Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Morris né Judkins born May 13 1950 known professionally as Stevie Wonder is an American singersongwriter musician and record producer He is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century Wonder is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include RB pop soul gospel funk and jazz A virtual oneman band Wonders use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary RB 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 Motowns Tamla label at the age of 11 where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder Wonders single Fingertips 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 Wonders 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 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 highprofile 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 is one of the bestselling music artists of all time with sales of more than 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 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame He is also noted for his political activism including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jrs birthday 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 He was conferred Ghanaian citizenship in 2024 Description above from the Wikipedia article Stevie Wonder licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia