ABSTRACT
American soul singer, instrumentalist, and composer, born Steveland Judkins or Steveland Morris in Saginaw, Michigan. Blind from birth, he sang and played harmonica as a child. When Berry Gordy heard him perform, he gave the youngster a Motown contract and named him Little Stevie Wonder. In 1963 Wonder made a hit single, “Fingertips (Part 2)” (Tamla #54080). He remained with the Tamla label, developing a complex style that incorporated gospel, rock, jazz, African, and Latino idioms into songs of protest. By 1972, when he toured with the Rolling Stones, he was widely acclaimed by white audiences. He took over the production of his records, composed the
songs, and played most of the instruments. Talking Book (Tamla #T319L) was a sensation in 1972, on the charts 57 weeks. In the next year he issued Innerversions (Tamla #T326L), which won five Grammys as well as pioneered the use of the synthesizer as a solo instrument; his follow-up, Fulfillingness First Finale (Tamla #8019; 1974; #1), also garnered five Grammys. Wonder’s most popular album was Songs in the Key of Life (Tamla #T13-340C2; 1976; #1), which spent 90 weeks on the pop charts. Following several years of inactivity, he garnered raves in some quarters for the soundtrack to the film Jungle Fever (Motown MOTD #6291; 1991). His
accomplishments would also place him on the cover the September 1991 issue of Down Beat. Although popular with record consumers, the bulk of his 1980s’ and 1990s’ work has been uneven, lacking the innovative spirit of his earlier recordings.
