Watch Stevie Wonder Ease Election Tensions on ‘Colbert’
Stevie Wonder delivered some election eve reassurance with a spirited performance of “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Monday.
Backed by Late Show band Stay Human and its leader Jon Batiste manning the melodica, Wonder cruised through the Latin-tinged 1973 hit. Even host Stephen Colbert joined the performance, providing back-up vocals and at one point cracking up with Batiste over their clunky note while Wonder wailed perfectly away.
Wonder also gave a strange but sweet interview to Colbert, in which he cheekily asked the host if he trusted him to perform surgery or drive him to the hospital as a way of discussing the choices for president and why he was voting for Hillary Clinton. “I believe in my mother, I believe in this woman, that’s all I can tell you,” Wonder said. “I voted already – I didn’t drive myself there.”
The musician even offered a bit of media criticism, comparing soundbites to songs that get stuck in your head, and ended with a call to vote and an impromptu performance of “Love’s In Need of Love.”
Capping off his Late Show appearance, Wonder and Batiste reunited for a soulful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” featuring just harmonica and melodica.