Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950 as Stevland Hardaway Judkins), better known by his
stage nameA stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Stevie Wonder, is an American
singer-songwriterSinger-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
,
multi-instrumentalistA multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, record producer and
activistActivism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
. Blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.
Among Wonder's best known works are singles such as "
Superstition"Superstition" is a popular song written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie Wonder for Motown Records in 1972, when Wonder was 22 years old. It was the lead single for Wonder's Talking Book album, and released in many countries. It reached number one in the USA, and number one on the soul...
", "
Sir Duke"Sir Duke" is a song composed and performed by Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Released as a single in 1977, the track topped the U.S...
", "
I Wish"I Wish" is a hit song by Stevie Wonder. It was released in 1976 as a single and included on the album Songs in the Key of Life. Written and produced by Wonder, the song focuses on his childhood...
" and "
I Just Called to Say I Love You"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song, produced, written and performed by Stevie Wonder. It was one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles....
". Well known albums also include
Talking BookTalking Book is the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972. A signal recording of his "classic period", in this one he "hit his stride"...
,
InnervisionsInnervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period"...
and
Songs in the Key of LifeSongs in the Key of Life is the 13th album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released September 28, 1976, on Motown Records. It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. An ambitious double LP with a 4-song bonus EP, Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and...
. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make
Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
's birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a
United Nations Messenger of PeaceUnited Nations Messenger of Peace is a title bestowed by the United Nations to "distinguished individuals, carefully selected from the fields of art, music, literature and sports, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations.The messengers are initially chosen...
. In 2008,
Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with Wonder at number five.
Early life
Stevie Wonder was born in
Saginaw, MichiganSaginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
, in 1950, the third of six children to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. Owing to his being born six weeks premature, the blood vessels at the back of his eyes had not yet reached the front and their aborted growth caused the retinas to detach. The medical term for this condition is
retinopathy of prematurityRetinopathy of prematurity , previously known as retrolental fibroplasia , is an eye disease that affects prematurely-born babies. It is thought to be caused by disorganized growth of retinal blood vessels which may result in scarring and retinal detachment. ROP can be mild and may resolve...
, or ROP, and while it may have been exacerbated by the oxygen pumped into his
incubatorA Neonatal Intensive Care Unit —also called a Special Care Nursery, newborn intensive care unit, intensive care nursery , and special care baby unit —is an intensive care unit specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants.The problem of premature and congenitally ill infants is not a...
, this was not the primary cause of his blindness.
When Stevie Wonder was four, his mother left his father and moved herself and her children to Detroit. She changed her name back to Lula Hardaway and later changed her son's surname to Morris, partly because of relatives. Morris has remained Stevie Wonder's legal name ever since. He began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, drums and
bassThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. During childhood he was active in his church choir.
Discovery and early Motown recordings
Ronnie WhiteRonald "Ronnie" White was an African American soul singer and songwriter, notable as a founding member of The Miracles, and the only member to survive all of that group's line-up changes...
of
The MiraclesThe Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
gives credit to his brother Gerald White for persistently nagging him to come to his friend's house in 1961 to check out Stevie Wonder. Afterward, White brought Wonder and his mother to
Motown RecordsMotown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
. Impressed by the young musician, Motown CEO
Berry GordyBerry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
signed Wonder to Motown's Tamla label with the name Little Stevie Wonder. Before signing, producer
Clarence PaulClarence Otto Pauling , better known as Clarence Paul, was a songwriter and record producer for Detroit's Motown Records....
gave Wonder his trademark name after stating "we can't keep calling him the eighth wonder of the world". He then recorded the regional Detroit single, "I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It the Blues", which was released on Tamla in late 1961. Wonder released his first two albums,
The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie and
Tribute to Uncle RayTribute to Uncle Ray is the second album released by Stevie Wonder during his Little Stevie Wonder phase in 1962. The album was an attempt by Berry Gordy and Motown to introduce Stevie as a scion and legatee of Ray Charles simply by virtue of his colour and handicap...
, in 1962, to little success.
Early success: 1963–1971
By age 13, Wonder had a major hit, "
Fingertips (Pt. 2)"Fingertips" is a 1963 number one hit single recorded live by "Little" Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label. Wonder's first hit single, "Fingertips" was the first live, non-studio recording to reach number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the United States since Johnny Standley's 1952...
", a 1963 single taken from a live recording of a Motor Town Revue performance, issued on the album
Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old GeniusRecorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius is the first live album by Stevie Wonder. The album was released on the Tamla record label in May 1963, the same month as the single release of "Fingertips"...
. The song, featuring Wonder on vocals, bongos, and harmonica, and a young
Marvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
on drums, was a #1 hit on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and R&B charts, making him the youngest artist to top the former in its history and launching him into the public consciousness.
In 1964, Stevie Wonder made his film debut in
Muscle Beach PartyMuscle Beach Party is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It was made in 1964 and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series...
as himself, credited as "Little Stevie Wonder". He returned in the sequel released five months later,
Bikini BeachBikini Beach is a 1964 teen film directed by William Asher and starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The film belongs to the beach party genre of movies, popular in the 1960s. This is the third in a series of seven films produced by American International Pictures .-Plot:School is out and...
. He performed on-screen in both films, singing "Happy Street," and "Happy Feelin' (Dance and Shout)," respectively.
Dropping the "Little" from his name, Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid-1960s, including
"
Uptight (Everything's Alright)"Uptight " is a 1966 hit single recorded by Stevie Wonder for the Tamla label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight " was the first Stevie Wonder single to be co-written by the artist....
", "With a Child's Heart", and "
Blowin' in the Wind"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom...
", a
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
cover, co-sung by his mentor, producer
Clarence PaulClarence Otto Pauling , better known as Clarence Paul, was a songwriter and record producer for Detroit's Motown Records....
. He also began to work in the Motown songwriting department, composing songs both for himself and his label mates, including "Tears of a Clown", a number one hit performed by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
In 1968 he recorded an album of instrumental soul/jazz tracks, mostly harmonica solos, under the pseudonym (and title)
Eivets Rednow, which is "Stevie Wonder" spelled backwards. The album failed to get much attention, and its only single, a cover of "Alfie", only reached number 66 on the U.S. Pop charts and number 11 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts. Nonetheless, he managed to score several hits between 1968 and 1970 such as "
I Was Made to Love Her"I Was Made to Love Her" is a hit single recorded by American soul musician Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label in 1967 . The song was written by Wonder, his mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy and producer Henry Cosby; and included on Wonder's 1967 album I Was Made to Love Her...
"; "
For Once in My Life"For Once in My Life" is a pop song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Jobete publishing company in 1967 . The composition was originally recorded by Jean DuShon, while other artists, such as Tony Bennett and The Temptations, recorded slow ballad versions of the song...
" and "
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is a soul single by American musician Stevie Wonder, recorded for Motown's Tamla label. Released in June 1970, the song spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart...
". In September 1970, at the age of 20, Wonder married
Syreeta WrightSyreeta Wright , who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter most notably known for her work with Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston.-Early life and career:...
, a songwriter and former Motown secretary. Wright and Wonder co-wrote the songs on the next album,
Where I'm Coming FromWhere I'm Coming From is the thirteenth studio album released by Grammy Award-winning American singer Stevie Wonder on the Motown label on April 12, 1971....
, which did not succeed in the charts. Reaching his twenty-first birthday on May 13, 1971, he allowed his Motown contract to expire.
In 1970, Wonder co-wrote, and played numerous instruments on the hit "
It's a Shame"It's a Shame" is a song co-written by Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright and Lee Garrett and produced by Wonder as a single for The Spinners on Motown's V.I.P. Records label. The single became the Detroit-reared group's biggest single on the Motown Records company since they had signed with the company...
" for fellow Motown act
The SpinnersThe Spinners is a soul music vocal group, active for over 50 years, and with a long run of pop and R&B hits especially during the 1970s. The group, originating from Detroit, still tours regularly ....
. His contribution was meant to be a showcase of his talent and thus a weapon in his ongoing negotiations with Gordy about creative autonomy.
Classic period: 1972–1976
Wonder independently recorded two albums, which he used as a bargaining tool while negotiating with Motown. Eventually the label agreed to his demands for full creative control and the rights to his own songs. The 120-page contract was a precedent at Motown and gave Wonder a much higher royalty rate. Wonder returned to Motown in March 1972 with
Music of My Mind- Side One :# "Love Having You Around" – 7:21#* Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, talk box, drums, Moog bass#* Art Baron – trombone#* Background Singers – uncredited...
. Unlike most previous albums on Motown, which usually consisted of a collection of singles, B-sides and covers,
Music of My Mind was a full-length artistic statement with songs flowing together thematically. Wonder's lyrics dealt with social, political, and mystical themes as well as standard romantic ones, while musically Wonder began exploring overdubbing and recording most of the instrumental parts himself.
Music of My Mind marked the beginning of a long collaboration with
Tonto's Expanding Head BandTonto's Expanding Head Band was a British electronic music duo consisting of Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff. Despite releasing only two albums in the early 1970s, the duo were influential because of their session work for other musicians , extensive commercial advertising work and the unique...
(
Robert MargouleffRobert Margouleff is a Grammy Award winning American record producer, recording engineer, electronic music pioneer, audio expert, and film producer....
and
Malcolm CecilMalcolm Cecil is a British jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.A founding member of the UK's leading jazz quintet of the late 1950s, The Jazz Couriers, he went on to join a number of British jazz combos led by Dick Morrissey, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott in the late 50s and...
).
Released in late 1972,
Talking BookTalking Book is the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972. A signal recording of his "classic period", in this one he "hit his stride"...
featured the No. 1 hit "
Superstition"Superstition" is a popular song written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie Wonder for Motown Records in 1972, when Wonder was 22 years old. It was the lead single for Wonder's Talking Book album, and released in many countries. It reached number one in the USA, and number one on the soul...
", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner
clavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
keyboard. The song features a rocking groove that garnered Wonder an additional audience on rock radio stations.
Talking Book also featured "
You Are the Sunshine of My Life"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 pop single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third number-one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his first number one on the easy listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. This song was...
", which also peaked at No. 1. During the same time as the album's release, Stevie Wonder began touring with the Rolling Stones to alleviate the negative effects from pigeon-holing as a result of being an R&B artist in America. Wonder's touring with
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
was also a factor behind the success of both "Superstition" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Between them, the two songs won three Grammy Awards. On an episode of the children's television show
Sesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
that aired in April 1973, Wonder and his band performed "Superstition", as well as an original song called "Sesame Street Song", which demonstrated his abilities with the "talk box".
InnervisionsInnervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period"...
, released in 1973, featured "Higher Ground" (#4 on the pop charts) as well as the trenchant "
Living for the City"Living for the City" is a 1973 hit single by Stevie Wonder for the Tamla label, from his Innervisions album. Reaching #8 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and #1 on the R&B chart, the record is driven by a slow bass synth groove that manages to exude a certain amount of tension, an appropriate...
" (#8). Both songs reached No. 1 on the R&B charts. Popular ballads such as "Golden Lady" and "All in Love Is Fair" were also present, in a mixture of moods that nevertheless held together as a unified whole.
Innervisions generated three more Grammy Awards, including
Album of the YearThe Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
. The album is ranked #23 on
Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Wonder had become the most influential and acclaimed black musician of the early 1970s.
On August 6, 1973, Wonder was in a serious automobile accident while on tour in
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, when a car in which he was riding hit the back of a truck. This left him in a coma for four days and resulted in a partial loss of his sense of smell and a temporary loss of sense of taste. Despite the setback, Wonder re-appeared in concert at
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in March 1974 with a performance that highlighted both up-
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
material and long, building improvisations on mid-tempo songs such as "
Living for the City"Living for the City" is a 1973 hit single by Stevie Wonder for the Tamla label, from his Innervisions album. Reaching #8 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and #1 on the R&B chart, the record is driven by a slow bass synth groove that manages to exude a certain amount of tension, an appropriate...
". The album
Fulfillingness' First Finale-Side One:#"Smile Please" – 3:28#*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums#*Michael Sembello – electric guitar#*Reggie McBride – electric bass#*Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos#*Jim Gilstrap – background vocals...
appeared in July 1974 and set two hits high on the pop charts: the #1 "
You Haven't Done Nothin'"You Haven't Done Nothin" is a 1974 funk single by Stevie Wonder featuring background vocals from The Jackson 5, taken from the album Fulfillingness' First Finale. The politically aware song became Wonder's fourth number-one pop hit, his tenth number one soul hit, and was one of his angriest...
" and the Top Ten "
Boogie On Reggae Woman"Boogie On Reggae Woman" is a 1974 funk single by American Motown artist Stevie Wonder, from the album Fulfillingness' First Finale. The song, which was not in the reggae style, continued Wonder's successful Top Ten streak on the pop charts, reaching number three and also spent two weeks at number...
". The Album of the Year was again one of three Grammys won.
The same year Wonder took part in a Los Angeles
jam sessionJam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
which would become known by the bootleg album
A Toot and a Snore in '74A Toot and a Snore in '74 is a bootleg album of the only known recording session in which John Lennon and Paul McCartney played together after the break-up of The Beatles. Mentioned by Lennon in a 1975 interview, details were brought to light in May Pang's 1983 book, Loving John, and it gained...
. He also co-wrote and produced the Syreeta Wright album
Stevie Wonder Presents: SyreetaStevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta is the second full-length release by Motown recording artist Syreeta Wright, issued on the Motown label, in June 1974.-Reception:...
.
On October 4, 1975, Wonder performed at the historical "
Wonder Dream ConcertThe Wonder Dream Concert was an historic concert held on October 4, 1975, at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. The concert was headlined by Stevie Wonder who was joined on the bill by Bob Marley & The Wailers and his former bandmates Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer...
" in
Kingston, JamaicaKingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, a benefit for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind.
By 1975, in his 25th year, Stevie Wonder had won two consecutive
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s: in 1974 for
Innervisions and in 1975 for
Fulfillingness' First Finale. In 1975 he featured on the album
It's My PleasureIt's My Pleasure is the tenth studio album by Billy Preston, released in 1975. This album marked the modernisation of Preston's music, placing a heavier emphasis on synthesizers. It also marked his first collaborations with singer Syreeta Wright who sings on one track...
by
Billy PrestonWilliam Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
, playing harmonica on two tracks.
The double album-with-extra-
EPAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Songs in the Key of LifeSongs in the Key of Life is the 13th album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released September 28, 1976, on Motown Records. It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. An ambitious double LP with a 4-song bonus EP, Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and...
, was released in September 1976. Sprawling in style, unlimited in ambition, and sometimes lyrically difficult to fathom, the album was hard for some listeners to assimilate, yet is regarded by many as Wonder's crowning achievement and one of the most recognizable and accomplished albums in pop music history. The album became the first of an American artist to debut straight at #1 in the
BillboardThe Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
charts, where it remained for 14 non-consecutive weeks. Two tracks, became #1 Pop/R&B hits "
I Wish"I Wish" is a hit song by Stevie Wonder. It was released in 1976 as a single and included on the album Songs in the Key of Life. Written and produced by Wonder, the song focuses on his childhood...
" and "
Sir Duke"Sir Duke" is a song composed and performed by Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Released as a single in 1977, the track topped the U.S...
". The baby-celebratory "Isn't She Lovely?" was written about his newborn daughter Aisha, while songs such as "Love's in Need of Love Today" (which years later Wonder would perform at the post-
September 11, 2001The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
America: A Tribute to HeroesAmerica: A Tribute to Heroes was a benefit concert created by the heads of the four broadcast networks. Joel Gallen was selected by them to produce and run the show Joel Gallen. Actor George Clooney wrangled the celebrities to performed and to man the telephone bank . The marketing and public...
telethon) and "Village Ghetto Land" reflected a far more pensive mood.
Songs in the Key of Life won Album of the Year and two other Grammys. The album ranks 56th on
Rolling Stone Magazines 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
After such a concentrated and sustained level of creativity, Wonder stopped recording for three years, releasing only the 3 LP Looking Back
Looking Back, also known as Anthology, is a triple LP anthology by American soul musician Stevie Wonder, released in 1977 on Motown Records. Since its release in 12-inch Triple LP format, it has not been reissued and is considered a limited edition...
, an anthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of his first Motown period. The albums Wonder released during this period were very influential on the music world: the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide
said they "pioneered stylistic approaches that helped to determine the shape of pop music for the next decade"; Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
included four of the five albums, with three in the top 90; and in 2005, Kanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
said of his own work, "I'm not trying to compete with what's out there now. I'm really trying to compete with Innervisions
and Songs in the Key of Life. It sounds musically blasphemous to say something like that, but why not set that as your bar?"
Commercial period: 1979–1990
It was in Wonder's next phase that he began to commercially reap the rewards of his legendary classic period. The '80s saw Wonder scoring his biggest hits and reaching an unprecedented level of fame evidenced by increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations, political impact, and television appearances.
When Wonder did return, it was with the
soundtrack albumA soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
Journey through the Secret Life of PlantsStevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" is an album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on the Tamla Motown label on October 30, 1979...
(1979), featured in the film The Secret Life of Plants
. Mostly instrumental, the album was composed using the Computer Music Melodian, an early samplerA sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
. Wonder toured briefly in support of the album, and used a Fairlight CMIThe Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
sampler on stage. In this year Wonder also wrote and produced the dance hit "Let's Get Serious", performed by Jermaine JacksonJermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director...
and (ranked by Billboard
as the #1 R&B single of 1980).
Hotter than JulyHotter than July is the nineteenth album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on Motown's Tamla label on September 29, 1980. Despite the wide critical acclaim for Wonder's previous works such as Songs in the Key of Life and Innervisions, Hotter than July was his first album eligible for platinum...
(1980) became Wonder's first platinum-selling single album, and its single "
Happy Birthday"Happy Birthday" is a 1981 single written, produced, and performed by Stevie Wonder for the Motown label. Wonder, a social activist, was one of the main figures in the campaign to have the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. become a national holiday, and created this single to make the cause known...
" was a successful vehicle for his campaign to establish Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday. The album also included "Master Blaster (Jammin')", "
I Ain't Gonna Stand for It"I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" is the second single from Stevie Wonder's 1980 album, Hotter Than July. It reached number four on the Billboard R&B singles chart and number 11 on the Hot 100. It also hit number ten on the UK Singles Chart...
", and the sentimental ballad, "
Lately"Lately" is a song by American singer Stevie Wonder recorded for his album Hotter than July . The song was notably covered by R&B group Jodeci and released as a promotional single for the live album Uptown MTV Unplugged in June 1993....
", which was later covered by Jodeci and
S Club 7S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, consisting of members Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, de facto lead singer Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens. The group rose to fame by starring in their...
.
In 1982, Wonder released a retrospective of his '70s work with
Stevie Wonder's Original MusiquariumStevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I is a compilation album by R&B/soul musician Stevie Wonder, released as Tamla 6002 in 1982. It collects eleven Top 40 hit singles, and one album track, taken from Wonder's "classic period" running from 1972 to 1980. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200, at #1...
, which included four new songs: the ten-minute
funkFunk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
classic "
Do I Do"Do I Do" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder, first released in 1982 on the album Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I. It reached #10 in the UK and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US....
" (which featured
Dizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
), "That Girl" (one of the year's biggest singles to chart on the R&B side), "Front Line", a narrative about a soldier in the Vietnam War that Stevie Wonder wrote and sang in the 1st person, and "
Ribbon in the Sky"Ribbon in the Sky" is a hit 1982 R&B single released by Motown star, American singer Stevie Wonder. The ballad was first featured on the greatest-hits compilation, Original Musiquarium, and charted at #54 pop and #10 R&B when it was released...
", one of his many classic compositions. Wonder also gained a #1 hit that year in collaboration with
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
in their paean to racial harmony, "
Ebony and Ivory"Ebony and Ivory" is a 1982 number-one single by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 29 of that year. The song is featured on McCartney's album Tug of War. The song reached number one on both the UK and the U.S. charts...
".
In 1983, Wonder performed the song "Stay Gold", the theme to
Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
's film adaptation of S.E. Hinton's novel
The OutsidersThe Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. The film was released in March 1983...
. Wonder wrote the lyrics.
In 1983, Wonder scheduled an album to be entitled "People Work, Human Play." The album never surfaced and instead 1984 saw the release of Wonder's soundtrack album for The Woman in Red. The lead single, "
I Just Called to Say I Love You"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song, produced, written and performed by Stevie Wonder. It was one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles....
", was a #1 pop and R&B hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, where it was placed 13th in the list of best-selling singles in the UK published in 2002. It went on to win an
Academy AwardAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for "Best Song" in 1985. The album also featured a guest appearance by
Dionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, singing the duet "It's You" with Stevie and a few songs of her own. The following year's
In Square CircleIn Square Circle is a 1985 album released by Grammy Award-winning American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder...
featured the #1 pop hit "Part-Time Lover"Part-Time Lover" is a 1985 single by Stevie Wonder, from his album In Square Circle. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, dance and adult contemporary charts. The song's simultaneous chart success made him the first artist to score a number-one hit on four different Billboard...
". The album also has a Top 10 Hit with "Go Home." It also featured the ballad "Overjoyed" which was originally written for Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants
, but didn't make the album. He performed "Overjoyed" on Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
when he was the host. He was also featured in
Chaka KhanChaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
's cover of
PrincePrince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
's "
I Feel For You"I Feel for You" is a song written by Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. It became a hit single in 1984 for female R&B singer Chaka Khan, appearing on her album, which was also called I Feel for You...
", alongside
Melle MelGrandmaster Mele Mel , also known as Melle Mel , is an American hip-hop musician — one of the pioneers of old school hip hop as lead rapper and main songwriter for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.- Biography :...
, playing his signature harmonica. In roughly the same period he was also featured on harmonica on
EurythmicsEurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
' single, "
There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)In 1997 recorded the Finnish parody rock band Leningrad Cowboys a cover for their 1997 album Mongolian Barbeque. In that cover the mouth organ was replaced by an electric guitar for the instrumentation and the intro was so taken with the electric guitar, unlike the original this version is very...
" and
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's "
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" is a song by British singer Elton John featuring Stevie Wonder on harmonica...
".
By 1985, Stevie Wonder was an American icon, the subject of good-humored jokes about blindness and affectionately impersonated by
Eddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
on Saturday Night Live
. Wonder sometimes joined in the jokes himself such as in The Motown Revue
with Smokey RobinsonWilliam "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
. He was in a featured duet with Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
on the all-star charity single for African Famine Relief, "We Are the World"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
", and he was part of another charity single the following year (1986), the AIDS-inspired "That's What Friends Are For"That's What Friends Are For" is a 1982 song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager and introduced by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film Night Shift.-Dionne Warwick cover:...
". He also played the harmonica on the album Dreamland Express by
John DenverHenry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
in the song "If Ever", a song Wonder co-wrote with Stephanie Andrews. He also wrote the track "I Do Love You" for
The Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
' 1985
self-titled album-Sources:* Keepin' the Summer Alive/The Beach Boys CD booklet notes, Andrew G. Doe, c.2000.* "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience", Timothy White, c. 1994....
. Stevie Wonder also played the harmonica on a track called "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" from "Showboat" on "
The Broadway AlbumThe Broadway Album is the twenty-fourth studio album by director, composer, actress and singer Barbra Streisand, released by Columbia Records on November 4, 1985. Consisting mainly of classic show tunes, the album marked a major shift in Barbra Streisand's career. Streisand had spent ten years...
" by
Barbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
.
In 1986, Stevie Wonder appeared on
The Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
, as himself, in the episode "A Touch of Wonder".
In 1987, Wonder appeared on Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's Bad
album on the duet "Just Good Friends". Michael Jackson also sang a duet with him titled "Get It" on Wonder's 1987 album Characters
. This was a minor hit single, as were "Skeletons" and "You Will Know". In the fall of 1988, Wonder duetted with Julio IglesiasJulio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
on the hit single "My Love", which appeared on Iglesias' album Non Stop
.
Later career: 1991–2001
After 1987's Characters
LP, Wonder continued to release new material, but at a slower pace. He recorded a soundtrack album for Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
's film Jungle FeverJungle Fever is a 1991 American drama film directed by Spike Lee, starring Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra. It was Lee's fifth feature-length film. The film mainly explores interracial relationships...
in 1991. From this album, singles and videos were released for "Gotta Have You" and "These Three Words". The B-side to the "Gotta Have You" single was "Feeding Off The Love Of The Land", which was played during the end credits of the movie Jungle Fever
but was not included on the soundtrack. A piano and vocal version of "Feeding Off The Love Of The Land" was also released on the Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal- Notes :* On the included performance, the All-Starr Band consisted of Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren, Billy Preston, Dr. John, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Jim Keltner, Clarence Clemons, and Zak Starkey....
compilation. It is rumored that "Feeding Off The Love Of The Land" was originally intended for release on Fulfillingness' First Finale Volume Two
, a project that has never been confirmed as completed.
Conversation PeaceConversation Peace is the twenty-second album released by American musician Stevie Wonder, released on the Motown label in 1995. The album was Wonder's first full-length non-soundtrack studio album since 1987's Characters...
and the live album Natural WonderNatural Wonder is a live album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released in 1995 and recorded in Osaka, Japan. It is an edited version of a televised concert Wonder performed with the Tokyo Philharmonic.-Disc one:# "Dancing to the Rhythm" *– 7:07...
were also released in the 1990s. The former received its European launch at a high-profile March 1995 press conference in Paris, where Stevie mentioned how the tearing down of The Wall between East and West Berlin and the desire for a united Europe had played a significant part in the inspiration behind the album.
In 1994, Wonder made a guest appearance on the KISSKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
cover album KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved-Charts:Album - Billboard Singles - Billboard -External links:*...
, playing harmonica and supplying background vocals for the song "Deuce"Deuce" is a song written by Kiss bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons that first appeared on Kiss' eponymous 1974 debut album. In addition to being one of the band's most popular and most-covered songs, "Deuce" is a traditional concert opener...
", performed by Lenny KravitzLeonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
.
In 1996, Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of LifeSongs in the Key of Life is the 13th album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released September 28, 1976, on Motown Records. It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. An ambitious double LP with a 4-song bonus EP, Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and...
was selected as a documentary subject for the
Classic AlbumsClassic Albums is a documentary series about pop and rock albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.-Format:...
documentary series. This series dedicates 60 minutes to one groundbreaking record per feature. The same year, he performed
John LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's song "
Imagine"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971...
" in the
closing ceremony of the Atlanta Olympic GamesThe Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics took place on August 4, 1996 at the Centennial Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, United States at approximately 8:00 PM EDT...
. The same year, Wonder performed in a remix of "
Seasons of Love"Seasons of Love" is a song from the Broadway musical Rent, written and composed by Jonathan Larson. The song starts with an ostinato piano motif, which provides the harmonic framework for the cast to sing "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes"...
" from the
Jonathan LarsonJonathan Larson was an American composer and playwright noted for the serious social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia explored in his work. Typical examples of his use of these themes are found in his works, Rent and tick, tick... BOOM!...
musical
RentRent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
.
In 1997, Wonder collaborated with Babyface for a song about
abuseAbuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
(
domestic violenceDomestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
) called "
How Come, How Long"How Come, How Long" is the title of a song written, produced and performed by Babyface . It was released as the third single from his album The Day. It features American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder on backing vocals....
" which was nominated for an award.
In December 1999, Wonder announced that he was interested in pursuing an
intraocular retinal prosthesisFor the non-functional prosthesis or glass eye see Ocular prosthesis and Craniofacial prosthesis.A visual prosthesis, often referred to as a bionic eye, is an experimental visual device intended to restore functional vision in those suffering from partial or total blindness...
to partially restore his sight. That same year, Wonder was featured on harmonica in the Sting song "Brand New Day".
In 2000, Stevie Wonder contributed two new songs to the soundtrack for
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
's
BamboozledBamboozled is a 2000 satirical film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the violent fall-out from the show's success...
album ("Misrepresented People" and "Some Years Ago").
Current career: 2002–present
In March 2002, Wonder performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter ParalympicsThe 2002 Winter Paralympics, the eighth Winter Paralympics, were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, from March 7 to March 16, 2002. A total of 416 athletes from 36 nations participated....
in Salt Lake City.
On July 2, 2005, Wonder performed in the Live 8 concert in PhiladelphiaOn 2 July 2005, a Live 8 concert was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with a densely packed audience stretched out for one mile along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway...
.
Wonder's first new album in ten years, A Time to LoveA Time to Love is a 2005 studio album by Stevie Wonder, his first since 1995's Conversation Peace. Originally to have been completed in 2004, it was finally released to stores on October 18, 2005, following an exclusive electronic release on Apple's iTunes Music Store on September 27...
, was released on October 18, 2005, after having been pushed back from first a May, and then a June release. The album was released electronically on September 27, 2005, exclusively on
Apple'sApple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
iTunes Music Store. The first single, "So What the Fuss", was released in April. A second single, "From the Bottom of My Heart" was a hit on adult-contemporary R&B radio. The album also featured a duet with
India.ArieIndia.Arie is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer . She has sold over 3.3 million records in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 21 nominations, including Best R&B Album.-Background:Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado...
on the title track "A Time to Love".
Wonder performed at the pre-game show for
Super Bowl XLSuper Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
in Detroit in early 2006, singing various hit singles (with his four-year-old son on drums) and accompanying
Aretha FranklinAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
during "The Star Spangled Banner".
In March 2006, Wonder received new national exposure on the top-rated
American IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
television program. Wonder performed "My Love Is on Fire" (from A Time To Love
) live on the show itself. In June 2006, Stevie Wonder made a guest appearance on Busta RhymesTrevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
' new album, The Big Bang
on the track "Been through the Storm". He sings the refrain and plays the piano on the Dr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and Sha Money XL-Dream Big Ventures:With Distribution from The Orchard, Sha Money founded a new record label, Dream Big Ventures. Quickly upon its creation, Sha Money signed close Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit affiliates DJ Whoo Kid and Stat Quo, as well as former Young Money artist, Kidd Kidd. Sha is currently trying to...
produced track. He appeared again on the last track of Snoop DoggCalvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
's new album Tha Blue Carpet TreatmentTha Blue Carpet Treatment is the eighth studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg; released by Geffen Records on November 21, 2006. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard charts.- Album information :...
, "Conversations". The song is a remake of "Have a Talk with God" from Songs in the Key of LifeSongs in the Key of Life is the 13th album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released September 28, 1976, on Motown Records. It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. An ambitious double LP with a 4-song bonus EP, Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and...
.
In 2006, Wonder staged a duet with Andrea BocelliAndrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
on the latter's album Amore, offering harmonica and additional vocals on "Canzoni Stonate". Stevie Wonder also performed at Washington, D.C.'s 2006 "
A Capitol FourthA Capitol Fourth is a free annual concert performed on the west lawn of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., in celebration of the Independence Day. Broadcast live on PBS and NPR, the concert is viewed and heard by millions across The United States and the world, as well as...
" celebration.
On August 2, 2007, Stevie Wonder announced the A Wonder Summer's Night 13 concert tour—his first U.S. tour in over ten years. This tour was inspired by the recent passing of his mother, as he stated at the conclusion of the tour on December 9 at the Jobing.com Arena in
Glendale, ArizonaGlendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
.
On August 28, 2008, Wonder performed at the
Democratic National ConventionThe Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
at
Invesco Field at Mile HighSports Authority Field at Mile High, previously known as Invesco Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, is a multi-purpose stadium, in Denver, Colorado. It replaced the identically sized, but commercially obsolete Mile High Stadium in 2001...
in
DenverThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, Colorado. Songs included a previously unreleased song, "Fear Can't Put Dreams to Sleep," and "
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is a soul single by American musician Stevie Wonder, recorded for Motown's Tamla label. Released in June 1970, the song spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart...
".
On September 8, 2008, Wonder started the European leg of his Wonder Summer's Night Tour, the first time he had toured Europe in over a decade. His opening show was at the
National Indoor ArenaThe National Indoor Arena is a large indoor arena and is owned by the NEC Group. It is situated in central Birmingham, England and was opened in 1991, as the largest indoor arena at the time in the UK...
in
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. During the tour, Wonder played eight UK gigs; four at
The O2 ArenaThe O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
in London, two in Birmingham and two at the M.E.N. Arena in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Stevie Wonder's other stops in the tour's European leg also found him performing in Holland (Rotterdam), Sweden (Stockholm), Germany (Cologne, Mannheim and Munich), Norway (Hamar), France (Paris), Italy (Milan) and Denmark (Aalborg). Wonder also toured Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane) and New Zealand (Christchurch, Auckland and New Plymouth) in October and November.
By June 2008, Wonder was working on two projects simultaneously: a new album titled The Gospel Inspired By Lula
which will deal with the various spiritual and cultural crises facing the world, and Through The Eyes Of Wonder, an album which Wonder has described as a performance piece that will reflect his experience as a blind man. Wonder was also keeping the door open for a collaboration with
Tony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
and
Quincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
concerning a rumored jazz album. If Wonder was to join forces with Bennett, it would not be for the first time; Their rendition of "For Once in My Life" earned them a Grammy for best pop collaboration with vocals in 2006. Wonder's harmonica playing can be heard on the 2009 Grammy-nominated "Never Give You Up" featuring CJ Hilton and
Raphael SaadiqRaphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
.
Wonder performed on January 18, 2009 at the
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln MemorialWe Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial was a public celebration of the then forthcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2009. By some estimates the...
. On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009, Wonder performed the song "Brand New Day" with musician Sting. He performed his new song "All About the Love Again" and, with other musical artists, "Signed, Sealed & Delivered". On February 23, 2009, Wonder became the second recipient of the Library of Congress's
Gershwin PrizeThe Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is an award given to a composer or performer for their lifetime contributions to popular music...
for pop music, honored by President Barack Obama at the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
On July 7, 2009, Wonder performed "
Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer"Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" is a 1971 song by Stevie Wonder. It comes from his album Where I'm Coming From. The song is a ballad, describing a failed relationship using the metaphor of changing seasons...
" and "
They Won't Go When I Go"They Won't Go When I Go" is a song co-written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1974 album Fulfillingness' First Finale.This song is the only one on the album that Wonder didn't write by himself...
" at the
Staples CenterStaples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
for Michael Jackson's memorial service. On October 29, 2009, Wonder performed at the 25th anniversary concert for the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. Among performing songs with B.B. King, Wonder performed
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's '
The Way You Make Me Feel"The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. Released by Epic Records in November 1987, it was the third single from Jackson's seventh studio album Bad. Written and composed by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones , the song is credited as being a pop and R&B...
', during which he became emotionally distraught and was unable to perform until he regained his composure.
On January 22, 2010, Wonder performed
Bridge Over Troubled Water"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's album of the same name. The single was released on January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album Live 1969, released in 2008. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at...
for the
Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake ReliefHope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief was a charity telethon held on January 22, 2010 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time . The telethon was the most widely distributed telethon in history...
event to help victims of the earthquake in
Port-au-PrincePort-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
on January 12, 2010.
On March 6, 2010, Wonder was awarded the Commander of the Arts and Letters by French Culture Minister
Frédéric MitterrandFrédéric Mitterrand , a Franco-Tunisian citizen, is the French Minister of Culture and Communication. Throughout his career, he has been an actor, screenwriter, television presenter, writer, producer and director.-Biography:...
. Wonder had been due to receive this award in 1981, but scheduling problems prevented this from happening. A lifetime achievement award was also given to Wonder on the same day, at France's biggest music awards.
His 2010 tour included a two-hour set at the
Bonnaroo Music FestivalThe Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...
in
Manchester, TennesseeManchester is a city in Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,102 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Coffee County...
, a stop at London's "Hard Rock Calling" in Hyde Park, and appearances at England's
Glastonbury FestivalThe Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, Rotterdam's
North Sea Jazz FestivalThe North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...
, and a concert in Bergen, Norway and a concert in Dublin, Ireland at the O2 Arena on June 24.
In February 2011, the Apollo Theater announced that Stevie Wonder will be the next in line for the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame. The theater said that the singer will be inducted into the New York City institution's Hall of Fame in five months.
On June 25, 2011, Wonder performed at the opening ceremony of the
2011 Special Olympics World Summer GamesThe 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games is a sporting event held from June, 25th 2011 - July, 4th 2011 in Athens, Greece. The opening ceremony of the games took place on 25 June 2011 at the Panathinaiko Stadium and the closing ceremony was held on 4 July 2011."Over 7,500" athletes, from 185...
in
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece.
Legacy
A prominent figure in popular music during the latter half of the 20th century, Wonder has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and won twenty-two
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s (the most ever won by a solo artist) as well as a
Lifetime Achievement AwardThe Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."...
. He has also won an Academy Award for Best Song, and been inducted into both the
Rock and RollThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
and
SongwritersThe Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
halls of fame. He has also been awarded the
Polar Music PrizeThe Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international music award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, possibly best known to be the manager of the Swedish pop group ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music....
. American music magazine
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
named him the ninth greatest singer of all time. In June 2009 he became the fourth artist to receive the Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award.
He has ten
U.S. number-one hits on the pop chartsThe Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
as well as 20 R&B number one hits, and album sales totaling more than 100 million units. Wonder has recorded several critically acclaimed albums and hit singles, and writes and produces songs for many of his label mates and outside artists as well. Wonder plays the piano, synthesizer, harmonica,
congaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s, drums, bass guitar,
bongosBongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
, organ, melodica, and
clavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
. In his childhood, he was best known for his harmonica work, but today he is better known for his keyboard skills and vocal ability. Wonder was the first
MotownMotown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
artist and second African American musician to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song for his 1984 hit single "
I Just Called to Say I Love You"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song, produced, written and performed by Stevie Wonder. It was one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles....
" from the movie The Woman in Red
.
Classic period
Wonder's "classic period" is generally agreed to consist of the concept albumIn music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
s he created in the early- to mid-1970s, peaking in 1976. Some observers see in 1971's Where I'm Coming From
certain indications of the beginning of the classic period, such as its new funky keyboard style which Wonder used throughout the classic period. Some determine Wonder's first "classic" album to be 1972's Music of My Mind
, on which he attained personal control of production, and on which he programmed a series of songs integrated with one another to make a concept album. Others skip over early 1972 and determine the beginning of the classic period to be Talking Book in late 1972, the album in which Wonder "hit his stride".
Impact
Wonder's songs are renowned for being quite difficult to sing. He has a very developed sense of harmony and uses many extended chords utilizing extensions such as ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, diminished fifths, etc. in his compositions. Many of his melodies make abrupt, unpredictable changes. Many of his vocal melodies are also melismatic, meaning that a syllable is sung over several notes. Some of his best known and most frequently covered songs are played in keys which are more often found in jazz than in pop and rock. For example, "
Superstition"Superstition" is a popular song written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie Wonder for Motown Records in 1972, when Wonder was 22 years old. It was the lead single for Wonder's Talking Book album, and released in many countries. It reached number one in the USA, and number one on the soul...
", "Higher Ground" and "
I Wish"I Wish" is a hit song by Stevie Wonder. It was released in 1976 as a single and included on the album Songs in the Key of Life. Written and produced by Wonder, the song focuses on his childhood...
" are in the key of E flat minor, and feature distinctive riffs in the E flat minor
pentatonic scaleA pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave in contrast to a heptatonic scale such as the major scale and minor scale...
(i.e. largely on the black notes of the keyboard).
Wonder played a large role in bringing synthesizers to the forefront of popular music. He developed many new textures and sounds never heard before. In 1981, Wonder became the first owner of an
E-mu EmulatorThe Emulator is the name given to a series of disk-based digital sampling keyboards manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1982 until 1990. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary musicians, due to its relatively low price and its size,...
.
Songs sampled by other musicians
Wonder has recorded with
Jon GibsonJon Gibson , born in San Francisco, is a pioneering gospel/Christian Music singer and musician. He is one of the most influential artists and producers in Christian, Gospel and R&B music with 22 Top Five Hits, 20 Top Ten Hits, nine Number One songs and an Album of The Year to his credit.-Music...
, a
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Soul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
ian, on a remake of his own song, "Have a Talk With God" (from the 1989 album Body & Soul
), covered by Gibson in which Wonder plays harmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
. The two men met in the early 1980s through a shared music agent (Bill Wolfer).
Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
covered "Higher Ground" in 1989 on their Mother's MilkMother's Milk is the fourth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1989, on EMI America Records. It was the first album to feature the band's most well-known lineup...
album.
Stevie Ray VaughanStephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
&
Double TroubleDouble Trouble was the backing rhythm section for Texas blues rock guitarist and lead vocalist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Originally consisting of drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon, Reese Wynans would later join the outfit on keyboards.-History:...
covered "
Superstition"Superstition" is a popular song written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie Wonder for Motown Records in 1972, when Wonder was 22 years old. It was the lead single for Wonder's Talking Book album, and released in many countries. It reached number one in the USA, and number one on the soul...
" and Wonder made a cameo appearance in the official music video for the song.
De La SoulDe La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
sampled "Hey Love" in their song "Talkin' Bout Hey Love" on their 1991 album
De La Soul Is DeadDe La Soul Is Dead is De La Soul's second full-length album, released in 1991 . The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on 3 Feet High and Rising was highly praised by music critics. The album was one of the first to receive a five mic rating in the Hip hop magazine The Source...
.
"
Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" was a hit single from Stevie Wonder's 1973 album Innervisions, which reached #16 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and #2 on the R&B chart...
" was rendered by English band
IncognitoIncognito is a British band, as well as one of the members of the United Kingdom's acid jazz movement. Their debut album, Jazz Funk, was released in 1981, with thirteen more albums following, the last of which, Transatlantic RPM, was released in 2010....
in 1992 and
John LegendJohn Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
covered this song for the 2005 film,
HitchHitch is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant and starring Will Smith. The film, which was written by Kevin Bisch, co-stars Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Amber Valletta. Smith plays a professional matchmaker who makes a living teaching men how to woo women...
.
George MichaelGeorge Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
and
Mary J. BligeMary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
covered "
As"As" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. It reached #36 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles chart.-Covers:...
" in the late 1990s. In 1999, Salome De Bahia made a
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian version of "
Another Star"Another Star" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Released as a single in 1977, it reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, #18 on Black Singles chart, and #2 on the Dance/Disco chart...
".
Tupac ShakurTupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
sampled "
That Girl"That Girl" is a 1981 soul single by American Motown singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder. The song was the leading single off Wonder's album-era greatest-hits compilation, Original Musiquarium, as one of four newer songs from the collection. The song spent nine weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B...
" for his hit song "
So Many Tears"So Many Tears" is the second single from, and the fourth track on, Tupac Shakur's third studio album Me Against the World. It is known as one of Shakur's saddest and most soulful songs, as he was rapping about pain and suffering. The song's harmony is a sample from Stevie Wonder's "That Girl". The...
".
"Pastime Paradise" would become an
interpolationInterpolation in music refers to an abrupt change in musical elements from the main theme.-In classical music:In music and musical composition, especially 20th century and later, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with continuation of the first idea...
for
CoolioArtis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
's "
Gangsta's Paradise"Gangsta's Paradise" is a rap song by Coolio featuring L.V.. The song was released on the Coolio album Gangsta's Paradise, as well as the Dangerous Minds soundtrack in 1995. Coolio was awarded a Grammy for the song/album...
" while
Will SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
would use "
I Wish"I Wish" is a hit song by Stevie Wonder. It was released in 1976 as a single and included on the album Songs in the Key of Life. Written and produced by Wonder, the song focuses on his childhood...
" as the basis for the theme song to his movie, Wild Wild West
. The elements of "Love's In Need of Love Today" were used by 50 CentCurtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
in the song "Ryder Music", and Warren GWarren G , is an American West Coast rapper and hip hop producer. He is also Dr. Dre's half-brother.His biggest hit is the song "Regulate" with Nate Dogg released in 1994...
sampled "Village Ghetto Land" for his song "Ghetto Village".
Mary MaryMary Mary is an American gospel music duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Tina Atkins-Campbell . The duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz...
did a cover of his song "You Will Know"You Will Know" is a hit 1988 R&B ballad by American singer-songwriter and Motown music great Stevie Wonder, taken from his Characters album.It is the opening track on the album, and is the second single from the album as well...
" on their 2002 album, IncredibleIncredible is the second album by Grammy, Stellar and Dove-winning duo Mary Mary. This album features the singles In the Morning and I Try. Mary Mary would ultimately shoot a music video for In The Morning...
. Australian soul artist Guy SebastianGuy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...
recorded a cover of "I Wish" on his Beautiful Life
album. In 2003, Raven-SymonéRaven-Symoné Christina Pearman , known professionally as Raven-Symoné , or simply Raven, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, comedian, dancer, television producer and model. Symoné launched her successful career in 1989 after appearing in The Cosby Show as Olivia...
recorded a cover of "Superstition" for the soundtrack to DisneyWalt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
's The Haunted MansionThe Haunted Mansion is a 2003 American comedy horror family film which is based on The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disney theme parks. The film is directed by Rob Minkoff, and stars Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Jennifer Tilly, Marsha Thomason, and Nathaniel Parker...
. In 2005, Canadian singer Dave MoffattDavid Michael William Moffatt is a Canadian actor and singer.-Early life:Moffatt was born March 8, 1984, in Vancouver, British Columbia to Frank and Darlana Moffatt. Moffatt is a fraternal triplet, while his brothers Bob and Clint, who were born on the same date, are identical twins.-Singing...
, from the group The MoffattsThe Moffatts were a Canadian pop/rock band, composed of brothers Scott, Clint, Bob and Dave Moffatt. Eldest brother Scott was born on March 30, 1983 in Whitehorse, Yukon. Less than a year later, on March 8, 1984, triplets Bob, Clint and Dave were born in Vancouver, British Columbia...
, sang the song "Overjoyed"Overjoyed" is a 1985 hit single released by American and Motown music legend Stevie Wonder on the Tamla label. The single peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1986, remaining in the Top 40 for six weeks. In addition, "Overjoyed" was a No...
" from the In Square CircleIn Square Circle is a 1985 album released by Grammy Award-winning American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder...
album on Canadian IdolCanadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...
. Clay AikenClayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...
performed "Isn't She Lovely?" in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras" of ScrubsScrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
.
Personal life
Wonder has been married twice: to Motown singer Syreeta Wright from 1970 until their divorce in 1972; and since 2001, to fashion designer Kai Milla Morris. He has seven children from his two marriages and several relationships.
His daughter Aisha Morris (born on February 2, 1975, with Yolanda Simmons as mother) was the inspiration for his hit single "Isn't She Lovely." Aisha Morris is a singer who has toured with her father and accompanied him on recordings, including his 2005 album, A Time 2 Love. Wonder has two sons with Kai Milla Morris; the older is named Kailand and he occasionally performs as a drummer on stage with his father. The younger son, Mandla Kadjay Carl Stevland Morris, was born May 13, 2005, his father's 55th birthday.
In May 2006, Wonder's mother died in Los Angeles, at the age of 76. During his September 8, 2008 UK concert in
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, he spoke of his decision to begin touring again following his loss. "I want to take all the pain that I feel and celebrate and turn it around".
Wonder's Taxi Productions owns Los Angeles radio station
KJLHKJLH is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station serving the Los Angeles area and offers More of a variety of Today's R&B & Classic Soul with a taste of Hip-Hop, Gospel and sometimes Smooth Jazz. The station, which is owned by Stevie Wonder's Taxi Productions, operates at 102.3 MHz with an...
.
Top 40 singles
| Year |
Title |
Chart positions |
| US The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
US R&B |
US Dance |
US AC |
UK The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
|
| 1963 |
"Fingertips – Pt. 2 "Fingertips" is a 1963 number one hit single recorded live by "Little" Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label. Wonder's first hit single, "Fingertips" was the first live, non-studio recording to reach number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the United States since Johnny Standley's 1952...
" |
1 |
1 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1966 |
"Uptight (Everything's Alright) "Uptight " is a 1966 hit single recorded by Stevie Wonder for the Tamla label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight " was the first Stevie Wonder single to be co-written by the artist....
" |
3 |
1 |
– |
– |
14 |
| "Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom...
" |
9 |
1 |
– |
– |
36 |
| "A Place in the Sun "A Place in the Sun" is a 1966 soul single by American and Motown musician Stevie Wonder. Written by Ron Miller and Bryan Wells, the song hit #9 on the Billboard pop singles chart, his third Top Ten hit since 1963, and one of Wonder's first songs to contain social commentary...
" |
9 |
3 |
– |
– |
20 |
| 1967 |
"I Was Made to Love Her "I Was Made to Love Her" is a hit single recorded by American soul musician Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label in 1967 . The song was written by Wonder, his mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy and producer Henry Cosby; and included on Wonder's 1967 album I Was Made to Love Her...
" |
2 |
1 |
– |
– |
5 |
| 1968 |
"For Once in My Life "For Once in My Life" is a pop song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Jobete publishing company in 1967 . The composition was originally recorded by Jean DuShon, while other artists, such as Tony Bennett and The Temptations, recorded slow ballad versions of the song...
" |
2 |
1 |
– |
– |
3 |
| "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" is a hit 1968 single released by American and Motown recording artist Stevie Wonder. The song, co-written by Wonder and produced by Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy, was the first to showcase Wonder's talents at the clavinet and was one of his first successful co-written...
" |
9 |
1 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1969 |
"My Cherie Amour" |
4 |
4 |
– |
– |
4 |
| "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" is a 1969 soul song written by Ron Miller and Bryan Wells, released by American Motown singer-songwriter-musician Stevie Wonder on the album My Cherie Amour. The song continued Wonder's success on the pop charts...
" |
7 |
5 |
– |
– |
2 |
| 1970 |
"Never Had a Dream Come True" |
26 |
11 |
– |
– |
5 |
| "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is a soul single by American musician Stevie Wonder, recorded for Motown's Tamla label. Released in June 1970, the song spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart...
" |
3 |
1 |
– |
– |
15 |
| "Heaven Help Us All "Heaven Help Us All" is a 1970 soul single composed by Ron Miller and first performed by Motown singer Stevie Wonder. The song, which showcased a departure from Wonder's earlier works displaying an earthier, gospel-infused sound, continued Wonder's string of Top 10 singles on the pop charts...
" |
8 |
2 |
– |
– |
29 |
| 1971 |
"We Can Work It Out "We Can Work It Out" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It was released as a "double A-sided" single with "Day Tripper", the first time both sides of a single were so designated in an initial release...
" |
13 |
3 |
– |
– |
27 |
| "If You Really Love Me "If You Really Love Me" is the title of a song written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright. Wonder recorded the song and released his version as a single from his 1971 album Where I'm Coming From. The single proved very successful, peaking in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 , Billboard's R&B...
" |
8 |
4 |
– |
– |
20 |
| 1972 |
"Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) "Superwoman " is a 1972 soul track by Stevie Wonder. Released as a single, it was the second track on Wonder's Music of My Mind album. In essence a two-part song, there is a coherence in that it tells a story of the singer's relationship with "Mary"...
" |
33 |
13 |
– |
– |
– |
| "Superstition "Superstition" is a popular song written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie Wonder for Motown Records in 1972, when Wonder was 22 years old. It was the lead single for Wonder's Talking Book album, and released in many countries. It reached number one in the USA, and number one on the soul...
" |
1 |
1 |
– |
– |
11 |
| 1973 |
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 pop single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third number-one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his first number one on the easy listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. This song was...
" |
1 |
3 |
– |
– |
3 |
| "Higher Ground" |
4 |
1 |
– |
– |
29 |
| "Living for the City "Living for the City" is a 1973 hit single by Stevie Wonder for the Tamla label, from his Innervisions album. Reaching #8 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and #1 on the R&B chart, the record is driven by a slow bass synth groove that manages to exude a certain amount of tension, an appropriate...
" |
8 |
1 |
– |
– |
15 |
| "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" was a hit single from Stevie Wonder's 1973 album Innervisions, which reached #16 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and #2 on the R&B chart...
" |
16 |
2 |
– |
– |
- |
| 1974 |
"He's Misstra Know It All "He's Misstra Know It All" is a 1974 UK hit single by Stevie Wonder for the Tamla label, from his Innervisions album, which reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1974 The song takes the form of a mellow ballad with a steady beat, principally a solo performance with Wonder providing lead...
" |
– |
– |
– |
– |
10 |
| "You Haven't Done Nothin' "You Haven't Done Nothin" is a 1974 funk single by Stevie Wonder featuring background vocals from The Jackson 5, taken from the album Fulfillingness' First Finale. The politically aware song became Wonder's fourth number-one pop hit, his tenth number one soul hit, and was one of his angriest...
"
(with The Jackson 5The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
) |
1 |
1 |
– |
– |
30 |
| "Boogie On Reggae Woman "Boogie On Reggae Woman" is a 1974 funk single by American Motown artist Stevie Wonder, from the album Fulfillingness' First Finale. The song, which was not in the reggae style, continued Wonder's successful Top Ten streak on the pop charts, reaching number three and also spent two weeks at number...
" |
3 |
1 |
– |
– |
12 |
| 1977 |
"I Wish "I Wish" is a hit song by Stevie Wonder. It was released in 1976 as a single and included on the album Songs in the Key of Life. Written and produced by Wonder, the song focuses on his childhood...
" |
1 |
1 |
– |
– |
5 |
| "Sir Duke "Sir Duke" is a song composed and performed by Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Released as a single in 1977, the track topped the U.S...
" |
1 |
1 |
– |
– |
2 |
| "Another Star "Another Star" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Released as a single in 1977, it reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, #18 on Black Singles chart, and #2 on the Dance/Disco chart...
" |
32 |
18 |
– |
– |
29 |
| "As "As" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. It reached #36 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles chart.-Covers:...
" |
36 |
36 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1979 |
"Send One Your Love "Send One Your Love" is a 1979 soul single by American and Motown musician and singer Stevie Wonder. The song reached number four on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1979 and was the lead single off of Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants", which was a mostly instrumental...
" |
4 |
5 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1980 |
"Master Blaster (Jammin')" |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" |
10 |
4 |
– |
– |
11 |
| 1981 |
"Lately "Lately" is a song by American singer Stevie Wonder recorded for his album Hotter than July . The song was notably covered by R&B group Jodeci and released as a promotional single for the live album Uptown MTV Unplugged in June 1993....
" |
– |
– |
– |
– |
3 |
| "Happy Birthday "Happy Birthday" is a 1981 single written, produced, and performed by Stevie Wonder for the Motown label. Wonder, a social activist, was one of the main figures in the campaign to have the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. become a national holiday, and created this single to make the cause known...
" |
– |
17 |
– |
– |
2 |
| "That Girl "That Girl" is a 1981 soul single by American Motown singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder. The song was the leading single off Wonder's album-era greatest-hits compilation, Original Musiquarium, as one of four newer songs from the collection. The song spent nine weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B...
" |
3 |
1 |
– |
– |
39 |
| 1982 |
"Do I Do "Do I Do" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder, first released in 1982 on the album Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I. It reached #10 in the UK and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US....
" |
7 |
2 |
– |
– |
10 |
| "Ebony and Ivory "Ebony and Ivory" is a 1982 number-one single by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 29 of that year. The song is featured on McCartney's album Tug of War. The song reached number one on both the UK and the U.S. charts...
" (with Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
) |
1 |
8 |
– |
– |
1 |
| "Ribbon in the Sky "Ribbon in the Sky" is a hit 1982 R&B single released by Motown star, American singer Stevie Wonder. The ballad was first featured on the greatest-hits compilation, Original Musiquarium, and charted at #54 pop and #10 R&B when it was released...
" |
– |
9 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1984 |
"I Just Called to Say I Love You "I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song, produced, written and performed by Stevie Wonder. It was one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles....
" |
1 |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
| 1985 |
"Part-Time Lover "Part-Time Lover" is a 1985 single by Stevie Wonder, from his album In Square Circle. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, dance and adult contemporary charts. The song's simultaneous chart success made him the first artist to score a number-one hit on four different Billboard...
" |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
"That's What Friends Are For"That's What Friends Are For" is a 1982 song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager and introduced by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film Night Shift.-Dionne Warwick cover:...
"
(with Dionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Gladys KnightGladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
) |
1 |
1 |
– |
1 |
16 |
| "Love Light in Flight" |
17 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
– |
| 1986 |
"Go Home "Go Home" is a 1986 hit single released by American and Motown musician Stevie Wonder released on the Tamla label. The song showcased the narrator's plea to a young woman to go home, though the girl tries to get the narrator to stay with her. In the U.S., the song became another #1 adult...
" |
10 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
– |
| "Land of La La" |
– |
19 |
– |
– |
– |
| "Overjoyed "Overjoyed" is a 1985 hit single released by American and Motown music legend Stevie Wonder on the Tamla label. The single peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1986, remaining in the Top 40 for six weeks. In addition, "Overjoyed" was a No...
" |
24 |
8 |
– |
1 |
17 |
| 1987 |
"Skeletons" |
17 |
1 |
20 |
– |
– |
| 1988 |
"Get It "Get It" is a 1987 hit R&B single written by multiple Grammy Award-winning American singer Stevie Wonder & Michael Jackson, and produced by Wonder taken from the album Characters...
" (with Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
) |
– |
4 |
– |
– |
37 |
| "My Eyes Don't Cry" |
– |
6 |
12 |
– |
– |
| "You Will Know "You Will Know" is a hit 1988 R&B ballad by American singer-songwriter and Motown music great Stevie Wonder, taken from his Characters album.It is the opening track on the album, and is the second single from the album as well...
" |
– |
1 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1989 |
"With Each Beat of My Heart" |
– |
28 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1990 |
"Keep Our Love Alive" |
– |
24 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1991 |
"Fun Day (From "Jungle Fever") Jungle Fever is the 1991 soundtrack album by Stevie Wonder to Spike Lee's movie Jungle Fever. It was released on Motown. Wonder was asked by director Spike Lee to compose the film soundtrack and film score to the film, which depicted a black businessman falling for a white female associate...
" |
– |
6 |
– |
– |
– |
| "Gotta Have You (From "Jungle Fever") Jungle Fever is the 1991 soundtrack album by Stevie Wonder to Spike Lee's movie Jungle Fever. It was released on Motown. Wonder was asked by director Spike Lee to compose the film soundtrack and film score to the film, which depicted a black businessman falling for a white female associate...
" |
– |
3 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1992 |
"These Three Words" |
– |
7 |
– |
– |
– |
| 1995 |
"For Your Love "For Your Love" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder that appears on his 1995 soul album Conversation Peace. It won 2 Grammy awards for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.-Chart performance:...
" |
– |
11 |
– |
30 |
23 |
| 2005 |
"So What the Fuss "So What the Fuss" is a song from Stevie Wonder's 2005 album A Time to Love. The single, which features Prince and the original four members of En Vogue, became a minor hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and went top 40 on Billboard's R&B chart....
" |
– |
34 |
– |
40 |
19 |
| "From the Bottom of My Heart" |
– |
25 |
– |
7 |
– |
U.S. and UK albums
| Year |
Album |
Chart positions |
| US The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
|
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
|
UK The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
|
| 1963 |
Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius is the first live album by Stevie Wonder. The album was released on the Tamla record label in May 1963, the same month as the single release of "Fingertips"...
|
1 |
– |
– |
| 1966 |
Up-Tight Uptight is a 1966 album by US singer Stevie Wonder. It was his fifth studio release.- Background :Uptight was the breakthrough album for Stevie Wonder, released in 1966 on Motown Records' Tamla label. The album features the U.S...
|
33 |
2 |
– |
| 1966 |
Down to Earth Down to Earth is Motown singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder's sixth studio album, released in 1966 on the Tamla label. The album was a departure from Wonder's earlier, teen pop-driven albums, and, along with its predecessor, Up-Tight, it re-established the sixteen-year-old Wonder, whose voice had...
|
72 |
8 |
– |
| 1967 |
I Was Made to Love Her |
45 |
7 |
– |
| 1968 |
For Once in My Life For Once in My Life is a 1968 soul album released by singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder on Motown, as his tenth studio album. Then eighteen years old, Wonder had established himself as one of Motown's consistent hit-makers. This album continued Wonder's growth as a vocalist, songwriter and producer...
|
50 |
4 |
– |
| 1969 |
My Cherie Amour My Cherie Amour is a 1969 album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder on the Tamla label, his eleventh studio album. The album yielded a couple of major hits, including the title track and "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday", as well as Wonder's takes on the 1967 hit "Light My Fire" by The...
|
34 |
3 |
17 |
| 1970 |
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered Signed, Sealed & Delivered is Stevie Wonder's twelfth album on the Tamla label, released on August 7, 1970. Along with the hit title track, the album also featured the hits "Heaven Help Us All", "Never Had a Dream Come True" and Wonder's soul-styled cover of The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out"...
|
25 |
7 |
– |
| 1971 |
Where I'm Coming From Where I'm Coming From is the thirteenth studio album released by Grammy Award-winning American singer Stevie Wonder on the Motown label on April 12, 1971....
|
– |
7 |
– |
| 1972 |
Music of My Mind - Side One :# "Love Having You Around" – 7:21#* Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, talk box, drums, Moog bass#* Art Baron – trombone#* Background Singers – uncredited...
|
21 |
6 |
– |
| 1972 |
Talking Book Talking Book is the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972. A signal recording of his "classic period", in this one he "hit his stride"...
|
3 |
1 |
16 |
| 1973 |
Innervisions Innervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period"...
|
4 |
1 |
6 |
| 1974 |
Fulfillingness' First Finale -Side One:#"Smile Please" – 3:28#*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums#*Michael Sembello – electric guitar#*Reggie McBride – electric bass#*Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos#*Jim Gilstrap – background vocals...
|
1 |
1 |
5 |
| 1976 |
Songs in the Key of Life Songs in the Key of Life is the 13th album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released September 28, 1976, on Motown Records. It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. An ambitious double LP with a 4-song bonus EP, Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and...
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
| 1979 |
Journey through the Secret Life of Plants Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" is an album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on the Tamla Motown label on October 30, 1979...
|
4 |
4 |
7 |
| 1980 |
Hotter than July Hotter than July is the nineteenth album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on Motown's Tamla label on September 29, 1980. Despite the wide critical acclaim for Wonder's previous works such as Songs in the Key of Life and Innervisions, Hotter than July was his first album eligible for platinum...
|
2 |
1 |
2 |
| 1982 |
Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I is a compilation album by R&B/soul musician Stevie Wonder, released as Tamla 6002 in 1982. It collects eleven Top 40 hit singles, and one album track, taken from Wonder's "classic period" running from 1972 to 1980. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200, at #1...
|
4 |
1 |
8 |
| 1984 |
The Woman in Red |
4 |
1 |
2 |
| 1985 |
In Square Circle In Square Circle is a 1985 album released by Grammy Award-winning American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder...
|
5 |
1 |
5 |
| 1987 |
Characters |
17 |
1 |
33 |
| 1995 |
Conversation Peace Conversation Peace is the twenty-second album released by American musician Stevie Wonder, released on the Motown label in 1995. The album was Wonder's first full-length non-soundtrack studio album since 1987's Characters...
|
17 |
2 |
8 |
| 1996 |
Natural Wonder Natural Wonder is a live album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released in 1995 and recorded in Osaka, Japan. It is an edited version of a televised concert Wonder performed with the Tokyo Philharmonic.-Disc one:# "Dancing to the Rhythm" *– 7:07...
|
– |
88 |
– |
| 1996 |
Song Review A Greatest Hits Collection |
– |
100 |
19 |
| 2000 |
At the Close of a Century At the Close of a Century is a box set album of Stevie Wonder's greatest hits from the 1960s through the 1990s. The box set spans four CDs and the songs are placed in chronological order. It reached #100 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 2000....
|
– |
100 |
– |
| 2002 |
The Definitive Collection |
35 |
28 |
– |
| 2004 |
Best Of Stevie Wonder: 20th Century Masters Christmas Collection |
– |
90 |
– |
| 2005 |
A Time to Love A Time to Love is a 2005 studio album by Stevie Wonder, his first since 1995's Conversation Peace. Originally to have been completed in 2004, it was finally released to stores on October 18, 2005, following an exclusive electronic release on Apple's iTunes Music Store on September 27...
|
5 |
2 |
24 |
| 2007 |
Number 1's |
171 |
40 |
23 |
Grammy Awards
Wonder has received 25
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s: including a Lifetime Achievement Award
| Year |
Award |
Title |
| 1973 |
Best Rhythm & Blues Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song has been awarded since 1959. From 1969 to 2000 it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song, from 1962 to 1968 it was known as Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, and from 1959-1961 as Best Rhythm & Blues Performance...
|
"Superstition" |
| 1973 |
Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:*In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male...
|
"Superstition" |
| 1973 |
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was awarded between 1966 and 2011...
|
"You are the Sunshine of My Life" |
| 1973 |
Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
|
Innervisions |
| 1973 |
Best Producer* |
Innervisions |
| 1974 |
Best Rhythm & Blues Song |
"Living for the City" |
| 1974 |
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance |
"Boogie On Reggae Woman" |
| 1974 |
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance |
Fulfillingness' First Finale |
| 1974 |
Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
|
Fulfillingness' First Finale |
| 1974 |
Best Producer* |
Fulfillingness' First Finale |
| 1976 |
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance |
"I Wish" |
| 1976 |
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance |
Songs in the Key of Life |
| 1976 |
Best Producer of the Year The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1975. The award had several minor name changes:*from 1975 to 1977, the award was known as Best Producer of the Year...
* |
N/A |
| 1976 |
Album of the Year |
Songs in the Key of Life |
| 1985 |
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance |
In Square Circle |
| 1986 |
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011...
(awarded to Dionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Gladys KnightGladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
, and Wonder) |
"That's What Friends Are For" |
| 1995 |
Best Rhythm & Blues Song |
"For Your Love" |
| 1995 |
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance |
"For Your Love" |
| 1996 |
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award |
General |
| 1998 |
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
(awarded to Herbie Hancock, Robert Sadin, and Wonder) |
"St. Louis Blues" |
| 1998 |
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance |
"St. Louis Blues" |
| 2002 |
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1970 and 2011. From 1967 to 1969 and in 1971 the award included instrumental performances...
(awarded to Wonder and Take 6Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group sings in a contemporary style, integrating R&B and jazz influences into their devotional songs and has 10 Grammy wins, 10 Dove Awards, one Soul Train Award and two...
) |
"Love's in Need of Love Today" |
| 2005 |
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance |
"From the Bottom of My Heart" |
| 2005 |
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(awarded to BeyoncéBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
and Wonder) |
"So Amazing" |
| 2006 |
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals (awarded to Tony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
and Wonder) |
"For Once In My Life" |
- Between 1965 and 1980, a self-produced artist won an additional Grammy as a producer as well as an artist.
Other awards and recognition
- 1983: inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
.
- 1984: received an Academy Award for Best Song for "I Just Called to Say I Love You
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a song, produced, written and performed by Stevie Wonder. It was one of Wonder's most commercially successful singles....
" from the movie The Woman in Red.
- 1989: inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
.
- 1996: received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."...
.
- 1999: received the Polar Music Prize
The Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international music award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, possibly best known to be the manager of the Swedish pop group ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music....
and Kennedy Center HonorsThe Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...
.
- 2002: received the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award at UCLA's Spring Sing
Spring Sing is UCLA's oldest and greatest musical tradition, an annual music competition held in May at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. The competition brings together UCLA students to perform as solo artists, duets, bands, and a cappella groups in front of an audience of over 7,000 UCLA students, alumni,...
. The same year, Wonder received the Sammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of FameThe Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
.
- 2004: received the Billboard Century Award. Also in 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock and Roll Artists of All Time.
- 2006: was inducted, as one of the first inductees, into the Michigan Walk of Fame
The Michigan Walk of Fame, styled on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, will honor Michigan residents, past or present, who have made significant contributions to the state or nation....
. The same year, Wonder received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights MuseumThe National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, is a privately owned complex of museums and historic buildings built around the former Lorraine Motel at 450 Mulberry Street, where Martin Luther King, Jr...
in MemphisMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
- 2008: Ranked at number five on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists", making him as the third most successful male artist in the history of Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart.
- 2009: Recipient of the second Gershwin Prize
The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is an award given to a composer or performer for their lifetime contributions to popular music...
For Popular Song.
- 2009: Recipient of the Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award. This special award underlines a popular artist’s extraordinary contribution to the musical world. The Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award is in bronze.
- 2009: Named a Messenger of Peace
United Nations Messenger of Peace is a title bestowed by the United Nations to "distinguished individuals, carefully selected from the fields of art, music, literature and sports, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations.The messengers are initially chosen...
by the United Nations.
See also
External links
- Official site
- Never That Simple: Stevie Wonder—By Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...