Stevie Wonder
Born as Steveland Judkins on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michingan, Wonder now prefers to be knows as Steveland Morris after his mother's married name. Placed in an incubator immediately after his birth, Wonder was given too much oxygen, causing him to suffer permanent blindness. Despite his handicap, Wonder began to learn the piano at the age of seven, and had also mastered drums and harmonica by the age of nine. After his family moved to Detroit in 1954, Wonder joined a church choir, the gospel influence on his music balanced by the R&B of Ray Charles an Sam Cooke being played on his transistor radio. Wonder was discovered in 1961 by Ronnie White of the Miracles, who also arranged an audition for him in Motown Record. Berry Gory immediately signed Wonder to the label, that led to the birth of "Little Stevie Wonder." Though, the "Little" was dropped in 1964. Wonder was placed in the care of writer/producer Clarence Paul, who supervised his early recordings. Wonder and his label hit the jackpot in 1963 with "Fingertips-Pt. 2." This made Motown quickly marketed him on a series of albums as "the 12-year-old genius" in an attempt to link him with the popularity of "the genius," Ray Charles. In two years he became
Wonder's status as an elder statesman of black music, and a champion of black rights, was boosted by his campaign in the early 80s to have the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King celebrated as a national holiday in the USA. This request was granted by President Reagan, and the first Martin Luther King Day was celebrated on January 15, 1986 with a concert. Besides his own recordings, Wonder offered his services as a writer, producer, singer/musicians to other performers. He performed in concerts to protest nuclear weapons and promote peace and recorded songs that urged racial harmony, opposed drunk driving, advocated tighter handgun control laws and fought world hunger. His most public collaborations included work with Paul McCartney, Gary Byrd, Michael Jackson, and Eurythmics. With his next two albums, Talking Book and Innervisions, Wonder's music became richly complex and inventive. His lyrics addressed social and racial issues as powerfully and cleverly as any other pop songwriter. Wonder sustained his creative peak through 1974's Fulfillingness' First Finale and 1976's double album Songs in the Key of Life. This double album was widely greeted as his most ambitious and satisfyi
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Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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