Stevie Wonder is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. A child prodigy, he is considered to be one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful musical performers of the late 20th century. Wonder has won 25 Grammy Awards, which is more than any other solo artist, and was the first African American to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He has been blind since shortly after his birth.
Table of Contents:
1. Early Life
2. Musical Career
3. Personal Life
4. Awards and Accolades
5. Legacy
6. Top Stevie Wonder Quotes
Early Life
Stevie Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan. His mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, was a songwriter and his father, Calvin Judkins, was a street-corner preacher. Wonder began playing instruments at an early age, including the harmonica, piano, and drums. When he was four, his mother discovered that he had an aptitude for music and began giving him piano lessons.
Musical Career
At the age of 11, Wonder signed with Motown Records and began working with producer Clarence Paul. His first hit single, “Fingertips (Pt. 2)”, was released in 1963 and reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Wonder subsequently released a series of successful albums and singles, including “The Tears of a Clown”, “Superstition”, and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”. In the 1980s, Wonder collaborated with Michael Jackson on the hit singles “Ebony and Ivory” and “We Are the World”.
Personal Life
Wonder has been married twice and has seven children. His first marriage, to Syreeta Wright, lasted from 1970 to 1972. His second marriage, to Kai Millard Morris, lasted from 2001 to 2012.
Awards and Accolades
Wonder has won 25 Grammy Awards, which is more than any other solo artist. He has also been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Legacy
Wonder is considered to be one of the most successful and influential musicians of the late 20th century. He has been an inspiration to many other artists, including Michael Jackson, Prince, and Stevie Nicks.
Top Stevie Wonder Quotes
“Rap to me is a modern blues. But until we really confront the truth, we are going to have a Tupac or Eminem or Biggie Smalls to remind us about it – and thank God.”— Stevie Wonder
“It’s up to to you to perfect that gift that you’ve been given. Put your spirit into that song. Focus on the words that you are singing. Get into the experience that you are singing about and sing your heart out.”— Stevie Wonder
“Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.”— Stevie Wonder
“With a voice like Ella ringing out there’s no way a band can lose.”— Stevie Wonder
“I’m believing that miracles and blessings still exist…”— Stevie Wonder
“Music can measure how broad our horizons are. My mind wants to see to infinity.”— Stevie Wonder
“Time is long but life is short.”— Stevie Wonder
“You are the sunshine of my life That’s why I’ll always be around, You are the apple of my eye, Forever you’ll stay in my heart.”— Stevie Wonder
“Mama gives you money for Sunday school, you trade yours for candy after church is through.”— Stevie Wonder
“I am what I am. I love me! And I don’t mean that egotistically – I love that God has allowed me to take whatever it was that I had and to make something out of it.”— Stevie Wonder
“Families buying dog food now, starvation roams the streets. Babies die before their born, infected by the grief.”— Stevie Wonder
“When I grow up I wanna be like Omar.”— Stevie Wonder
“When the truths of love are planted firm, they won’t be hard to find. And words of love I speak to you will echo in your mind.”— Stevie Wonder
“Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods. So let us celebrate the struggle!”— Stevie Wonder
“There are a lot of things happening that show us that this, right now, is a time to love.”— Stevie Wonder
“When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer.”— Stevie Wonder
“There’s only one true king of rock ‘n’ roll. His name is Chuck Berry.”— Stevie Wonder
“When I was a child, kids used to make fun of me because I was blind. But I just became more curious, ‘How can I climb this tree and get an apple for this girl?’ That’s what mattered to me.”— Stevie Wonder
“Of all the needs that we have right now, more than anything we need a time for love.”— Stevie Wonder
“Change your words into truths and then change that truth into LOVE…”— Stevie Wonder
“We’re stuck in fear and in not wanting to cross that most important bridge of understanding that we’re more alike or not. We all cry, we all laugh.”— Stevie Wonder
“I see the light in your smile.”— Stevie Wonder
“I listen a lot to rap, and I’m inspired to take it, to use it in another way, to get the message across.”— Stevie Wonder
“I am not a normal man.”— Stevie Wonder
“If we begin to stop spewing the negative and really move into using our voices and our pens and our abilities that we have to reach millions of people to the positive, we can make a difference in the world.”— Stevie Wonder
“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.”— Stevie Wonder
“Shattered dreams, worthless years, here I am encased in a hollow shell. Life began, then was done, now I stare into a cold and empty well.”— Stevie Wonder
“I’m glad I’m blind and can’t see it.”— Stevie Wonder
“I’m a work in progress, but if I know in my heart that I’m doing my best, that my heart’s in the right place, that I have unconditional love, I feel okay.”— Stevie Wonder
“There may be a brighter star. But through my eyes the light of you is all I see.”— Stevie Wonder
“What I’m not confused about is the world needing much more love, no hate, no prejudice, no bigotry and more unity, peace and understanding. Period.”— Stevie Wonder
“Use your heart to love somebody. And If your heart is big enough, use your heart to love EVERYBODY.”— Stevie Wonder
“We all have ability. The difference is how we use it.”— Stevie Wonder
“Don’t need cars cause we’ve learned to fly on Saturn.”— Stevie Wonder
“Do you know, it’s funny, but I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage, and I never thought of being black as a disadvantage.”— Stevie Wonder
“Just because a record has a groove don’t make it in the groove.”— Stevie Wonder
“Sometimes I’m very disappointed at some of the people in our family of communicators, whether it be a songwriter or a rapper that’s always talking about negativity or a singer or a columnist or a network that basically gets off on just trying to create the negative.”— Stevie Wonder
“I want to take all the pain that I feel and celebrate and turn it around.”— Stevie Wonder
“It could have been worse. I could have been born black.”— Stevie Wonder
“It feels better to love than to hate.”— Stevie Wonder
“When you’re moving in the positive, your destination is the brightest star.”— Stevie Wonder
“Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand.”— Stevie Wonder
“You can’t base your life on other people’s expectations.”— Stevie Wonder
“Isn’t she lovely made from love?”— Stevie Wonder
“Hate knows that love is the cure.”— Stevie Wonder
“Sometimes I wish I could drive a car, but I’m gonna drive a car one day, so I don’t worry about that.”— Stevie Wonder
“There’s a Place in the Sun, where there’s hope for everyone.”— Stevie Wonder
“Music at its essence is what gives us memories.”— Stevie Wonder
“I’m too high, but I ain’t left the ground.”— Stevie Wonder
“Until we Dream of Life and Life becomes a Dream…”— Stevie Wonder