Stevie Wonder's Talking Book: TONTO, the Clavinet and a Braille Cover

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Talking Book, released in fall 1972, was Stevie Wonder's 15th studio album and the first fruit of his break from Motown's assembly line. Having signed as a minor, he turned 21 in May 1971, collected a trust fund of roughly $1 million, moved to New York and paid for his own sessions. His new Motown contract gave him a higher royalty rate, his own publishing and full artistic control. He played most instruments himself with associate producers Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil and their room-sized TONTO synthesizer, replacing Motown's strings and horns with Moog, ARP, Fender Rhodes and Hohner Clavinet.

The cover, shot by Margouleff in Los Angeles, shows Wonder in robes and cornrows, and the sleeve carries a Braille message to fans. He opened for the Rolling Stones on their 1972 American tour. Talking Book reached number 3 on the pop albums chart and became his first number one R&B album, with Superstition and You Are the Sunshine of My Life both topping charts. At the 1974 Grammys he won best male pop vocal, best male R&B vocal and best R&B song.

TONTO stood for The Original New Timbral Orchestra, and each sound had to be patched by hand.
The clavinet, designed to imitate a harpsichord, drives Superstition and mimics strummed guitar on Big Brother.
The title came from Cecil's reminder that they were making an LP, not a slow-speed talking book for the blind.
Critics including Vince Aletti and Robert Christgau hailed him as a mature auteur.
It was the first album Barack Obama ever bought.

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