wonder to perform one of Michael Jackson’s — or his own — many global hits. But instead, Wonder opted for a medley of two of his lesser-known classics that are lyrically relevant to Jackson’s sudden passing earlier this month: 1971’s “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer” and 1974’s “They Won’t Go When I Go.” Before performing, Wonder addressed the crowd: “This is a moment that I wished to never see come. But as much as I can say that, and mean it, I do know that God is good, and I don know that as much as we feel — and we do — that we need Michael here with us, God must have needed him far more. Michael, I love you and I told you that many times, so I’m at peace with that.” “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer,” from Wonder’s Where I’m Coming From album, was co-written with Wonder’s then-wife Syreeta Wright and uses the seasons to address a failed relationship. But on Tuesday, Wonder added his friend’s name
Stevie Wonder sang “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer” at the Michael Jackson memorial. A Michael Jackson collaborator, Wonder gave a brief introduction to his 1971 song and held the crowd captivated from the moment he began speaking. Wonder noted that Jackson had covered the song himself, and Michael handled his version “so incredibly,” said Wonder. Powers writes from inside the Staples Center that this is “the most personal-feeling tribute yet.” “I never dreamed you’d leave in summer,” Wonder sang, alone at his piano, and drifted into “They Won’t Go When I Go,” extending the performance into a nearly 10-minute one. RIP MJ.
