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Stevie Wonder, Singer, Composer, and Activist born

Stevie Wonder

This date marks the birth of Stevie Wonder in 1950. He is a Black singer, songwriter, and activist.

He was born Steveland Morris in Saginaw, MI. Blind since infancy, his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, was a great influence on him. Wonder began playing the piano at the age of 4 and was a proficient singer and instrumentalist by age 13, when his first hit, "Fingertips Part 2" in 1963, was released by Motown. At that time, he was given his professional name. He produced the albums "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" (1970) and "Where I'm Coming From" (1971), the latter written entirely by Wonder and his wife, Syreeta Wright.

He used modern recording technology to play instrumental accompaniments on the album "Music of the Mind" (1972). Wonder experimented with synthesizers and was among the first musicians to use electronic music extensively in Black American songs. A multi-instrumentalist, Wonder plays the piano, synthesizer, talk box, harmonica, congas, drums, bongos, bass guitar, organ, melodica, and clarinet. "Talking Book" (1972), an album on which he played all the instruments and sang all the vocal parts, contained the hit singles "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "Superstition." He won several Grammy Awards for "Talking Book" and his next album, "Innervisions," in 1973.

The same year, he survived a near-fatal automobile accident. More Grammy Awards followed for the albums "Songs in the Key of Life" (1976), which contains the hit song "Sir Duke," a celebratory tribute to American jazz composer Duke Ellington, and "In Square Circle" (1985). Wonder's other albums include "Looking Back" (1977); "Hotter than July" (1980); "Characters" (1987); "Jungle Fever" (1991); the soundtrack to a motion picture by American director Spike Lee; and "Conversation Peace" (1995). In 1996, Wonder won three more Grammy Awards: for the best male rhythm-and-blues vocalist, best song, and lifetime achievement.  He has 25 Grammys as of 2019.

Wonder has also been active in social causes such as the anti-apartheid movement, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation. An advocate of American civil rights, Wonder spearheaded the effort to institute a national holiday in honor of the birthday of clergyman and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wonder has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists ever. He has won 25 Grammy Awards. He was the first Motown artist and second African-American musician to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the 1984 film The Woman in Red. Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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