Isn’t he dreadful?

But you have to admire his front. Songs In The Key of Life was Stevie Wonder’s biggest ever album and Isn’t She Lovely its most famous track. David Parton was a jobbing singer/songwriter from Wolverhampton who discovered that Motown were not going to release it as a single, presumably so more people would buy the album. He also discovered that, incredibly, there was nothing to stop him putting out his own version so he did. He kept it as close to the original as possible (except for the fact that he couldn’t sing) and it was a huge hit. Stevie Wonder wrote it to celebrate the birth of his daughter and, as radio stations celebrate the birth of a princess this weekend, his version will be played repeatedly. David Parton’s won’t be. But what does he care? He had a Top Five hit.