Learn

Stevie Wonder is considered to be one of the greatest musical talents of this century. Now, you might not know who he is, or you might not have heard any of his music, but after you read about him, you’ll probaby want to go pick up one of his CD’s. He’s funky, has soul, and makes you want to dance. But, why did we put him in our “Superstition” issue of the Tribune? For the simple reason that he wrote a body shakin’ tune called Superstition. Let’s explore the life of this extremely interesting living legend.

Stevie Wonder was born in 1950 with the name Steveland Morris. When he was born, he was put into an incubator and given too much oxygen, which caused him to lose his sight. But this didn’t stop him from attaining any of his dreams. In fact, Stevie thought of his blindness as being a great gift from God, because it allowed his other senses to become more sensitive, most of all, his hearing. Because his mother was so afraid of letting her blind son leave the house, Stevie occupied much of his time banging on pots and pans to the rhythm of the songs on the radio. Hence, a genius was born. At the age of seven he mastered the piano, and two years later mastered the harmonica and drums. At age twelve, he signed a contract with Motown records and people began to refer to the child prodigy as “Little Stevie Wonder.” As he got older, he dropped the “little” part but the rest of his name stuck.

In 1971, at age 21, Stevie had made quite a name for himself. At this point he invested his trust fund money to start his own recording studio. And by 1972, he began winning Grammys for his songs Superstition and You are the Sunshine of My Life. (He proved that some superstitions can be good luck!)

However, his luck almost came to an end in 1973 when he was involved in a near fatal car accident, when a tree crushed his car. With luck on his side, Stevie suffered only minor injuries and pulled himself out of a coma in one day. This brush with death at the young age of 23 gave Stevie a newfound outlook on life. He immersed himself in important causes that were meaningful to him. He lobbied the federal government to create the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday, he played a Peace concert in 1982 to protest nuclear weapons, he wrote songs promoting racial harmony, opposed drunk driving, and fought world hunger. He also worked to help end apartheid in South Africa and was invited to meet with South African President Nelson Mandela. And he did all of this while writing his music and winning awards.

In the 1990’s, Stevie Wonder’s music has continued to flourish. In 1996 he won two Grammys for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Male vocal. He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award because of his amazing accomplishments both musically and as a humanitarian. Today, Stevie still continues to make music, and he remains an inspiration and living legend to many people. His music has survived the decades, and you would be doing yourself a huge favor by giving him a listen. And, if your superstitious, perhaps his good luck will rub off on you!