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Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; born May 13, 1950), better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. A prominent fixture in popular music, Wonder is considered to be one of the most successful musicians of the late 20th century[1]. Wonder's "classic" period, from 1972 to 1977, is noted for his funky keyboard style, self-production, and structuring his songs to make concept albums[2]. Wonder was born six weeks premature which, combined with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, led to blindness from retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the growth of the eyes is aborted and causes the retinas to detach. 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, Lula Mae Hardaway, to a Motown audition, where Wonder was signed to Motown's Tamla label. Before signing, producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder[1]. In 1963, at age 13, Wonder's single "Fingertips" reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making him the youngest artist to ever top the chart[3]. Wonder began his "classic period" with the release of 1972 albums Music of My Mind and Talking Book, the latter of which spawned the No. 1 single "Superstition"[4]. 1973's Innervisions contains the hit single "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" and won the Album of the Year at the 16th Grammy Awards. Wonder's subsequent albums, Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976), would also win Album of the Year[5], making Wonder, along with Frank Sinatra and Paul Simon, the artist with the most Album of the Years awarded. He is also the only artist to date who has won three consecutive Album of the Year awards. "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" was sung by Tori Kelly (as Meena) in Sing. In addition, Wonder co-wrote and performed the song "Faith", which was written specifically for the film. Read more here... References
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Stevie Wonder
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