Biography of Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder is an American musician and a former child prodigy. With hits like “My Cherie Amour,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” and “Superstition,” he emerged as one of the most inventive musical innovators of the 20th century.
 
Stevie Wonder: Who Is He?
Early Years
 
Stevland Hardaway Judkins was given the name Wonder on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. He had retinopathy of prematurity when he was born six weeks early; this eye condition was made worse when he was given too much oxygen in an incubator, which caused him to go blind.
 
In Detroit, Michigan, where he and his family had relocated when he was four years old, Wonder first demonstrated his musical talent in a church choir. Later, he demonstrated his talent on a variety of instruments, including the harmonica, piano, and drums, all of which he self-taught before the age of ten.
 
Awards
 
After a ten-year break, Wonder returned in 2005 with the well-received A Time to Love, which featured Indian guests.
Among others, Arie, Doug E. Fresh, McCartney, Bonnie Raitt, and Prince. In 2009, Wonder released the concert DVD Live At Last: A Wonder’s Summer Night.
 
President Barack Obama awarded Wonder the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014. The next year, on the telecast Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life—An All-Star Grammy Salute, the singer, composer, and guitarist was honored in honor of his seminal 1976 album.
 
Next Music
 
Throughout his late 60s, Wonder periodically released new music. In 2016, he collaborated with Ariana Grande on the Golden Globe-nominated track “Faith,” and in 2018, he wrote the song “Future Sunny Days” especially for the Scandal season finale.
 
Individual Life
 
In 1970, Wonder wed Syreeta Wright, a fellow Motown musician; they divorced two years later. She collaborated with Wonder on songs like “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” and “If You Really Love Me,” and he collaborated with Wright on her albums Syreeta (1972) and Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta. Wright was a talented lyricist (1974). In 2004, Wright succumbed to cancer.
 
In 1975, Wonder and Yolanda Simmons gave birth to their first child, Aisha. “Isn’t She Lovely” was inspired by his daughter. Keita, the son of the couple, was born in 1977. He had Mumtaz, a son, in 1983 with Melody McCulley. Wonder had a son, Kwame, and a daughter, Sophia, with a woman whose name has been made public.
 
In 2001, Wonder wed Karen Millard Morris. Kailand and Mandla were the couple’s two sons before divorcing amicably in 2015. While everything was going on, Wonder started dating Tomeeka Robyn Bracy. The two eventually got married in 2017.
 
Records and Songs
 
The diligent Wonder, who would later pursue a degree in classical piano, refused to sit back and take it easy, instead pushing himself to develop his musicianship and songwriting skills.
 
Midway through the 1960s, he dropped the word “Little” from his stage name and went on to produce the top 5 pop single “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” which peaked at No. 1 on the R&B charts.
 
With a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and the joyous “I Was Made to Love Her,” which later peaked at No. 2 on the pop charts, Wonder scored two more No. 1 R&B successes.
 
With the title tune, “Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Day,” and “You Met Your Match,” which Wonder co-wrote, the 1968 album For Once in My Life provided even more popular singles.
 
My Cherie Amour, with the top 5 pop/R&B title ballad and the top 5 R&B “Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday,” was released the next year. Over the following two decades, Wonder would continue to produce successful singles. Wonder co-produced the 1970 album Signed, Sealed, Delivered, which featured the No. 1 R&B title tune and a top 5 R&B cover of the Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out.”
 
Wonder struggled to remain relevant as a musician as he grew from a boy to a man and his voice developed into a sparkling tenor, in part due to intrinsic talent but also because of his intense devotion to his work.
 
Wonder and Motown came to an agreement in 1971 that granted him nearly complete control over his recordings and significantly raised his royalty percentage. Gordy made a hitherto unheard-of concession, but Wonder required it from an aesthetic standpoint.
 
The musician experienced an unequaled period of productivity as the 1970s came to a close. Wonder received composition or co-writing credits for each song on an album for the first time on 1971’s Where I’m Coming From, which featured the cool top 10 single “If You Really Love Me.”
 
The top 20 R&B/top 40 pop single “Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)” from the 1972 album Music of My Mind showcased Stevie Wonder’s groundbreaking work with synthesized and electronic sounds.
 
The upbeat funk tune “Superstition” and the heartwarming hymn to love “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” were both No. 1 successes from Stevie Wonder’s 1972 album Talking Book.
 
Innervisions, a contemplative concept album that was at once introspective, political, critical, and witty, came next. The album included the comical “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” which peaked at No. 2 on the R&B chart, as well as the socially concerned No. 1 R&B songs “Higher Ground” and “Living for the City.” All three tracks fared well on the pop charts as well.
 
The First Finale from Fulfillingness featured Wonder’s signature odes to romance and beauty as well as direct examinations of spirituality and mortality. It was published after Wonder had recovered from a serious vehicle accident that had put him in a coma. “You Haven’t Done Nothing,” a song by Wonder featuring The Jackson 5 that decried President Richard Nixon, peaked at No. 1 on both the pop and R&B charts.
 
The album tracks “Creepin'” and “They Won’t Go When I Go” were ultimately performed by Luther Vandross and George Michael, respectively. The sensual “Boogie on Reggae Woman” also reached No. 1 on the pop chart.
 
The First Finale from Fulfillingness featured Wonder’s signature odes to romance and beauty as well as direct examinations of spirituality and mortality. It was published after Wonder had recovered from a serious vehicle accident that had put him in a coma. “You Haven’t Done Nothing,” a song by Wonder featuring The Jackson 5 that decried President Richard Nixon, peaked at No. 1 on both the pop and R&B charts.
 
The album tracks “Creepin'” and “They Won’t Go When I Go” were ultimately performed by Luther Vandross and George Michael, respectively. The sensual “Boogie on Reggae Woman” also reached No. 1 on the pop chart.
 
Even with this impressive list of achievements, Songs in the Key of Life has been recognized by many as Wonder’s most illustrious work and one of the all-time great albums. Songs explored a wide range of topics, from ethnic diversity in the United States and wonderful utopian towns to spiteful relationships and sublime love.
 
Songs has two uptempo pop/R&B No. 1 singles: the Duke Ellington tribute “Sir Duke” and the “I Wish” ode to bygone days. The harmonica-heavy “Isn’t She Lovely,” though not a charting single, nevertheless became a radio mainstay as it announced the cherished birth of a daughter. Wonder also had top 40 hits with “Another Star” and “As.”
 
During this time, Wonder also collaborated with other musicians, such as Minnie Riperton (Maya Rudolph’s mother) and the band Rufus. Chaka Khan’s vocals can be heard on the top 5 tune “Tell Me Something Good,” which Wonder wrote.
 
As seen by Aretha Franklin’s No. 1 R&B cover of “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do),” other musicians have had success with Wonder remakes over the years. Wonder won 15 Grammy Awards over the course of the ten years, with Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life all being named album of the year.
 
By such incredibly high standards, Wonder’s 1980s weren’t even close to being as successful. He nevertheless remained a powerful musical force. With the avant-garde double album Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, which featured the top 5 pop/R&B song “Send One Your Love,” he brought an end to the decade of the 1970s.
 
With the disco song “All I Do,” the No. 1 R&B hit “Master Blaster (Jammin’),” a reggae-influenced ode to Bob Marley, and the top 5 R&B, country-influenced ballad “I Ain’t Gonna Stand for It,” 1980’s Hotter Than July was a more condensed, commercial affair.