"For Once in My Life" is a song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Stein & Van Stock publishing company. It was first recorded in 1965.

The song was written and first recorded as a slow ballad in 1965 by Connie Haines. However, the first version released to the public was by Jean DuShon in 1966. Other early recordings of the ballad were made by Nancy Wilson, the Four Tops, the Temptations, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett. Tony Bennett's recording was the first to reach the pop charts.

The most well-known and successful version of "For Once in My Life" is an uptempo arrangement by Stevie Wonder, recorded in 1967. Wonder's version, released on Motown's Tamla label, became a top-three hit in the United States and the United Kingdom in late 1968 and early 1969.

Early recordings

In 1965, Miller and Murden wrote the song as a slow ballad. They shared it with different singers to test and improve it. Some singers who heard and performed the song around 1966, but did not record it, include Jo Thompson, a club singer in Detroit; Sherry Kaye, who may have performed it in a musical revue at the Gem Theater; and Johnny Hartman, who refused to record it.

Jean DuShon was one of the first singers chosen by Ron Miller to record a sample of the song as he worked on refining it. Miller was impressed by her performance, and her version, produced by Esmond Edwards, was released as a single on Chess Records' Cadet label in October 1966. It was named "Pick Hit of the Week" by Detroit's WXYZ radio. Although the record label gave credit for writing the song only to Murden, Motown CEO Berry Gordy learned that Miller, who was under contract with Motown, had co-written the song. He reportedly asked Chess Records not to promote the single. DuShon later removed the song from her nightclub performances and said it was a major disappointment in her life.

Connie Haines was a Motown singer signed in 1965. Motown session logs and tape records show she recorded the first version of the song at the label in July 1965. Her original version was not released until 2015, when it appeared on the MP3 download album Motown Unreleased 1965.

Barbara McNair recorded the song as early as October 1965. It was backed by a symphony orchestra and produced by Frank Wilson. Some sources say the song was originally written for McNair, while others say Motown CEO Berry Gordy insisted she record it. Her version was not released until it appeared on her November 1966 album, Here I Am. It was also released as the B-side of her 1968 single, "Where Would I Be Without You." Later, McNair re-recorded the song with a faster tempo.

Singer Jack Soo claimed he was the first male artist to record the song after joining Motown in 1965 as one of their first non-African American artists. His recording was never released and remained in Motown's archives.

The Four Tops recorded the song on their album 4 Tops on Broadway, released in March 1967. Like McNair's version, it was produced as a slow ballad by Frank Wilson.

The Temptations also recorded the song for their album The Temptations in a Mellow Mood, released in July 1967. Baritone singer Paul Williams sang the lead vocal on the track, and it became a highlight of the group's live performances. His most famous performance was during the 1968 Supremes and Temptations TCB television special, which is considered the peak of his career. The song later appeared in the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations. After celebrating the Temptations' (and Motown's) first Grammy Award win for "Cloud Nine," actor Christian Payton, who portrays Paul Williams in the series, performed the slow ballad version.

Diana Ross & the Supremes recorded a mid-tempo bossa nova-inspired version of the song in early 1969. This version was not discovered until the 2010s and was released in 2019.

The song became the most covered Motown song by other Motown artists, including Billy Eckstine (1966), Martha & the Vandellas (1967), Soupy Sales (1968), Jonah Jones (1968), Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (1969), Blinky (1969), Kiki Dee (1969), Sammy Davis Jr. (1969), Joe Harnell (1969), the Ding Dongs (1970), and Gladys Knight & the Pips (1973).

In 1967, Tony Bennett's recording of the song reached number 91 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart (number 8 on the Easy Listening survey). It was the title track of his album For Once in My Life. Bennett continued to perform the song in concerts until the 2000s. In 2006, he collaborated with Stevie Wonder to record a ballad version for his Duets: An American Classic album. Bennett and Wonder won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Bennett also performed the song on the grand finale of the sixth season of American Idol and in the Grammy Award-sponsored tribute Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All-Star Salute, which aired on CBS in 2015.

Frank Sinatra's version of the song was released in March 1969. It was written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden and included on his album My Way.

Stevie Wonder version

Stevie Wonder's version of the song was recorded around the same time as the Temptations' version in the summer of 1967. However, Berry Gordy did not like Wonder's version, which was an energetic recording made by Henry Cosby. Gordy refused to allow the single to be released, and the recording was put on hold. Billie Jean Brown, who was in charge of Motown's Quality Control department, eventually persuaded Gordy to let Wonder's version be released in October 1968.

Although Gordy had initially disliked the song, "For Once in My Life" became very successful. It reached number two on both the Billboard Pop Singles and Billboard R&B Singles charts. It was prevented from reaching number one on each chart by another Motown single that Gordy had originally refused to release, Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." The single, released by Tamla with "Angie Girl" as the B-side, was later included as the title track on Wonder's album For Once in My Life.

Wonder's version of the song is often praised by bass players for showing the unique style of James Jamerson, who played every part of the bass line differently throughout the song. The background vocals were performed by the Originals (Freddie Gorman, Walter Gaines, Hank Dixon, C.P. Spencer) and the Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, Louvain Demps). The music was played by the Funk Brothers.

• Stevie Wonder – vocals, harmonica
• James Jamerson – bass
• Uriel Jones – drums
• Earl Van Dyke – piano
• Background vocals by the Originals (Freddie Gorman, Walter Gaines, Hank Dixon, C.P. Spencer) and the Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, Louvain Demps)
• Additional instrumentation by the Funk Brothers

Other versions

• In the late 1960s, Judy Garland included the song in her collection of songs she performed, and sang it during multiple concerts and in one television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show.
• Jackie Wilson recorded a version of the song that was a ballad, more lively than Tony Bennett’s version but slower than Stevie Wonder’s. This version did not win the competition for the best cover recording; Wilson’s version reached number 70 in late 1968, while Wonder’s version reached number 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
• In 1969, Dorothy Squires recorded the song, with Nicky Welsh arranging and conducting it for the President label. Her version reached number 24 on the UK charts after staying on the charts for 11 weeks.
• On June 17, 2012, Darren Percival, a finalist on The Voice Australia, performed a cover of the song, which reached number 6 on the iTunes download list.
• Joaquin Phoenix recorded the song for the 2024 film Joker: Folie à Deux and its soundtrack.
• American singer and songwriter Dionne Farris recorded a version of the song for the 1996 film The Truth About Cats & Dogs.