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Musical genius Stevie Wonder has over the years become a major R&B/pop icon. His outright positive life outlook is very much evident in his work which has inspired many admiring recording artists. He has released over thirty Top Ten hits and earned 21 Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Wonder was born Steveland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. He was a premature infant and was immediately put on oxygen treatment in an incubator which triggered an exce Continued...

ss of oxygen that worsened the visual condition known as retinopathy of prematurity, which further caused his blindness. Growing up, his mother stressed the importance of treating Stevie as an equal to his siblings which in return helped him gain all the confidence in the world. In 1954 Stevie and his family moved to Detroit where he began singing in the church choir and eventually acquired the piano, drums, and harmonica by the age of nine. In 1962, his talent was discovered by Ronnie White of the Motown act the Miracles. White landed Stevie an audition with Berry Gordy, the CEO of Motown, who immediately signed him to the Tamla label as Little Stevie Wonder.

Later that year he released the Ray Charles cover album, A Tribute to Uncle Ray which was shortly followed by The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie. Neither performed well, however 1963’s The 12 Year Old Genius proved otherwise topping the charts with the hit single “Fingertips, Pt. 2”. Dropping “Little” from his stage name, “Uptight (Everything’s Alright) became his next big hit at the age of fifteen followed by “With a Child’s Heart”, and the Bob Dylan cover “Blowin’ in the Wind”. During this period, he began to contribute to the Motown songwriting department creating songs for himself and others.
Becoming more involved in the writing and production process of his work, Wonder generated several major hits notably “I Was Made to Love Her”, “For Once in my Life”, “My Cherie Amour”, and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)”.

Despite his success with Motown, Stevie was unhappy with the label restricting his creative control which eventually led him to let his contract expired on his 21st birthday. He proceeded by independently recording two albums which he used to negotiate a new deal with Motown permitting him full creative control. He returned to the label in 1972 releasing Music of My Mind marking the beginning of Wonder’s “classic period”. A few months later he issued Talking Book which featured the number one smash hit “Superstition” which won Grammy Awards for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. The single “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” topped the pop charts at number one and earned the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Innervisions was the next classical period release in August 1973. Often recognized as one of his best, the album featured the hits “Higher Ground” and “Living for the City”. The album won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Engineered Non-Classical Recordings, while “Living for the City” earned Best R&B Song. A few days after the release, Wonder was injured in a car accident leaving him in a coma which eventually resulted in a permanent loss of his sense of smell.

Wonder returned to the music scene with Fulfillingness’ First Finale in July 1974. Making for a strong comeback, the album featured “They Won’t Go When I Go” and “Creepin’” and eventually scored Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and Album of the Year. In 1976, Songs in the Key of Life, the last from the “classical period”, became his greatest selling album. The milestone double album featured the number one hits “I Wish”, “Sir Duke”, and “Isn’t She Lovely”. Once again, Wonder was awarded three Grammies for his album.

Following a three year hiatus, Stevie appeared in 1979 on the soundtrack to the unfinished film Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. One year later, he released Hotter than July the reggae influenced album which achieved platinum status. In 1982, he recorded the duet “Ebony and Ivory” with Paul McCartney which quickly topped the chart at number one. Later that year he issued Original Aquarium 1, the double album compilation of his greatest hits during the “classic period”. In 1984, Wonder composed the soundtrack to Gene Wilder’s film The Woman In Red which featured his number one hit “I Just Called To Say I Love You” which won an Academy Award for Best Song in 1985. In Square Circle was released shortly afterward and included the number one pop hit “Part-Time Lover”. While working on a new album, Wonder contributed to the all-star charity single “We Are the World” for African famine relief, as well as “That’s What Friends Are For” promoting AIDS awareness. His final studio release in the 1980s was Characters in 1987 which was a success on the R&B charts, yet not on the pop charts.

In 1991, Stevie recorded the soundtrack to the Spike Lee movie Jungle Fever, then released his own album Conversation Peace which proved to be a major disappointment and was followed by the live album Natural Wonder. After ten quiet years, Wonder released A Time to Love on October 18, 2005. The lead single “So What’s the Fuss” featured Prince on guitar and En Vogue on background vocals. The second single “From the Bottom of my Heart” became a number one hit on the adult contemporary R&B radio. The record has proven to be one of his greatest in years.