Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an musician, and record producer. He's credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder were third cousins on Katherine Jackson's side, as revealed by Janet Jackson, Michael's younger sister.

Being blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder. Wonder's single "Fingertips" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, at the age of 13, making him the youngest solo artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at it's peak in the 1970s. His "classic period" began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book, the latter featuring "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, making him the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. Wonder began his "commercial period" in the 1980s; he achieved his biggest hits and highest level of fame, had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations (including with Paul McCartney, one of Jackson's collaborators and Jackson himself), political impact, and television appearances. Wonder has continued to remain active in music and political causes.

Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a male solo artist) and one Academy Award (Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red). Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday in the U.S. In 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

History[]

Born six weeks early with retinopathy of prematurity, an eye disorder which was exacerbated when he received too much oxygen in an incubator, leading to blindness. Wonder showed an early gift for music, first with a church choir in Detroit, Michigan, where he and his family had moved to when he was four years old, and later with a range of instruments, including the harmonica, piano and drums, all of which he taught himself before age 10.

Wonder was just 11 years old when he was discovered by Ronnie White of the Motown group "Smokey Robinson The Miracles". An audition followed with Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., who didn't hesitate to sign the young musician to a record deal.

In 1962, the newly renamed "Little Stevie Wonder", working with Motown songwriter Clarence Paul, among others, released his debut The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie Wonder, an instrumental album that showed off the youngster's remarkable musicianship. The same year he also released Tribute to Uncle Ray, where Wonder covered the songs of soul icon Ray Charles. Wonder then developed a major audience with Little Stevie Wonder the 12 Year Old Genius, an album recorded live.

Stevie also dropped "Little" from this stage name as his voice started to change and he could no longer sing songs which Clarence Paul had written for him, as they were all written in a higher pitched note. He then started to focus on more songwriting and came out with genuine hits like "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "With a Child's Heart" (which Jackson would go on to cover), "Blowing in the Wind", and a song which he wrote for Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, "Tears of a Clown". Several other songs which were smashing hits in the 60's and 70's were "I Was Made To Love Her" (which Jackson and The Jackson 5 would cover, but would never release), "Signed Sealed", and "Delivered I'm Yours", which Stevie stated was an idea he'd gotten from his mother and "For Once In My Life".

In 1970, Wonder left Motown and recorded two independent albums by himself. Gordy was shocked to hear this by the artist, but eventually did agree to Wonder's demand of more independence and full creative control and rights to all of his songs. In 1972, Wonder returned to Motown and signed a thirteen million dollar contract with the Record. This entitled Stevie to a much higher royalty rate and more full creative control and the rights to his own songs, which few artists had gotten at that time period. This contract unleashed the ability for Wonder's songs to now talk about controversial issues such as poverty, war, drugs, and politics. Stevie is known for writing and performing political songs such as, "You Haven't Done Nothin'", which took a political stab at the president, Richard Nixon, who recently resigned from office to the Watergate scandal, making him the only president to ever do so. This included The Jackson 5 on the backing vocals, which in turn Michael was a part of, making it the first collaboration with Wonder (although indirectly). The first album he had released with his new agreement with Motown was Music of My Mind in 1972. In late 1972, Wonder released an album which today is known as a historic piece in music, Talking Book, which included the number one hit-song, "Superstition". This specific song featured the clavinet which Wonder was credited pioneer of, he later used the electric amplified keyboard instrument in many of his other albums along with the synthesizer. The song was seen as a significant contribution to the funk genre. Talking Book also featured, "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," which just liked the previous single, peaked at number one. Stevie also toured with The Rolling Stones in 1972, which contributed even more to his album's success. Wonder struck a controversial issue with the album however, Inner visions in 1973 with singles such as "Living For the City", which talked about poverty and was credited to African Americans. The album also included singles such as Golden Lady, and All Love Is Fair.

In 1980, Wonder released an album called, Hotter than July. On this album was a song called "Happy Birthday". That song was dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr, and Wonder was one of the pioneers to getting Martin Luther King Jr a national holiday. Wonder received an Academy Award in 1985 for his song, "I Just Called To Say I Love" in the film, The Woman In Red. In 1986, Wonder made a guest appearance on the hit-show The Cosby Show. It was during this episode in which people were astounded toward what the synthesizer could really do. In 1987, Wonder made a duet with Michael on his Bad album via "Just Good Friends". In the same year, Jackson did a duet on Wonder's Characters album, via the single "Get It". In 1991, Wonder recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee in his new movie, Jungle Fever. The album was titled the same one as the movie, and the hit-song on it was also called, "Jungle Fever". Other singles that came from this album were "Gotta Have You", "Feeding Off the Love of the Land", and "These Three Words". Wonder continued to release new material throughout the 90's such as "Natural Wonder" and "Conversation Piece". In 1996, Wonder's album, "A Song In the Key of Life" became a documentary subject, and several of the musicians who contributed to the success of the album had a reunion. In 1997, Wonder collaborated with Babyface on the single, "How Come How Long".

Stevie Wonder's songs have been sampled by artists such as Jon Gibson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mary J. Blige and several other artists were inspired by Stevie's musical talent. Stevie Wonder will forever be known as a pioneer in music a philanthropist, and a messenger of peace addressing controversies in music which very few artists did at that time. Stevie Wonder has touched the hearts of millions through his music and his philanthropic generosity.

Trivia[]

It's noted that Stevie Wonder inspired Michael's signature "Hee-Hee" as heard in Stevie's 1972 single, "Maybe Your Baby".
Wonder has the record for the most Grammy awards won by a musician, with 21.
At the age of 17, he performed with The Jimi Hendrix Experience playing drums at the BBC. ("Jammin'"/"I Was Made to Love Her", BBC Sessions)
Wonder is the first African-American artist to win the Grammy Award for "Album of the Year" for his 1973 album, Innervisions. The trophy was presented by Telly Savalas and Cher (Hollywood Palladium/March 2, 1974).
He was the youngest person to be ever inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame at the age of thirty-eight. He held the title until he was surpassed by thirty-two year old Josh Klinghoffer in 2012.

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Michael Jackson talking about Stevie Wonder for his upcoming B-Day 1983

MICHAEL JACKSON LOVES STEVIE WONDER (1983)

Discography[]

The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie (1962)
Tribute to Uncle Ray (1962)
With a Song in My Heart (1963)
Stevie at the Beach (1964)
Up-Tight (1966)
Down to Earth (1966)
I Was Made to Love Her (1967)
Someday at Christmas (1967)
Eivets Rednow (1968)
For Once in My Life (1968)
My Cherie Amour (1969)
Signed, Sealed & Delivered (1970)
Where I'm Coming From (1971)
Music of My Mind (1972)
Talking Book (1972)
Innervisions (1973)
Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974)
Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" (1979, soundtrack)
Hotter than July (1980)
The Woman in Red (1984, soundtrack)
In Square Circle (1985)
Characters (1987)
Jungle Fever (1991, soundtrack)
Conversation Peace (1995)
A Time to Love (2005)

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