Stevie Wonder
"You can't base your life on other people's expectations"
The Life of a Wonder
Being born on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan, Stevland Hardaway Judkins, or "Stevie Wonder," as most know him as, was born 6 weeks premature. Due to being born so early, Stevie was born with a condition called retinopathy of prematurity, which caused him to be blind. Being blind wasn't the only thing making Stevie's life so rough. When he was young, Stevie's mother took him and his siblings away from his dad. Plus, Stevie never got to play outside much because his mother was so protective of him. But soon enough, things started to change. Stevie soon taught himself how to make music, and by the age of 11, Stevie got a contract with "MoTown Records" with the name "Little Stevie Wonder" Stevie could play the piano, bongos, harmonica, other drums, and bass. Also, he could sing along well with his music.
The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie
The picture above shows the "Little Stevie Wonder" that Stevie Wonder used to be. After a few years of having that stage name, Stevie dropped the "Little" in 1964 and just became "Stevie Wonder." The album, "The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie," was released when Stevie was 11 years old, which explains his old stage name.
The Life of a Wonder (continued)
In 1971, Stevie Wonder began to write his own music. Throughout the 70's, Stevie went through a period of music production where people just went crazy over his music. Among these productions, albums "Talking Book," "Innervisions," "Fullfillingness' First Finale," and "Songs in the Key of Life" were released. Stevie also released multiple singles during this time. He also won 15 Grammy Awards during the 1970 decade. But soon after came the 1980's, which weren't as successful for Wonder. Although, he did release a few popular singles such as "I Just Called to Say I Love You," and "Ebony and Ivory."
As I mentioned earlier, Stevie was born premature which made him blind. You can see that Stevie's main conflict in life is his self against his self. But clearly, Stevie never let that get between him and his passion for music. Stevie realizes that he has to move on from his problem because he can't do anything about it. As Stevie once said himself,"Ya gots to work with what you gots to work with." What Stevie means is, even though he his blind, he realizes he can overcome it and deal with being blind. This also shows how Stevie can make music even though he is blind because he has gotten over the fact of it, and he uses the senses he does have to make it.
Wonder's Accomplishments
- Stevie has won 25 Grammy Awards
- One of Stevie's Grammy Awards includes the Grammy Lifetime Award
- He was put into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989
- He was recognized for Second Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
- Stevie Wonder is a proud father of 9 children
The picture to the right shows Stevie Wonder playing the piano while singing along to the melody. Stevie can play not only the piano, but the drums and bongos, bass, and harmonica.
Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You
The video above is one of Stevie's hits, "I Just Called to Say I Love You."
Works Cited
- http://www.biography.com/stevie-wonder-9536978
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005567/bio
- http://www.steviewonder.net/
- steviewonderthegreatestdrummerofalltime.photograph.revive-music.com
- thejazzsouloflittlestevie.photograph.www.amazon.com
- ijustcalledtosayiloveyou.video.www.youtube.com
Additional Facts
Did you know..Stevie has been a famous musician since he was 11 years old?
Did you know..Stevie currently has 9 kids