95-414: Innervisions is the sixteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder , released on August 3, 1973, by Tamla , a subsidiary of Motown Records . A landmark recording of Wonder's "classic period", the album has been regarded as completing his transition from the " Little Stevie Wonder " known for romantic ballads into a more musically mature, conscious, and grown-up artist. On
190-435: A Computer Music Melodian . It was also his first digital recording , and one of the earliest popular albums to use the technology, which Wonder used for all subsequent recordings. Wonder toured briefly with an orchestra in support of the album, and used a Fairlight CMI sampler onstage. In this year Wonder also wrote and produced the dance hit " Let's Get Serious ", performed by Jermaine Jackson and ranked by Billboard as
285-659: A federal holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace , and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom . Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan , on May 13, 1950, the third of five children born to Lula Mae Hardaway , and the second of Hardaway's two children with Calvin Judkins. Wonder was born six weeks premature,
380-476: A soloist at age eight. His mother later rekindled her relationship with her first child's father (whose surname was also coincidentally Hardaway), changed her name back to Lula Hardaway, and had two more children. Wonder began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, and drums. He formed a singing partnership with a friend; calling themselves Stevie and John, they played on street corners and occasionally at parties and dances. When Stevie
475-468: A Clown ", a No. 1 hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (it was first released in 1967, mostly unnoticed as the last track of their Make It Happen LP, but eventually became a major success when re-released as a single in 1970, which prompted Robinson to reconsider his intention of leaving the group). In 1968, Wonder recorded an album of instrumental soul/jazz tracks, mostly harmonica solos, under
570-786: A Thing", released in March 1974, reached number 16 in early June, and also peaked at number two on the Soul Singles chart. In the UK, "Higher Ground" and "Living for the City" were released as singles, but only achieved modest success, reaching numbers 29 and 15, respectively. Only the third single issued there, "He's Misstra Know-It-All", managed to reach the top 10, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. " All in Love Is Fair "
665-409: A condition that, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity , a disease that aborts eye growth and often causes the retinas to detach, which left him blind. When Wonder was four, his mother divorced his father and moved with her three children to Detroit . Wonder attended Whitestone Baptist Church, where he sang in the choir and became
760-548: A duet with Andrea Bocelli on the latter's album Amore , offering harmonica and additional vocals on "Canzoni Stonate". Wonder also performed at Washington, D.C.'s 2006 A Capitol Fourth celebration. His other key appearances include performing at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City , the 2005 Live 8 concert in Philadelphia , the pre-game show for Super Bowl XL in 2006,
855-586: A far more pensive mood. Songs in the Key of Life won Album of the Year and two other Grammys. The album ranks 4th on Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Also in 1976, Wonder heard about the demonstration of the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the first multi-font reading machine for the blind, on The Today Show , and later became the user of the first production unit, beginning
950-511: A guest appearance on Busta Rhymes ' album The Big Bang , on the track "Been through the Storm". He sings the refrain and plays the piano on the Dr. Dre - and Sha Money XL –produced track. He appeared again on the last track of Snoop Dogg 's 2006 album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment , "Conversations". The song is a remake of "Have a Talk with God" from Songs in the Key of Life . In 2006, Wonder staged
1045-440: A long-term association between himself and Ray Kurzweil . Until 1979's Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" , his only further 1970s release was the retrospective three-disc album Looking Back (1977), an anthology of his early Motown period. The mainly instrumental soundtrack album Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" (1979), was composed using an early music sampler called
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#17327797516061140-442: A lot of things and to get myself together. This is like my second chance for life, to do something or to do more, and to value the fact that I am alive. Confirming Wonder's belief in destiny, Michael Sembello , Wonder's lead guitarist at the time, said: Well, I think he'd always had some awareness of the spiritual side of life. But the accident really brought it to the surface. Like now I know he really sees—and uses—every concert as
1235-510: A retrospective of his 1970s work with Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium , which included four new songs: the ten-minute funk classic " Do I Do " (which featured Dizzy Gillespie ), " That Girl " (one of the year's biggest singles to chart on the R&;B side), " Front Line ", a narrative about a soldier in the Vietnam War that Wonder wrote and sang in the first person, and " Ribbon in
1330-436: A rolling five-year contract in which royalties would be held in trust until Wonder was 21. He and his mother would be paid a weekly stipend to cover their expenses: Wonder received $ 2.50 (equivalent to $ 25.49 in 2023) per week, and a private tutor was provided when Wonder was on tour. Wonder was put in the care of producer and songwriter Clarence Paul, and for a year they worked together on two albums. Tribute to Uncle Ray
1425-455: A slower pace. He recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee 's film Jungle Fever in 1991. From this album, singles and videos were released for "Gotta Have You", "Fun Day" (remix only), "These Three Words" and "Jungle Fever". The B-side to the "Gotta Have You" single was "Feeding Off The Love of the Land", which was played during the end credits of the movie Jungle Fever but was not included on
1520-444: A solid ground from which to work, Stevie has lowered the ceiling, and put a damper on his talents." Musicians also showed consummate respect for the achievements of the album, with Roberta Flack saying to Newsweek that "It's the most sensitive of our decade ... it has tapped the pulse of the people." Innervisions won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording in 1974, while "Living for
1615-842: A two-hour set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee , a stop at the Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park , London, and appearances at England's Glastonbury Festival , Rotterdam's North Sea Jazz Festival , a concert in Bergen , Norway, and a concert in Dublin , Ireland, at The O 2 on June 24. Wonder's harmonica playing can be heard on the 2009 Grammy-nominated "Never Give You Up", featuring CJ Hilton and Raphael Saadiq . Wonder sang at
1710-508: A year, tired easily, and suffered severe headaches. The crash also changed his way of thinking, as his deep faith and spiritual vision made him doubt that it was "an accident". He stated: "You can never change anything that has already happened. Everything is the way it's supposed to be...Everything that ever happened to me is the way it is supposed to have been." In an interview with The New York Times , Wonder commented that "the accident opened my ears up to many things around me. Naturally, life
1805-465: Is a one-man band situation and it works. His skill on drums , piano , bass , and ARP synthesizers are outstanding, and all the tracks work within the thematic framework." (Two ARP synthesizers were incorporated into the T.O.N.T.O. system.) The New York Times said: "At the center of his music is the sound of what is real. ... Stevie identifies himself as a gang and a genius, producing, composing, arranging, singing and, on several tracks, playing all
1900-511: Is a beautiful fusion of the lyric and the didactic, telling us about the blind world that Stevie inhabits with a depth of musical insight that is awesome. It's a view that's basically optimistic, a constant search for the 'Higher Ground', but the path is full of snares: dope ('Too High'), lies ('Jesus Children of America') and the starkly rendered poison of the city ('Living for the City'). Wonder seems to say that all people delude themselves but have to be well to pay their dues and existentially accept
1995-473: Is all against the backdrop of the harsh social realities of America circa 1973, and nowhere does this conflict hit home more than in Wonder's magnum opus, 'Living for the City', a raw piece of modern blues on which Wonder played every instrument. The message of urban struggle resonates even more strongly now than it did thirty years ago, proving that the 'inner-visions' of this LP were visionary as well." In 2003,
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#17327797516062090-412: Is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. One of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the 20th century, he is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B , pop , soul , gospel , funk , and jazz . A virtual one-man band , Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped
2185-424: Is essentially all Stevie Wonder. He personally created and arranged every sound heard. His canvas stretches from the tough realities of ghetto streets to the transcendent joy of spiritual acceptance, each rendered with an original, unique musical palette. The feel is a little more jazz than funk, the result is simply glorious pop music – uplifting sound and message." The album has been included in countless lists of
2280-415: Is just more important to me now...and what I do with my life." He also said: I would like to believe in reincarnation. I would like to believe that there is another life. I think that sometimes your consciousness can happen on this earth a second time around. For me, I wrote "Higher Ground" even before the accident. But something must have been telling me that something was going to happen to make me aware of
2375-672: Is one of the best-selling music artists of all time , with sales of over 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a male solo artist) and one Academy Award ( Best Original Song , for the 1984 film The Woman in Red ). Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame , Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame . He is also noted for his political activism, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday
2470-506: The Kurzweil K250 in 1984. In 1983, Wonder performed the song "Stay Gold", the theme to Francis Ford Coppola 's film adaptation of S. E. Hinton 's novel The Outsiders . Wonder wrote the lyrics. In 1983, he scheduled an album to be entitled People Work, Human Play . The album never surfaced and instead 1984 saw the release of Wonder's soundtrack album for The Woman in Red . The lead single, " I Just Called to Say I Love You ",
2565-573: The Michael Jackson memorial service in 2009, at Etta James ' funeral, in 2012, a month later at Whitney Houston 's memorial service, and at the funeral of Aretha Franklin in 2018. Wonder appeared on singer Celine Dion 's studio album Loved Me Back to Life , performing a cover of his 1985 song "Overjoyed". The album was released in October 2013. He was also featured on two tracks on Mark Ronson 's 2015 album Uptown Special , and
2660-615: The Obama Inaugural Celebration in 2009, and the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens , Greece. Wonder's first new album in 10 years, A Time to Love , was released in October 2005 to lower sales than previous albums, and lukewarm reviews—most reviewers appearing frustrated at the end of the long delay to get an album that mainly copied the style of Wonder's "classic period" without doing anything new. The first single, " So What
2755-437: The " Little Stevie Wonder " known for romantic ballads into a more musically mature, conscious, and grown-up artist. In his Rock & Roll Review: A Guide to Good Rock (1991), Bill Shapiro wrote: "This recording represents the pinnacle of a very important artist's career, and of his physically blind, but nonetheless extraordinary humane vision. For all intents and purposes, and for all of its richness and variety of texture, it
2850-560: The "Little" from his name, Moy and Wonder worked together to create the hit " Uptight (Everything's Alright) ", and Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid-1960s, including "With a Child's Heart", and " Blowin' in the Wind ", a Bob Dylan song, co-sung by his mentor, producer Clarence Paul. He also began to work in the Motown songwriting department, composing songs both for himself and his label mates, including " The Tears of
2945-601: The 1994 tribute album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved ; sang at the 1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony ; collaborated in 1997 with Babyface on " How Come, How Long ", a song about domestic violence that was nominated for a Grammy award; and played harmonica on Sting 's 1999 " Brand New Day ". In early 1999, Wonder performed in the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show . In May 1999, Rutgers University presented Wonder with an honorary doctorate degree in fine arts . In December 1999, Wonder announced that he
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3040-515: The Blind in Lansing, Michigan . In 1961, at the age of 11, Wonder sang his own composition, "Lonely Boy", to Ronnie White of the Miracles ; White then took Wonder and his mother to an audition at Motown , where CEO Berry Gordy signed Wonder to Motown's Tamla label. Before signing, producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder . Because of Wonder's age, the label drew up
3135-431: The City ", to love in the ballads " All in Love Is Fair " and " Golden Lady ". The album's closer, " He's Misstra Know-It-All ", is thought by some to be a scathing attack on then-US President Richard Nixon , similar to Wonder's song " You Haven't Done Nothin' " from the following year. "Living for the City" was one of the first soul music songs to deal explicitly with systemic racism and to incorporate everyday sounds of
3230-616: The City" won the Grammy for Best R&B Song . Following Talking Book , which hit the top 5 of the Billboard albums chart in early 1973 and achieved steady sales throughout the rest of the year, Innervisions became another considerable hit on the charts for Wonder. It debuted on the Billboard albums chart on August 18, 1973, at number 85, then climbed to number 22, number 14, number nine, and number six, before reaching its peak position of number four on September 15. The album remained in
3325-717: The Fuss ", was released in April. A second single, " From the Bottom of My Heart ", was a hit on adult-contemporary R&B radio. The album also featured a duet with India Arie on the title track "A Time to Love". Wonder did a 13-date tour of North America in 2007, starting in San Diego on August 23; this was his first U.S. tour in more than 10 years. On September 8, 2008, he started the European leg of his Wonder Summer's Night Tour,
3420-574: The German television show Musikladen . On his return to the United States, he played a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in March 1974, highlighting both up-tempo material and long, building improvisations on mid-tempo songs such as " Living for the City ". The album Fulfillingness' First Finale appeared in July 1974 and set two hits high on the pop charts: the No. 1 " You Haven't Done Nothin' " and
3515-588: The Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year , making him the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. Wonder began his "commercial period" in the 1980s; he achieved his biggest hits and highest level of fame, had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations (including with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson ), political impact, and television appearances. Wonder has continued to remain active in music and political causes. Wonder
3610-424: The No. 1 R&B single of 1980. Hotter than July (1980) became Wonder's first platinum-selling single album, and its single " Happy Birthday " was a successful vehicle for his campaign to establish Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday as a national holiday . The album also included " Master Blaster (Jammin') ", " I Ain't Gonna Stand for It ", and the sentimental ballad, " Lately ". In 1982, Wonder released
3705-473: The R&;B charts. Popular ballads such as "Golden Lady" and "All in Love Is Fair" were also present, in a mixture of moods that nevertheless held together as a unified whole. Innervisions generated three more Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year . The album is ranked No. 34 on Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . Wonder had become the most influential and acclaimed black musician of
3800-564: The Sky ", one of his many classic compositions. He also gained a No. 1 hit that year in collaboration with Paul McCartney in their paean to racial harmony, " Ebony and Ivory ". Also in 1982, Wonder invited Raymond Kurzweil to his Los Angeles recording studio, Wonderland, and asked if "we could use the extraordinarily flexible computer control methods on the beautiful sounds of acoustic instruments?" In response, and with Wonder as musical advisor, Kurzweil founded Kurzweil Music Systems , which unveiled
3895-666: The Sunshine of My Life ", which also peaked at No. 1. During the same time as the album's release, Wonder began touring with the Rolling Stones to alleviate the negative effects from being pigeonholed as an R&B artist in America. His touring with the Stones was also a factor behind the success of both "Superstition" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Between them, the two songs won three Grammy Awards . On an episode of
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3990-762: The Supremes or the Tempts could have, now didn't he? —Review of Stevie Wonder's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981) At the end of 1962, when Wonder was 12 years old, he joined the Motortown Revue , touring the " Chitlin' Circuit " of theatres across America that accepted black artists. At the Regal Theater , Chicago, his 20-minute performance
4085-489: The Top Ten " Boogie on Reggae Woman ". The Album of the Year was again one of three Grammys won. The same year, Wonder took part in a Los Angeles jam session with ex- Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney that would become known as the bootleg album A Toot and a Snore in '74 . He also co-wrote and produced the 1974 Syreeta Wright album Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta . On October 4, 1975, Wonder performed at
4180-551: The Year Grammy for his Still Crazy After All These Years , he wryly noted: "I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder, who didn't make an album this year." The double album-with-extra- EP , Songs in the Key of Life , was released in September 1976. Sprawling in style and sometimes lyrically difficult to fathom, the album was hard for some listeners to assimilate, yet is regarded by many as Wonder's crowning achievement and one of
4275-447: The accompanying instruments. ... Vocally, he remains inventive and unafraid, he sings all the things he hears: rock , folk and all forms of Black music . The sum total of these varying components is an awesome knowledge, consumed and then shared by an artist who is free enough to do both." Many critics praised the variety of musical styles and themes present in the album. A reviewer from Playboy wrote: "Stevie Wonder's Innervisions
4370-421: The age of 20, Wonder married Syreeta Wright , a songwriter and former Motown secretary. Wright and Wonder worked together on the next album, Where I'm Coming From (1971), Wonder writing the music, and Wright helping with the lyrics. Around this time, Wonder became interested in utilizing synthesizers after hearing albums by electronic group Tonto's Expanding Head Band . Wonder and Wright wanted to "touch on
4465-399: The album was ranked number 23 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time ; it was number 24 on the 2012 version of the list, and number 34 on the 2020 edition. The magazine wrote on the occasion of the initial list: Stevie Wonder may be blind, but he reads the national landscape, particularly regarding black America, with penetrating insight on Innervisions ,
4560-595: The album, Wonder continued to experiment with the revolutionary T.O.N.T.O. (The Original New Timbral Orchestra) synthesizer system developed by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff , and Innervisions became hugely influential on the future sound of commercial soul and black music . The album peaked at number four on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and number one on the Billboard Soul LPs chart, eventually finishing at number four on
4655-553: The album. "Higher Ground", which was released several weeks before Innervisions , reached number four on the Billboard singles chart in late October 1973, and number one on the Cashbox singles chart. "Living for the City" reached number eight on the Billboard singles chart in early January 1974. These first two singles both reached number one on the Billboard Soul Singles chart. Finally, "Don't You Worry 'Bout
4750-753: The all-star charity single for African Famine Relief, " We Are the World ", and he was part of another charity single the following year (1986), the AIDS -inspired " That's What Friends Are For ". He played harmonica on the album Dreamland Express by John Denver in the song "If Ever", a song Wonder co-wrote with Stephanie Andrews; wrote the track "I Do Love You" for the Beach Boys ' 1985 self-titled album ; and played harmonica on " Can't Help Lovin' That Man " on The Broadway Album by Barbra Streisand . In 1987, Wonder appeared on Michael Jackson 's Bad album, on
4845-494: The charts in a big way before Stevie turned twenty-one [in 1971]. Because he's grown up fast, the love lyrics are less teen-specific than a lot of early Smokey , say, but the music is pure puberty . Stevie's rockers are always one step ahead of themselves—their gawky groove is so disorienting it makes you pay attention, like a voice that's perpetually changing. The ballads conceive coming of age more conventionally, and less felicitously. But he sure covered Tony Bennett better than
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#17327797516064940-423: The children's television show Sesame Street that aired in April 1973, Wonder and his band performed "Superstition", as well as an original called "Sesame Street Song", which demonstrated his abilities with television. Wonder's studio album Innervisions , released in 1973, featured " Higher Ground " (No. 4 on the pop charts) as well as the trenchant " Living for the City " (No. 8). Both songs reached No. 1 on
5035-441: The conventions of contemporary R&B . He also helped drive such genres into the album era , crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown 's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder . Wonder's single " Fingertips "
5130-417: The crowd roared with applause, and, as a Post critic noted, "it was hard not to be thrilled." As with both Music of My Mind and Talking Book from the previous year, Innervisions was received warmly by music critics, many of whom praised Wonder's versatile musical skills. Billboard wrote that "the liner credits Stevie with playing all the instruments on seven of the nine tunes. So in essence this
5225-414: The duet "Just Good Friends". Jackson also sang a duet with him entitled "Get It" on Wonder's 1987 album Characters . This was a minor hit single, as were "Skeletons" and "You Will Know". Wonder played harmonica on a remake of his own song, "Have a Talk with God" (from Songs in the Key of Life in 1976), on Jon Gibson 's album Body & Soul (1989). Wonder continued to release new material, but at
5320-651: The early 1970s. On August 6, 1973, Wonder was injured in a serious automobile accident while on tour in North Carolina , when a car in which he was riding hit the back of a truck. This left him in a coma for four days and resulted in a partial loss of his sense of smell and a temporary loss of sense of taste. Despite orders from his doctor to refrain from performing, Wonder performed at a homecoming benefit for Shaw University in Raleigh , in November 1973. Shaw
5415-428: The episode "A Touch of Wonder", where he demonstrated his ability to sample. The following year's In Square Circle featured the No. 1 pop hit " Part-Time Lover ". The album also has a Top 10 Hit with "Go Home". It also featured the ballad " Overjoyed ", which was originally written for Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" , but did not make the album. He performed "Overjoyed" on Saturday Night Live when he
5510-838: The first time he had toured Europe in more than a decade. His opening show was at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham , in the English Midlands . During the tour, he played eight UK gigs; four at the O2 Arena in London (filmed in HD and subsequently released as a live-in-concert release on DVD and Blu-Ray, Live At Last ), two in Birmingham and two at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester . Wonder's other stop in
5605-470: The greatest albums of all time. It was voted number 143 in the third edition of Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). In 2001, VH1 named the album the 31st-greatest album of all time, saying: "The whole message of this album seems to be caution – Wonder seems to be warning the black community to be aware of their own plight, strive for improvement, and take matters into their own hands. But this
5700-580: The historic " Wonder Dream Concert " in Kingston , Jamaica, a benefit for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind. In 1975, he played harmonica on two tracks on Billy Preston 's album It's My Pleasure . By 1975, at the age of 25, Wonder had won two consecutive Grammy Awards : in 1974 for Innervisions and in 1975 for Fulfillingness' First Finale . In 1976, when Paul Simon won the Album of
5795-482: The hit " It's a Shame " for fellow Motown act the Spinners . His contribution was meant to be a showcase of his talent and thus a weapon in his ongoing negotiations with Gordy about creative autonomy. Reaching his 21st birthday on May 13, 1971, Wonder allowed his Motown contract to expire. During this period, Wonder independently recorded two albums and signed a new contract with Motown Records. The 120-page contract
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#17327797516065890-536: The hospital in Winston-Salem ...man, I couldn't even recognize him. His head was swollen up about five times normal size. And nobody could get through to him. I knew that he likes to listen to music really loud and I thought maybe if I shouted in his ear it might reach him. The doctor told me to go ahead and try, it couldn't hurt him. The first time I didn't get any response, but the next day I went back and I got right down in his ear and sang Higher Ground. His hand
5985-521: The instrumental parts himself. Music of My Mind marked the beginning of a long collaboration with Tonto's Expanding Head Band ( Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil ), and with lyricist Yvonne Wright . Released in late 1972, Wonder's album Talking Book featured the No. 1 hit " Superstition ", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. Talking Book also featured " You Are
6080-458: The magazine's Top Pop Albums chart for 1974. At the 16th Grammy Awards , it won Album of the Year and Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording , while "Living for the City" won Best R&B Song . Innervisions is widely considered by fans, critics, and colleagues to be one of Wonder's finest works and one of the greatest albums of all time. It was ranked number 34 on Rolling Stone 's list of " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " in 2020 and
6175-575: The most recognizable and accomplished albums in pop music history. The album became the first by an American artist to debut straight at No. 1 in the Billboard charts, where it stood for 14 non-consecutive weeks. Two tracks became No. 1 Pop/R&B hits: " I Wish " and " Sir Duke ". The baby-celebratory " Isn't She Lovely ?" was written about his newborn daughter Aisha, while songs such as " Love's in Need of Love Today " and "Village Ghetto Land" reflected
6270-602: The occasion of his 35th birthday, Stevie Wonder was honored by the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid for his stance against racism in South Africa that same year (1985). The album also featured a guest appearance by Dionne Warwick , singing the duet "It's You" with Stevie and a few songs of her own. Following the success of the album and its lead single, Wonder made an appearance on The Cosby Show , in
6365-461: The peak of his 1972-73 run of albums–including Music of My Mind and Talking Book . Fusing social realism with spiritual idealism, Wonder brings expressive color and irresistible funk to his synth-based keyboards on "Too High" (a cautionary anti-drug song) and "Higher Ground" (which echoes Martin Luther King Jr. 's message of transcendence). The album's centerpiece is "Living for the City", a cinematic depiction of exploitation and injustice. The album
6460-451: The present. 'Today's not yesterday,/And all things have an ending' is the way he puts it in 'Visions,' the key tune of the album—pretty yet serious, harmonically vivid. There's a lot of varied music here— Latin , reggae , even a nod to Johnny Mathis ('All in Love is Fair')—but it's all Stevie, unmistakably." Some reviewers were less enthusiastic. Jon Tiven from Circus argued that there
6555-682: The social problems of the world", and for the lyrics "to mean something". The album was released at around the same time as Marvin Gaye 's What's Going On . As both albums had similar ambitions and themes, they have been compared; in a contemporaneous review by Vince Aletti in Rolling Stone , Gaye's was seen as successful, while Wonder's was seen as failing due to "self-indulgent and cluttered" production, "undistinguished" and "pretentious" lyrics, and an overall lack of unity and flow. Also in 1970, Wonder co-wrote (and played numerous instruments on)
6650-558: The songs featured on Conversation Peace , and he would describe in a 1995 interview the powerful impact his visit to that country had: "I'd only been there for 18 hours when I decided I'd eventually move there permanently." In 1994, as co-chair of Panafest that year, he headlined a concert at the National Theatre in Accra . Among his other activities, Wonder played harmonica on the track " Deuce " (sung by Lenny Kravitz ) for
6745-413: The soundtrack. A piano and vocal version of "Feeding Off The Love of the Land" was also released on the Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal compilation. Conversation Peace and the live album Natural Wonder were released in the 1990s. In 1992, Wonder went to perform at Panafest , a new international festival of music held biennially in Ghana ; it was during this trip that he composed many of
6840-672: The spiritual opportunity it is, to reach people... The accident made him recognize God, it changed him a lot. Sometimes he'd just drift off in conversation, he'd just...be some place else. He got really intense after the accident, his ESP got really strong. Before the crash, Wonder had been scheduled to do a five-week, 20-city tour in March and April 1974. It was postponed, with the exception of one date in Madison Square Garden in late March. That concert began with Wonder pointing to his scarred forehead, looking up, grinning, and giving "thanks to God that I'm alive". 21,000 people in
6935-478: The street, such as traffic, voices, and sirens, in with music recorded in the studio. On August 6, 1973, three days after the commercial release of Innervisions , Wonder played a concert in Greenville, South Carolina . Afterward, he fell asleep in the front seat of the car of his friend John Harris, who was snaking along a road just outside Durham, North Carolina behind a truck loaded high with logs. Suddenly,
7030-735: The title Eivets Rednow , which is "Stevie Wonder" spelled backward. The album failed to get much attention, and its only single, a cover of Burt Bacharach's and Hal David's " Alfie ", only reached number 66 on the U.S. Pop charts and number 11 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts. Nonetheless, he managed to score several hits between 1967 and 1970 such as " I Was Made to Love Her ", " For Once in My Life " and " Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours ". A number of Wonder's early hits, including " My Cherie Amour ", "I Was Made to Love Her", and "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", were co-written with Henry Cosby . The hit single " Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours "
7125-602: The top 20 until the end of the year, and remained in the top 200 during the entire calendar year of 1975. Innervisions was Wonder's second consecutive album to reach the top of the Billboard Black Albums chart, where it remained for two weeks. On the Cashbox chart, it reached number one near the end of 1973. In the UK, the album also found success, and became Wonder's first to reach the UK top 10, peaking at number eight. Three hit singles were issued from
7220-461: The tour's European leg also found him performing in the Netherlands (Rotterdam), Sweden (Stockholm), Germany (Cologne, Mannheim and Munich), Norway (Hamar), France (Paris), Italy (Milan) and Denmark (Aalborg). Wonder also toured Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane) and New Zealand (Christchurch, Auckland and New Plymouth) in October and November. His 2010 tour included
7315-434: The trucker jammed on his brakes, and the two vehicles collided. Logs went flying, and one smashed through the windshield of Wonder's car and hit him in the forehead . He was bloodied and unconscious when he was pulled from the wrecked car, and lay in a coma caused by severe brain contusion for ten days. It was Wonder's friend and tour director Ira Tucker who first elicited some response from him: I remember when I got to
7410-644: Was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, when he was 13, making him the youngest solo artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His "classic period" began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book , the latter featuring " Superstition ", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in
7505-525: Was a No. 1 pop and R&B hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, where it was placed 13th in the list of best-selling singles in the UK published in 2002. It went on to win an Academy award for best song in 1985. Wonder accepted the award in the name of Nelson Mandela and was subsequently banned from all South African radio by the Government of South Africa . Incidentally, on
7600-444: Was a hit for Barbra Streisand when she recorded it and released it as a single in 1974. Innervisions is considered by many fans, critics, and colleagues to be one of Stevie Wonder's finest works, and one of the greatest albums ever made. The Washington Post critic Geoffrey Himes called it an exemplary release of the progressive soul development from 1968 to 1973. The album has been regarded as completing his transition from
7695-541: Was a lack of memorable material on the album: "Just when Stevie had some momentum going, he went and put together a concept album of homogeneous music and rather typical lyrics. Unlike his last two albums, there are no real low spots on this album, which I suppose is an improvement, but there are no songs on Innervisions which are truly outstanding either. There's no ' Superstition ,' no ' I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) .' By constructing
7790-517: Was a precedent at Motown and gave Wonder a much higher royalty rate. He returned to Motown in March 1972 with Music of My Mind . Unlike most previous albums on Motown, which usually consisted of a collection of singles, B-sides and covers, Music of My Mind was a full-length artistic statement with songs flowing together thematically. Wonder's lyrics dealt with social, political, and mystical themes as well as standard romantic ones, while musically he began exploring overdubbing and recording most of
7885-553: Was aged 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. The single was simultaneously No. 1 on the R&B chart, the first time that had occurred. His next few recordings were not successful; his voice was changing as he got older, and some Motown executives were considering cancelling his recording contract. During 1964, Wonder appeared in two films as himself, Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach , but these were not successful either. Sylvia Moy persuaded label owner Berry Gordy to give Wonder another chance. Dropping
7980-775: Was facing financial difficulties, so Wonder, who was a member of the university's board of trustees, rallied other acts including Exuma , LaBelle , and the Chambers Brothers to join the concert, which raised more than $ 10,000 for the school's scholarship fund. Wonder embarked on a European tour in early 1974, performing in France at the Midem convention in Cannes , in England at the Rainbow Theatre in London, and on
8075-510: Was his first-ever self-produced song. In 1969, Wonder participated in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Se tu ragazzo mio", in conjunction with Gabriella Ferri . Between 1967 and 1970, he recorded four 45 rpm singles and an Italian LP. Wonder's appearance at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival opens the 2021 music documentary, Summer of Soul . Wonder plays a drum solo during his set. In September 1970, at
8170-556: Was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. As with many of Wonder's albums, the lyrics, composition, and production of Innervisions are almost entirely his own work, and he also played all, or virtually all, the instruments on many of the album's tracks. He made prominent use of synthesizers throughout the album. The nine tracks of Innervisions encompass a wide range of themes and issues: from drug abuse in "Too High", through inequality and systemic racism in " Living for
8265-460: Was interested in pursuing an intraocular retinal prosthesis to partially restore his sight. In 2000, Wonder contributed two new songs to the soundtrack for Spike Lee 's Bamboozled album ("Misrepresented People" and "Some Years Ago"). Wonder continues to record and perform; though mainly occasional appearances and guest performances, he did do two tours, and released one album of new material, 2005's A Time to Love . In June 2006, Wonder made
8360-704: Was re-released in the UK on September 15, 2008, to coincide with Wonder's critically acclaimed autumn 2008 European tour. Innervisions track listing All tracks are written by Stevie Wonder "Too High" "Visions" "Living for the City" "Golden Lady" "Higher Ground" "Jesus Children of America " "All in Love Is Fair" "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" "He's Misstra Know-It-All" Technical personnel positions positions R&B Shipments figures based on certification alone. Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( / ˈ s t iː v ˌ l ə n d / ; né Judkins ; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder ,
8455-479: Was recorded and released in May 1963 as the album Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius . A single, " Fingertips ", from the album was also released in May, and became a major hit. The song, featuring a confident and enthusiastic Wonder returning for a spontaneous encore that catches out the replacement bass player, who is heard to call out "What key? What key?", was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when Wonder
8550-413: Was recorded first, when Wonder was still 11 years old. Mainly covers of Ray Charles 's songs, the album included a Wonder and Paul composition, "Sunset". The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie was recorded next, an instrumental album consisting mainly of Paul's compositions, two of which, "Wondering" and "Session Number 112", were co-written with Wonder. Feeling Wonder was now ready, a song, "Mother Thank You",
8645-757: Was recorded for release as a single, but then pulled and replaced by the Berry Gordy song "I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It the Blues" as his début single; released summer 1962, it almost broke into the Billboard 100, spending one week of August at 101. Two follow-up singles, "Little Water Boy" and "Contract on Love", both had no success, and the two albums, released in reverse order of recording— The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie in September 1962 and Tribute to Uncle Ray in October 1962—also met with little success. Most of these songs hit
8740-402: Was resting on my arm and after awhile his fingers started going in time with the song. I said yeah! Yeeeeaaah! This dude is going to make it! When Wonder regained consciousness, he discovered that he had lost his sense of smell (which he later largely recovered), and he was deeply afraid that he might have lost his musical abilities, too. Tucker said: We brought one of his instruments—I think it
8835-540: Was signed by Motown in 1961, his surname was legally changed to Morris, which (according to Lula Mae Hardaway's authorized biography) was an old family name. Berry Gordy was responsible for creating the stage name of "Little Stevie Wonder". Wonder attended Fitzgerald Elementary School in Detroit. After his first album was released, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie (1962), he enrolled in Michigan School for
8930-439: Was the clavinet —to the hospital. For a while, Stevie just looked at it, or didn't do anything with it. You could see he was afraid to touch it, because he didn't know if he still had it in him—he didn't know if he could still play. And then, when he finally did touch it—man, you could just see the happiness spreading all over him. I'll never forget that. Wonder's climb back to health was long and slow. He had to take medication for
9025-468: Was the host. He was also featured in Chaka Khan 's cover of Prince 's " I Feel For You ", alongside Melle Mel , playing his signature harmonica. In roughly the same period he was also featured on harmonica on Eurythmics ' single " There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart) " and Elton John 's " I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues ". Wonder was in a featured duet with Bruce Springsteen on
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