Hotter than July is the nineteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, originally released on September 29, 1980, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. Wonder primarily recorded the album in Los Angeles at Wonderland Studios, which he had recently acquired. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 3, 1981. It was Wonder's most successful album in the UK, where it peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and produced four top ten singles. Music videos were produced for the album's first, third, and fourth singles. The album was nominated for Favorite Soul/R&B Album at the 1982 American Music Awards. In a review in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), J. D. Considine called the album "buoyantly tuneful" and said fans viewed it as a return to form after the commercial disappointment of Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. Background The relative critical and commercial failure of Wonder's previous album Journey through the Secret Life of Plants (1979), from which only one single ("Send One Your Love") reached the top 5 of a Billboard chart, left him struggling at the turn of the new decade, and he let the media know he felt Motown had not promoted that album very well. During this time of upheaval, Wonder co-wrote the song "Let's Get Serious" with Lee Garrett for Jermaine Jackson's 1980 album of the same name and the song "You Are My Heaven" with Eric Mercury, which became a success for Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway on Atlantic Records. Wonder was also in demand as a guest on the recordings of artists such as B.B. King, James Taylor, Quincy Jones, and Smokey Robinson. In addition to performing, Wonder handled the writing, arranging, and producing of Hotter than July, which was primarily recorded in Los Angeles at his newly-acquired Wonderland Studios. "Master Blaster (Jammin')" (US No. 5; R&B No. 1), the album's lead-off single, was inspired by the reggae music of Bob Marley, who Wonder had met in 1979 after their performance at the Black Music Association in Philadelphia. The country-tinged "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" (U.S. No. 11; R&B No. 4), the ballad "Lately" (U.S. No. 64) and the upbeat "Happy Birthday" were other notable successes from the album. In the UK,