Stevie Wonder, born Stevland Hardaway Morris, was one of the most influential and pioneering musicians of the 20th century. Credited for developing genres from R&B to Gospel to Jazz, he also reshaped the norms of pop music with the introduction of synthesisers and other electronic instruments and redefined what an album could be.
Wonder was born on May 13, 1950, in Michigan. As a result of being born premature, Wonder developed a disease that aborts eye growth and causes the retinas to detach, leaving him blind. However, that didn’t stop Stevie’s development.
He started singing with his local church from a young age and very quickly caught the attention of Motown. He took an audition and within a matter of weeks signed to Tamla Records, a subsidiary of Motown, at the age of 11 under the name Little Stevie Wonder. His mother would receive a weekly payment and Wonder, a private tutor when was on tour with a wage of $2.50 per week until he reached an age to access the rest of the funds.
By the age of 13, Wonder became a pop star. Stevie’s single ‘Fingertips’ earned him a no.1 hit in 1963. He became the youngest solo artist to top the charts. Under the guidance of Motown’s head Berry Gordy, Wonder navigated fame through his teenage years and learnt a great deal. However, Gordy was famously reluctant to let his roster speak on political or social issues. So when Stevie’s contract was set to expire on his 21st birthday, Wonder renegotiated with Gordy to allow him to do so. This led to the Wonder’s golden era.
Wonder removed himself from the Motown formula that focused on singles rather than albums. As a result from the 1970s onwards, Wonder entered his ‘classic period’, which is said to be the greatest run of releases in the history of music. Between 1972 and 1976, Wonder released 5 albums. 3 of which (Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976)) won a Grammy for Album of the Year, making him the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. He quickly became one of the best-selling artists of all time (100 million sales worldwide) and has now won 25 Grammy awards (the most by a male artist). Here’s to Stevie on his birthday.
So on his birthday (13/05), here’s to one of the greatest living musicians.
