 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, 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 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
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 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,
Wonder was able to start exploring: he made records that combined elements of gospel, rock
and roll, jazz, African, and Latin American rhythms. Wonder eventually made amends with
Gordy, and Motown distributed Music of My Mind. In 1972, 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").
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, 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. 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. |
P. Diddy at the MTV Video Music Awards
National Bar
Blacks In Government
Black Hotel Owners
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