“The Eighth Wonder of the World”—that’s what famous producer Clarence Paul called the ten-year-old black boy after his first audition. At the age of 12, the young musician was recognized as a genius. But a few years earlier, the parents of little Stivland Hardaway Judkins did not even let him out of the house, fearing that the blind boy would not be able to fend for himself. Steve could not agree with the sentence of spending his entire life locked up.
Stevie Wonder, a legendary musician, was born in May 1950 in Michigan, USA. The boy was born premature, very tiny, with huge dark eyes. Many years later it turns out that in those first days of the baby’s life a fatal medical error, leading to complete blindness. At that time, doctors were confident that they were doing everything to treat a typical disease of premature babies - retinopathy. Retinopathy is a non-inflammatory lesion of the retina eyeball, which leads to a disorder of the blood supply to the retina. The cause of the disorder is underdevelopment of blood vessels. Fifty years ago, doctors knew only one way to combat retinopathy - supplying oxygen to the baby's incubator. Stevie also received this treatment, but a large dose of oxygen only worsened the process of developing blindness. Today negative influence This treatment method has already been proven. Newborn Stevie didn't stand a chance.
All early childhood Stevie spent at home. The baby's mother did not want him to even just play with other children, because they could offend her blind boy. At the age of 4, Stevie’s parents separated, the boy remained with his mother, who intensively began raising her son. She taught him to read using not only Braille, but also a regular children's primer. Stevie's fingers had such increased sensitivity that he could easily distinguish the outlines of letters even in ordinary printing ink. Stevie became toys musical instruments, which his mother brought him so that he would not get bored locked up. The harmonica and drum replaced the boy's soccer ball and tag. But the piano turned out to be the kid’s real passion. According to Wonder, as a child it was the combination of tactile sensations and sound production that aroused his interest. The child’s idol was the black musician Ray Charles, whose blindness did not prevent him from receiving 17 Grammys and getting into the halls of fame of rock and roll, jazz, country and blues. Stevie chose his path and started it in the local church choir.
Fame came to Stevie very early and very unexpectedly. The young talent was quickly noticed; Stevie was invited to audition for the producer of the then popular group “The Miracles”. The eleven-year-old blind musician impressed the producer so much that he immediately signed him to the first contract in the boy’s life. “Stevie is the eighth wonder of the world!” - said the enthusiastic producer. This pseudonym remained with the boy for the rest of his life: Stevie the Miracle, Stevie Wonder.
Stevie was barely 11 years old when his first record was released. She did not gain much popularity. But 2 years later, Stevie’s name thundered throughout the country - the song “Fingertips”, where Stevie acted as a vocalist and performer on bongos and harmonica, became a hit on the American charts. A blind black boy was recognized as a genius. You could forget about life locked up in your parents' house.
Amazing singing range of four octaves, sophisticated technique vocal performance, mastery of the piano, harmonica, drums, all types of keyboards and clarinet - it seemed that Stevie Wonder had absorbed a dozen musical geniuses at once. But the young musician was no longer going to stop there. He wanted people to simply forget about his physical disability; no one should even think about his blindness. In 1964, Stevie made his film debut: Wonder played himself in the film. Less than six months later he is back on the screens.
Stevie is no longer little boy, no longer need to be afraid that someone will offend him. The matured “miracle” begins to work as a composer in a record company, he writes songs for his colleagues, and at the same time works on his own album of soul-jazz compositions. Soul singer, composer, arranger, drummer, pianist - by the age of 20, Stevie Wonder is already firmly on his own two feet, he “sees” his path and follows it.
Personal life is also going well. Steve marries songwriter Sairita Wright. A creative tandem becomes a family. The young wife helps Wonder produce his next album, which is destined to become a cult, conceptual album, opening a new page in the work of the miracle singer. For the first time, the singer became a full-fledged producer of his own album - he himself acted as a composer and arranger. Today, years later, this album is considered a classic of soul music. On his 21st birthday, Stevie Wonder received his first million dollars, according to his contract.
Name: Stevie Wonder
Age: 65 years old
Place of birth: Saginaw, USA
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 84 cm
Activity: singer, public figure
Marital status: married
Stevie Wonder - biography of the singer
“Sometimes I think it’s God’s gift to be blind, because I wouldn’t last a minute if I saw the world I live in,” Stevie Wonder once said. And indeed, looking at the musician, you involuntarily begin to believe that blindness can be wealth and not deprivation.
Doctors at a hospital for the poor in Saginaw, Michigan, were seriously alarmed when a visitor came to them. Of course, everyone here knew the story of little Stevie Judkins, who, due to the carelessness of doctors, lost his sight many years ago. They also knew that the boy grew up and became famous. And here he is - clearly coming to smash everything to smithereens.
But instead of a scandal, Stevie walked around the floor, touched the walls with his hands, and quietly smiled at something. He was glad to be where his biography, his life began...
Stevie Wonder - childhood and family
Stevie Wonder was born on May 13, 1950 in one of the American cities of Michigan, real name Stivland Hardaway Morris
Little Stevie was born premature. The boy’s vision was already weak, and after he was put in the incubator, it completely fell. The excess oxygen in the incoming air mixture had an effect.
The nurses, handing the boy over to his mother, just shook their heads sadly. Well, how will such a person live? But Lula thought differently: since God gave the child, that means he will give him the strength to raise him. She understood that the world around her would be hostile to her child, and therefore from an early age she tried to teach the boy to adapt to it. Soon he was perfectly oriented by ear, moved easily in space, and, according to his mother’s stories, knew colors and objects. I learned to read Stevie using an ordinary ABC book - sensitive fingers helped, distinguishing the smallest particles of printing ink.
Lula was afraid to let her son go out alone; he was next to her all the time. One day, the mother noticed that the child was happily knocking on pots, and it produced an interesting melody. I wish I could buy him real drums! But where to get the money? Stevie was given his first musical instrument - a harmonica - only on his ninth birthday. The boy did not part with her and organized real street concerts. This was followed by a piano left behind by a neighbor who moved out, and a drum kit donated by a charity.
Stevie Wonder - music career
Mr. White was amazed by the 10-year-old's vocal abilities and decided to send him to the Motown production center. The director of the center, Berry Gordy, listened to the boy and said:
You know, you are a real miracle! By the way, this is the pseudonym I advise you to take!
So Stivland Judkins became Stevie Wonder (from English wonder - “miracle”).
The boy was offered to sign a contract. All money for work had to be saved in an account until he came of age.
Nobody knew about Stevie Wonder at that time, so all he could do was open for famous artists and go on tour with them. But this was also a joy for him. Thanks to his young age and indefatigable energy, the boy did not get tired at all. Even at night, when everyone was sleeping peacefully on the tour bus, he managed to compose songs.
I had to quit regular school, but it was still necessary to finish my studies. They decided to send Stevie to a special institution for the blind for an accelerated course. Stevie did not like this, and he showed his displeasure as best he could. One night, a young troublemaker climbed out of the window to run to the store for sweets. Returning, he mixed up the windows and ended up in the girls' bedroom. There was so much noise! Wonder himself just chuckled, saying that the miss was very successful.
Stevie Wonder - personal life
Amazingly, Stevie was wildly successful among the fairer sex. The girls lost their heads from his advances and compliments. He did not see his chosen ones, but his friends said that they did not shine with beauty. However, the musician was attracted to something completely different in women - their voice. If he was charming and alluring, Stevie disappeared completely.
By the age of 20, Wonder already had an impressive list of love victories in his biography. And, apparently, having had plenty of fun, he decided to connect his personal life with Sairita Wright, a secretary who worked at Motown. It was not so much a love union as a creative one. Sairita also composed poetry and music, and even recorded several compositions with her husband. By then Stevie was already famous performer. The producer relied on the lyrics, and in 1970 Stevie Wonder received his first Grammy.
The listeners were delighted with the musician’s hits, each of which brought tears to their eyes. But Stevie himself soon got tired of the tearful romance. He matured and became interested in much more important things - politics, society, issues of equality. Personal meeting with
Martin Luther King finally changed his views. Unable to bear it, he once honestly told Berry Gordy: “As soon as I become an adult, I will immediately take control of my career. It seems to me that you don’t know me well and have little idea where I came from.”
On May 13, 1971, after a wild 21st birthday party, a statement lay on the producer's desk. It stated that his ward Stevie Wonder did not want to renew his contract.
Stevie's marriage to Sairita was short-lived - his wife found him in his marital bed with another woman. Wonder did not deny it: what can you do if his love was enough for everyone?
Stevie Wonder - songs and albums
Now, not bound by any bonds, he could create day and night. Most of all, he was fascinated by technical innovations. It was then that the first synthesizers and complex musical installations began to appear. The first time he sat down at one, Stevie despaired, believing that he would never be able to master such huge amount keys Nevertheless, at my own peril and risk, I ordered a fully equipped studio and decided to record new compositions in it. The result was 30 complete songs and about 200 unfinished ones. And this is just in a year!
The compositions came out amazing. Long - 6-8 minutes - they were complex in sound and text. Wonder sang about what worried him, about the world, his country, the confrontation between blacks and whites. The compositions evoked a lively response.
The Motown production center decided not to lose the talent it had nurtured, and Stevie was offered a 7-year contract and $13 million - an unprecedented case! It was a sin to refuse.
The albums followed one after another. This musical flow was interrupted only once: on August 6, 1973, a log fell on Wonder’s car from a truck driving nearby. The musician received serious injury head and spent four days in a coma. But someone from above decided that it was too early for him to die.
Over time, listeners got used to the fact that every new work by Stevie Wonder becomes a hit, and they did not expect anything less from him. And one day he himself could not stand it - he was tired of excessive attention. For several years, the musician went into the shadows, looking for inspiration.
And I found it - in 1993 in African Ghana. He stayed there for a month and a half, during which he managed to write 40 new songs. But then there is a new calm.
Steve Wonder today
IN recent years Stevie Wonder appears more in social news than in music news. At 65, he is still handsome and not deprived of the attention of the ladies. Until now, no one can say exactly how many children the musician has. Rumor has it there are nine offspring from five different women. Moreover, the eldest of them is 40 years old, and the youngest is only a year old.
Wonder's biography remains interesting for the singer's fans, who are waiting for new compositions from him. And they know for sure: one day he will return again. After all, Wonder himself said: “As long as the world is not right, as long as people have difficulties, I will have something to say.”
Today I will tell you about one of the outstanding singers and composers of our time, Stevie Wonder. First, a little factual information from Wikipedia, maybe this will be enough for someone, then you can safely move on to the end of the article - Achievements And Statements, and also links for songs. More full story about the life and work of Stevie Wonder will be presented following the certificate.
Stevie Wonder (English Stevie Wonder; real name Stevland Hardaway Morris (Original name (at birth): Stevland Hardaway Judkins); born May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan) - American soul singer, composer , pianist, drummer, harper (harmonica player), music producer and public figure who had a huge influence on the development of music of the 20th century. 25-time Grammy Award winner. One of the founders of classic soul and R’n’B (rhythm and blues). Stevie is one of the most famous vocalists in the world, constantly being included in "lists of the best vocalists of all time."
At the age of eleven, he signed his first recording contract with Motown Records. Stevie Wonder is a multi-instrumentalist musician: he has a vocal range of four octaves and an incredibly complex vocal technique, he is a virtuoso at the piano and all types of synthesizers, a drum kit, a clarinet, and a harmonica.
Gershwin Prize winner.
During his career, he recorded more than 30 albums.
Last on at the moment studio the album "A Time to Love" was released in 2005. The album debuted straight away at number five on the American pop chart. It received a lot of positive reviews from critics, a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal (“From The Bottom Of My Heart”) and sold 169 thousand copies in the summer of 2007 (according to Nielsen SoundScan). Last official concert Stevie Wonder's album was released in 2008, this is a recording from a London concert at the O2 arena. The album contains 27 tracks, mainly songs by Wonder himself, there is also one composition by Miles Davis (“All Blues”), one Chick Corea (“Spain”) and a medley on themes from songs by The Beatles and The Rolling Stone s
And now in detail:
Stevie was the third of six children in the family. He was born prematurely and placed in a neonatal incubator. A large dose of oxygen was supplied to his incubator, which aggravated the process of developing blindness; This factor was probably not a self-cause. The musician himself, in an interview with CNN, says that doctors only later discovered the pattern of such an effect of oxygen on premature babies with his disease. If they had known this earlier, he might have seen at least something. Stevie Wonder’s mother, Lula Mae Judkins, said: “It’s stupid to be offended by fate, stupid to whine, and even stupider to feel sorry for yourself. Just forget about what your eyes can’t see and live like everyone else - only much better, much more interesting.” Thanks to his mother, Stevie learned to write and read, and took up music at an early age. He joined the church choir and began to master playing the drums, harmonica and piano. His idol during these years was the blind musician Ray Charles.
One of the first famous musicians The person who heard little Stevie was Ronnie White, from The Miracles. Stevie had an audition with general director and Motown president Berry Gordy, who was struck by the little performer’s extraordinary musicality and signed his first contract with the eleven-year-old boy. As legend has it, Gordy said after the audition: “You guy is a real Miracle, I advise you to take this particular pseudonym.” Before signing the contract, Motown producer Clarence Paul declared that "Stevie is the eighth wonder of the world"! This is how the singer’s pseudonym appeared - “Miracle Stevie” or “Stevie Wonder”, or rather “little Stevie Wonder” back then. At the end of 1961, he made his first recordings for Motown - the single “I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It the Blues”, and in 1962 he released his first two albums: “The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie” and “Tribute” to Uncle Ray", which are mostly instrumental songs with long harmonica and drum solos. Despite the boy's amazing talent, these first records special success didn't have. In 1963, a record with the title “Little Stevie Wonder the 12 Year Genius” appeared on the shelves of American stores. Recorded Live" ("Little Miracle Stevie - 12-year-old genius. Concert recording"). No one at that time - neither Motown, which released the disc, nor listeners, nor critics, nor, probably, the “twelve-year-old genius” himself could have imagined that the name would become prophetic, that in a few years the name of the musician would be known throughout the world, and exactly a decade later he will record records that will be included in the golden fund of world rock.
At the age of 13, Stevie recorded his first real hit - Fingertips, a single taken from the 1963 album Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius. The song, featuring Stevie on vocals, bongos and harmonica, and a young Marvin Gaye on drums, became a No. 1 hit on the US pop and R'n'B charts and launched Wonder into the public consciousness.
In 1964, Stevie Wonder made his debut in the film "Muscle Beach Party" as himself, in the credits his name is indicated: "little Stevie Wonder." Five months later, he returns to the screen in the sequel Bikini Beach. He performed in both films, singing the songs "Happy Street" and "Happy Feelin' (Dance and Shout)" respectively.
Having dropped the prefix "little" from his nickname in the mid-60s, Stevie Wonder released a number of hits, such as "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "With a Child's Heart", as well as a cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in" the Wind,” which is interesting because it was one of the first songs to reflect Stevie's social consciousness. He also began working as a composer for Motown, composing songs for himself and his labelmates, for example his song “Tears of a Clown” became a No. 1 hit performed by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles.
In 1968, Wonder recorded an album of instrumental soul-jazz compositions, mostly on solo harmonica, under the pseudonym (the album was also titled) Eivets Rednow, which means "Stevie Wonder" spelled backwards. The album went almost unnoticed, with the only single, "Alfie", reaching only #66 on the US pop charts and #11 on the US adult charts. However, Stevie managed to release several percussion hits between 1968 and 1970, namely "My Cherie Amour", "I Was Made to Love Her", "For Once in My Life" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" " In September 1970, at the age of 20, Wonder married Syreeta Wright, a former Motown company secretary and songwriter. With Berry Gordy's permission, she assisted Stevie in producing his next album. Where I'm Coming From(translated from English: Where Am I From). This very important record in Wonder’s career needs to be mentioned separately.
As for the title of the album, shortly before its release, in one of the disputes with Motown executives, Stevie said a phrase remarkable for its ambiguity: “When I turn 21, I'm going to take control of my career. It seems to me that you don’t know me well and have little idea where I came from.” After the album's release, Motown gradually began to understand this. It is curious that with the release of the album Where I'm Coming From in 1971, all of Stevie Wonder's subsequent studio albums (with the exception of soundtracks) bore titles that did not coincide with the title of any of the songs included in these records. This tradition was interrupted only in 1995 with the release of the album “Conversation Peace”, which contained the composition of the same name. On April 12, 1971, the album Where I'm Coming From went on sale. The album represents a smooth transition from the traditional "sweet" Motown sound to the sound of Stevie Wonder, which the whole world would soon admire. At first after its release, the album was perceived ambiguously. His arrangements are generally traditional Motown, with no synthesizers yet. However, there are several important features that distinguish this album from its predecessors:
Firstly, For the first time, Stevie Wonder is the full-fledged and sole producer of his own album; in other words, he is responsible for its sound, arrangement and repertoire. Although formally he was listed as a producer and on some previous albums, but in fact he was not yet. Wonder's first production experience was generally successful. The best songs on Where I'm Coming From already foreshadow Wonder's incredible production sense, although not everyone understands this yet.
Secondly, For the first time, Stevie Wonder is the full-fledged and sole author of the music on his own album; he wrote all the songs himself. On previous records (especially the earliest ones) there was quite a lot of music by other composers, often quite mediocre (although there were also songs high level like Sunny by Bobby Hebb, The Shadow Of Your Smile or We Can Work It Out by John Lennon and Paul McCartney). In the early years of his career, even to those songs that Wonder himself actually wrote, the names of other famous authors (most often Moy and Cosby) were added to the album covers to attract buyers. In the best compositions of the album one can already hear Wonder’s “signature” subtle melodicism and amazing harmonic ingenuity. Although the album as a whole is still uneven in terms of material, Stevie confidently declares himself as a full-fledged author of music for his records, and for the first time the Motown management understands that he truly reveals himself in recording and performing his own songs, and not other people’s songs.
In general, contemporaries reacted warmly but calmly to the album, and it did not become a hit. Nowadays, despite the aforementioned “transitivity”, the album is deservedly considered a classic of soul music. Currently, at least three of the nine songs on this record (“Do Yourself A Favor”, “If You Really Love Me” and “Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer”, the latter is especially popular) have been covered by other musicians, including world famous ones, such as Phil Collins, Ocean Color Scene and others.
On May 13, 1971 - his 21st birthday - Stevie Wonder broke his first contract with Motown and earned his first million dollars.
After breaking his contract with Stevie Wonder, Motown head Berry Gordy realized that he had lost his label's biggest star. And he immediately began negotiations about Wonder’s return to Motown. The result of the negotiations was a new 120-page contract, thanks to which Stevie Wonder received full creative control over the entire production process of future recordings and the rights to his own songs.
In March 1972, Stevie Wonder returned to Motown with a new concept album. Music Of My Mind(translated from English as Music of My Thoughts), Stevie Wonder himself again became the producer of the record. Many music lovers and critics consider this album to be the beginning of Stevie Wonder's so-called "classic period". The first concept album of the “new” Stevie Wonder was very different from everything he recorded under his first contract with Motown. In music, Stevie began to use new recording technologies: dubbing and overdubbing of voices, instrumental parts and backing vocals. This allowed him to record the album virtually alone - he sings all the vocal parts himself, creating a whole palette of polyphonic backing vocals, plays all the instruments (with the exception of Art Baron's trombone solo in Love Having You Around and Buzzy Feiton's guitar solo in Superwoman). For the first time synthesizer becomes a full-fledged participant in the recording; before this album, synthesizers were almost never used in black music. The album Music Of My Mind marked the beginning of Stevie Wonder's long collaboration with Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff of the English electronic music duo. In 2003, the album was included in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, where it ranked 284th.
In 1972, Wonder opened concerts for the Stones, who were at the zenith of their fame, and this greatly helped him on his way to white audiences and European recognition.. In his next album, everything is also verified and focused on details. By the way, during his recording, Wonder got into the worst possible situation. car accident, after which he could not be brought out of a coma for four days, and multiple scars remained on his head after the operation. It was for this album Music Of My Mind that Stevie Wonder received seven Grammy awards.
Also in 1972, the album was released 'Talking Book'(translated from English. Talking Book, which created a real sensation in the musical environment. Shortly before this, Stevie separated from his wife, which was noticeably reflected in the music and lyrics of the compositions. The album became the best example of rhythm and blues, turning Wonder into a superstar. And two songs from it - ‘Superstition' and 'You Are The Sunshine Of My Life' - became classics of funk music and super bestsellers of all time.
Wonder's next work 'Innervisions'(1973), translated as ‘Inner Visions’, had an even greater effect. She was named Best album year and brought the performer 3 Grammy awards. The same fate befell the album ‘Fulfillingness’ First Finale’ (1974), which is considered the musician’s most profound work. Wonder received 4 Grammy Awards and became the most influential black musician of the 70s.
He spent two years working on his new studio attempt. The result was worth it. A large-scale project published in 1976 "Songs in the Key of Life"— the culmination of Wonder's creative ambitions. Its volume did not fit into any format: two long-players and another mini-disc (105 minutes of music in total). The musician's most expensive recording, it was praised by some as an unsurpassed masterpiece, and criticized by others for its pretentiousness and self-indulgence. Both sides were right in their own way. “Sir Duke” is a spirited tribute to music in general and Duke Ellington in particular, who passed away shortly before, and the composition “I Wish”, a poem about childhood, easily occupied the first lines of the charts. The song dedicated to his daughter, “Isn’t She Lovely,” eventually became a pop standard, and samples of the track “Pastime Paradise” would grace Coolio’s hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” two decades later. As you might expect, the Songs in the Key of Life LP was named Album of the Year by the Grammys.
The album had another important consequence - it became the peak from which the decline inevitably begins, and with it the most prolific and intense period in the musician’s work ended. Having invested so much effort, so much creative energy into this release, Wonder did not release a single new recording over the following years. Stevie Wonder "went to the bottom."
Wonder continued to mark time and increasingly delay the releases of fresh works. The album, with the working title "People Moving Human Play", was supposed to appear in 1983. Instead, he released another flashback double "Original Musiquarium Vol. 1"(best songs of 1971-1982), containing four new mid-level songs, and new soundtrack to the film “Woman In Red”, another pop-commercial project, in the jungle of which his famous ballad was born "I Just Call To Say I Love You." As paradoxical as it may seem, this song, together with “Part-Time Lover” from the next album “In Square Circle”, is in most cases recognized by our contemporaries as the best and most remarkable compositions from Wonder’s rich song collection. Indeed, “I Just Call To Say I Love You” topped the English charts for six weeks and is still one of the top ten best-selling singles in Britain, and "Part-Time Lover"- perhaps the maestro’s most famous dance hit and also has a phenomenal achievement to its credit - in 1985, it simultaneously topped the Billboard hit parade in four sections (pop, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary and dance music), but, the general consensus was that people had simply forgotten what he was like even a decade earlier, and Stevie himself was to blame for that.
He never ceased to disappoint. The new albums did not live up to the several years of waiting. It became increasingly difficult to listen, and most importantly understand and accept Wonder, and therefore it was not he who wrote the laws musical fashion 80s, and the same lively Michael Jackson, with whom Stevie recorded “Get It” and “Just Good Friends”. However, Wonder himself felt this and began to devote more time to charity projects(USA FOR AFRICA), campaigning against the spread of AIDS (which no one else was doing among blacks at the time) and writing and producing for others (Paul McCartney "Ebony And Ivory", Elton John, EURYTHMICS, Gary Bird).
Stevie Wonder decided to return to active concert activity after a 20-year hiatus and began his American tour on August 23, 2007 with a concert in San Diego. The "A Wonder Summer's Night" tour traveled to 13 US cities, ending in Boston on September 20 and was a success. Stevie Wonder was the main star and guest of honor at the festival. New wave"in Jurmala (Latvia) in 2007.
In 2008, Wonder, 58, played a two-hour solo concert of 27 compositions at the O2 Arena in London. This performance was released on DVD and Blu-ray discs in 2009 and became his first officially released video.
In 2010, 60-year-old Stevie Wonder was the headliner and main star at the Glastonbury Festival in England (see link), where he played a 90-minute, 20-song concert. About 140 thousand people listened to him.
Stevie Wonder takes an active part in music festivals, charity work and UN peacekeeping missions. The musician is trying to convey to people the truth that with the power of spirit you can overcome everything, just as he once defeated blindness.
Achievements:
1983: Inducted into the Composers Hall of Fame
1984: Won an Oscar for best song"I Just Called To Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red
1989: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1996: Received the most important Grammy award of all: “For Lifetime Achievement”
Stevie Wonder's discography includes 23 studio albums, three soundtracks, four live albums, 10 compilations, one box set and 98 singles. Four albums are included in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list: Innervisions (1973, #23), Songs in the Key of Life (1976, #56), Talking Book (1972, #90) and Music of My Mind (1972, #284)
Sayings:
“As long as there is life, as long as there is something wrong with the world, as long as people cannot overcome troubles and as long as people do not try to overcome them, as long as there is violence, destruction, hatred and fanaticism, as long as there are bodies in which there is no soul - so far everything it exists, I will have something to say.”
“Music is what awakens our memory. The longer a melody lives inside us, the more memories are strung on it.”
“I can’t solve anyone’s problems. But I can create music that will push people to make a decision.”
“I have seven children, so I know a thing or two about life.”
“And fifty years pass like a day.”
Superstition In my opinion one of his best songs .
https://youtu.be/0CFuCYNx-1g
Part Time Lover (Lyrics) (With subtitles)
https://youtu.be/jN2AdOjI4FI
You can listen to a concert performance from 2010
Stevie Wonder Full Performance Glastonbury 2010
https://youtu.be/X_e-nKo05k
And here is the performance of Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. Two legends together. Listen, you won't regret it.
Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles - Living for the city (live)
https://youtu.be/W130l1uoTY0
Sting and Stevie Wonder. I like their duet and the song itself, although, of course, it was written by Sting.
Fragile - Sting & Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is one of the most famous vocalists in the world, he was at the origins of modern rhythm and blues and soul. Stevie Wonder is regularly called a genius because, with a vocal range of four octaves and a very complex vocal technique, he also masterfully plays the piano, any synthesizers, drum kit, clarinet and harmonica. Wonder received 25 Grammys and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Stevie Wonder was born in 1950 in the small town of Saginaw (Michigan) in a poor large family, his parents divorced when the boy was 4 years old, and his mother took him and her other children to Detroit. Stevie lost his sight in infancy due to retinopathy, a disease often observed in premature babies. The blind boy spent almost all his time at home - his mother was afraid that other children would offend him. She taught Stevie to read and brought him various musical instruments, and also took him to sing in the church choir. Wonder loved to listen to Ray Charles, who also lost his sight in early childhood.
At the age of 11, Stevie Wonder was brought to an audition by the head of the Motown record company, who was struck by the boy’s extraordinary musicality. The result of this meeting was the singer's first contract, which was followed in 1962 by the recording of two albums, which, however, did not have much success.
At the age of 13, Stevie had his first real hit called “Fingertips (Pt. 2)”, in which the boy not only sang, but also played the harmonica and bongos. The song hit the first line of the US rhythm and blues and pop charts, and the name Stevie Wonder began to be fixed in the minds of listeners. Soon his composing talent also manifests itself - he begins to write songs for other musicians from the Motown label, including the hit “Tears of a Clown” for the group The Miracles.
A conversation with Martin Luther King was the event that completely changed the fate of Stevie Wonder - he began to be interested in politics and was no longer content with the role of a well-selling musician in the hands of label management. The morning after Wonder's coming-of-age party, a letter appeared on the Motown head's desk announcing the termination of all contracts. The 21-year-old singer left the company with $1 million under the old deal, while Motown made at least $30 million from him.
Motown quickly realized that they had lost their main star, and in 1972, a new contract was signed with Stevie Wonder - already on his terms, now the performer himself led the creative process and received the rights to all songs. In the same year, the singer released the album “Music Of My Mind”, which became a conceptual album for soul music and opened “ classical period"in Wonder's work.
In 1973, the album Innervisions was released, the artistic level of which was simply phenomenal, and the popularity of the record grew every year - in 2003 it was ranked 23rd in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Wonder not only wrote and sang all the songs on “Innervisions,” but also played most of the instruments.
In the late 1970s, Stevie Wonder's popularity began to decline; he continued to work hard, but his albums became noticeably weaker. In 1987, the performer stopped concert activities and began experimenting with creating soundtracks. In 1995, rapper Coolio made a famous cover of Wonder's song "Pastime Paradise", which gave the singer strength for a new creative breakthrough. After a series of singles, he released the album “A Time to Love” in 2005, and in 2007, after a 20-year hiatus, he conducted a successful tour. In 2010, 140,000 people came to listen to him at the Glastonbury Festival in England.
After 2005, Stevie Wonder did not release any new albums, although he continues to actively participate in music festivals and engage in charitable and peacekeeping activities.