American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder was born on 13 May 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan in the United States of America.
Wonder is the son of Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. His five brothers and sisters are Calvin Hardaway, Larry Judkins Hardaway, Milton Hardaway, Renee Hardaway and Timothy Hardaway.
Wonder was born six weeks prematurely. This, combined with the oxygen-rich environment of the hospital incubator, caused him to develop retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the development of the eyes is stunted and the retinas detach, leaving him blind.
When Wonder was four years old, his mother filed for divorce from his father and moved to Detroit, Michigan, where Wonder joined the Whitestone Baptist Church choir as a young child.
She later rekindled her relationship with the father of her first child, whose surname also happened to be Hardaway, and changed her name back to Lula Hardaway. She went on to have two more children.
Stevie’s surname was legally changed to Morris when he joined Motown in 1961; according to Lula Mae Hardaway’s authorised biography, this was an old family name. Little Stevie Wonder was the stage name invented by Berry Gordy.
He started playing piano, harmonica and drums at a young age. Together with a mate, he formed the singing duo Stevie and John. They regularly performed at events such as dances, parties and on street corners.
Wonder attended Fitzgerald Elementary School in Detroit when he was younger. His debut album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, was released in 1962, and he soon enrolled at the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, Michigan.
Wonder has been credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres, including rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk and jazz.
A virtual one-man band, Wonder revolutionised R&B in the 1970s through his use of synthesizers and other electronic instruments.
By incorporating socially conscious remarks into the intricate compositions of his LPs, he also helped bring such genres into the album era.
Wonder, a child prodigy who had been blind since shortly after his birth, signed with Motown’s Tamla label at the age of 11 and was given the stage name Little Stevie Wonder.
Wonder’s single “Fingertips” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 at the age of 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. Wonder’s critical success peaked in the 1970s.
With the release of Music of My Mind and Talking Book in 1972, which included “Superstition”, one of the most recognisable and well-known examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet piano, his “classic phase” officially began.
He holds the joint record for most album of the year awards with three, thanks to his albums Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976).
He is the only musician to have received this honour while releasing three albums in a row. The 1980s marked the beginning of Wonder’s “commercial period”.
During this time, he had his biggest hits, reached the highest level of fame, increased album sales, participated in charitable causes, worked with notable artists (such as Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson), had an impact on politics, and made numerous television appearances.
Wonder has continued to support political and musical causes. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, he is one of the most successful musicians of all time.
He has won an Academy Award and 25 Grammy Awards, the most of any solo musician (Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red). Wonder has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.
He is known for his work as a political activist, particularly for his efforts in 1980 to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a federal holiday in the United States.
He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014, having been named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2009.
Wife of Stevie Wonder
Wonder has been married three times. He is currently married to Tomeeka Robyn Bracy.