 When little Stevie Wonder's family moved to Detroit, his
mother was afraid to let her seven-year-old boy, who had been blind since birth,
out of the house. And a brilliant musical career was launched. To pass the time,
Stevie Wonder would beat spoons on pots, pans, and any other surface that helped
him keep rhythm with the tunes he heard on the radio. As he became proficient on
various real instruments, he started playing at the local church and soon grew
to be something of a neighborhood sensation. His local fame reached critical
mass when Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, came to hear the ten-year-old
Stevie Wonder, and signed him on the spot. His first album for Motown,
12-Year-Old Genius, had a monster hit with "Fingertips, Part 2." He hit the road
with other Motown acts, and scored hits with "Uptight (Everything's Alright),"
"For Once in My Life," and "I Was Made To Love Her."
Although Stevie Wonder co-produced, wrote, and played many of
the instruments on his albums, Motown still maintained a stranglehold over his
professional and personal life. Motown had Stevie Wonder appearing with
whiter-than-white Frankie Avalon and purer-than-pure Annette Funicello in such
fare as Bikini Beach. Is it any wonder that he wanted out of his contract when
he turned twenty-one? The split from Motown was bitter, but by starting his own
studio, Stevie Wonder was able to start exploring: he made records that combined
elements of gospel, rock and roll, jazz, African, and Latin American rhythms.
Stevie Wonder eventually made amends with Gordy, and Motown distributed Music of
My Mind. In 1972, Stevie Wonder went on tour as the Rolling Stones' opening act
(they had been his opening act years before), and this introduction to white
audiences was pivotal to his success as an adult performer.
From 1972 through 1976, he had hit after hit, including
classics such as "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You),"
"Superstition," and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." A near-fatal car crash,
in 1973, led him to reevaluate his goals in life, and he started to concentrate
on altruistic causes: he lobbied the federal government to create the Martin
Luther King, Jr., national birthday holiday; in 1982, he played the Peace Sunday
concert to protest nuclear weapons and promote peace; and he recorded a number
of songs that urged racial harmony ("Ebony and Ivory," with Paul McCartney),
opposed drunk driving ("Don't Drive Drunk"), and fought world hunger ("We Are
the World"). Stevie Wonder's anti-apartheid work was recently acknowledged when
he was invited to meet with South African president Nelson Mandela, who said, "Stevie
Wonder is my son, and I speak to him with great affection."
In the nineties, Stevie Wonder put together the soundtrack
for Spike Lee's controversial film Jungle Fever, and he released the critically
acclaimed Conversation Peace, which was eight years in the making, but well
worth the wait. Stevie Wonder's long career has been remarkable not just for his
musical genius, but for his persistence in overcoming obstacles - most notably
his blindness - that have stood in his way. Witness his recent participation at
a charity auction: he drove James Bond's BMW Roadster on-stage to help auction
it off. After a decade hiatus, Stevie Wonder returned to
the spotlight in autumn of 2005 with A Time 2 Love, a comeback album on par with
his classic releases featuring a tour de force of guest appearances including
"So What the Fuss", which featured Prince on guitar.
Contact Grabow for more information or
to book Stevie Wonder for your next corporate or private event.
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