Innervisions: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Record, jacket, and sleeve for Innervisions by Stevie Wonder, from the set of Scandal.

a. The black vinyl record has a circular yellow and brown label in the center. There is a “TAMLA ®” logo at the top. Below the logo and near the top center of the label there is black text which reads [(P) 1973 MOTOWN RECORD COPORATION / TRADEMARK MOTOWN RECORD CORPORATION / “INNERVISIONS” / STEVIE WONDER]. There is black text on the proper right side which reads [T6 326 S1 / Side 1] and black text on the proper left side which reads [C5 RS-7576-1]. The text on the bottom lists four song titles and the length of each song. Below the titles there is text which reads [Written and Produced by / Stevie Wonder / A PRODUCT OF MOTOWN RECORD CORP.]. Side 2 has the same information, except it has five song titles and the number on the right side reads [C5 RS-7577-2].

b. The front of the jacket features a color abstract illustration in various shades of earth tones. There is a man’s face on the proper right side. There appears to be a wall with a window in front of the face. There is a ray of light coming out of the man’s eye. There are abstract hills, rocks, and plants on the left side. There is black text in the center which reads [STEVIE WONDER INNERVISIONS]. The text has yellow and orange shadows behind them, giving the text a 3-D appearance. There is a black and white “TAMLA” logo in the bottom proper right corner and there is small black text in the top proper left corner which reads [T7-326R1]. There is black text on the spine of the jacket which reads [T7-326R1 Tamla Stevie Wonder INNERVISIONS Stereo]. The inside of the jacket features 3 ¼ columns of small black text featuring lyrics for the songs on the record. There are three color abstract illustrations of figures next to the columns of text. There is small black text on the bottom proper left corner which reads [ALL TUNES © 1973 STEIN & VAN STOCK, INC. / & BLACK BULL MUSIC, INC.]. The back of the jacket has copyright information on the top left corner. The bottom left side features the song titles on each side of the record. The bottom center and bottom right side feature a list of names of people involved with the music, production, art direction, and other aspects of the record. There are several color abstract illustrations on the back of the jacket. There are small scratches, scuffs, and areas of discoloration on either side of the jacket.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1973
• Produced by: Tamla Records, American, 1959 - 1988
• Recorded by: Stevie Wonder, American, born 1950
• Used by: Shondaland, American, founded 2005
• Type: long-playing records
• Type: 45 rpm records
• Medium: a. vinyl with ink on paper
• Medium: b. ink on cardboard
• Medium: c. paper
• Dimensions: Diameter (a.): 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (b.): 12 3/8 × 12 3/8 × 3/16 in. (31.4 × 31.4 × 0.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (c.): 12 × 12 in. (30.5 × 30.5 cm)
• Place made: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Funk (Music)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Rock and roll (Music)
• Topic: Soul (Music)
• Topic: Television
• Topic: U.S. History, 1969-2001
• Object number: 2019.90.12.7abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Walt Disney Television
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Universal Music Group Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.