One of the most well-liked musicians of the 20th century is Stevie Wonder. Around the years, the singer-songwriter has put out hundreds of songs and won accolades from all over the world.
While Stevie Wonder’s playing can be admired, it is more amazing to comprehend how he manages it given that he is genuinely blind.
So how did everything begin? He was blind, but was he always blind, or did something go wrong? This is Stevie Wonder’s tale.
Attending concerts and admiring excellent musicians always inspires and astounds me. It might be a saxophone performing at an entirely new level, a guitarist playing wild solos, or a singer with a beautiful voice. Simply put, musicians are unique in some way.
Imagine then seeing someone learn to play the piano, sing, write their own hits, and then do all of the aforementioned things while blind. Stevie Wonder, who has accomplished all of those things during his career, may be summed up in that way.
I find it difficult to comprehend how Stevie Wonder has managed to be successful despite being blind. Wonder still astounds me and people all over the world; it’s simply too amazing to comprehend.
So how did it begin for him? And at what point did he get blind? Here is everything you need to know about Stevie Wonder, a legend and musical genius.
On May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan, Steveland Hardaway Judkins became the father of Stevie.
Wonder’s first few months were, to put it mildly, eventful, but despite what the general public thinks, he wasn’t really born blind.
Stevie Wonder was put in an incubator when he was only 6 weeks old since he was born prematurely. He was exposed to too much oxygen in the incubator, which led to the destruction of a portion of his eyes.
Retinopathy of Prematurity, the condition’s official name, describes how the eyes’ development is halted, leading to the retinas’ separation. Blindness is the effect of this.
Stevie Wonder discussed his early years and the knowledge that he had just a few weeks to live after he lost his sight in a 2004 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“Actually, a girl who was born a minute before me passed away. That much oxygen was too much for her to handle, Wonder said.
Wonder doesn’t harbor resentment toward the physician who made the error of overoxygenating him, despite the fact that it has negatively impacted his life.
“No. When I visited the hospital where I was born in Saginaw, Michigan, there was once a tremendous celebration and they presented me an unique honor,” Wonder recounted. “I believe that others were afraid that I would sue that doctor’s ass. He didn’t mean to hurt me though.
“What occurred didn’t bother me since it shaped who I am now. However, I’d love to see.
Following his parents’ divorce when he was just 4 years old, Stevie Wonder moved to Detroit, Michigan. It was the city where Stevie would begin his extraordinary road to becoming a great musician, similar to Diana Ross.
Wonder displayed a strong musical talent at a young age. He participated in the Detroit church choir and then created his own instruments.
An uncle gave Wonder a harmonica, and he rapidly mastered playing along with the music he heard on the radio. He was influenced by blues music, and after getting a pair of drums for Christmas, he quickly switched to playing them.
At least from what he can recall, Stevie Wonder has never seen anything in his life. But by the age of five, he realized that his blindness would not prevent him from achieving his goals.
Sure, it would make things more difficult and difficult, but nothing is impossible, and he was delighted about that.
Wonder reportedly told his mother when he was just five years old, “Don’t worry about me being blind, because I’m happy.” He went on to elaborate to Oprah.
“I made a similar statement. The fact that my mother was constantly crying bothered me. She believed that God might be punishing her. She lived in a time when challenges for women in her situation were particularly great, Stevie Wonder remarked.
“I used to say that I wanted to pass away alongside my mother if something happened to her. Because I adored her so much, that is. I want to live so that I can embody the love and goodness she has taught me.
Stevie drew a lot of inspiration from his mother. She encouraged him to never be ashamed of anything, even though he was blind, and to never give up.
Stevie Wonder also related a tale of how, as a young child, other kids teased him. He didn’t let that bring him down; instead, he used it as fuel to advance in life.
“I just started to wonder how I could get up this tree and fetch an apple for this girl. That’s what was important to me,” Wonder said.
We used to play a game where we would leap from the top of the woodshed into the alley because we had these woodsheds in the backyard. Who could make the longest jump? The children yelled, “Go, Steve, go!” but I think I didn’t hear my brother Larry say, “Momma’s home.” So I’m asking, “Are you ready?” from atop the shed. Let’s go!” I then leaped into my mother’s arms.
Stevie Wonder first studied the harmonica and drums before switching to the piano. But initially, not everything went well. He explains that he was perceived by others as the blind youngster who always created noise by banging on boxes or walls, singing, and playing the bongos.
“Naturally, sound was crucial to me,” Wonder said to Larry King in 2010.
“Therefore, I was interested in it when I was able to touch that thing that is known as a piano.”
Ronnie White of the Motown group The Miracles first saw Stevie when she was 11 years old. The young youngster soon appeared in front of Berry Gordy Jr., the famed producer and label pioneer who founded Motown.
Gordy Jr. gave the young man a record deal after becoming pleased. He changed his moniker to “Little Stevie Wonder” in 1962 and collaborated with a number of songwriters. In 1962, he issued his instrumental first album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie. When he first revealed his incredible musical talent to the public, he was just 12 years old. But it was the beginning of a great career that continues today.
“It was very fantastic to watch a young blind guy develop into a talented pianist. It nearly didn’t happen at all, though.”
“It was a challenging situation. Although the locals were thrilled to have me there,” Wonder said that the Motown label did not impress the mother’s lawyer.
During the negotiations, a man remarked to my mother, “Stevie can either sign this deal or he can spend the rest of his life selling pencils.”
“I don’t give a damn what you say, my mother said. No time in his life will my son ever sell pencils. The agreement was then abandoned. My mother and Berry Gordy, I believe, ultimately spoke about their “misunderstanding,” and they were able to resolve it.”
With the song Fingertips, Pt. 2, Stevie Wonder achieved his first No. 1 position less than a year after releasing his debut album. Both the R&B and pop charts were topped by it.
In the same year, he also released Tribute to Uncle Ray, an album of Wonder’s interpretations of Ray Charles’ classic soul tunes. The album Little Stevie Wonder the 12 Year Old Genius, which was recorded live, helped Wonder gain a significant following.
The trimmed version of the set’s first single, “Fingertips, Pt. 2,” became Wonder’s first No. 1 single, topping the R&B and pop charts.
About all the incredible tunes Stevie Wonder has produced, we could chat for hours. Among the many wonderful songs he’s written are Superstition, I Was Made to Love Her, Yesterme Yesteryou Yesterday, My Cherie Amour, For Once In My Life, and Sir Duke.
In addition, he recorded a timeless rendition of the Beatles song We Can Work It Out and sang a duet on the tune Ebony & Ivory with Paul McCartney.
Over the course of his career, Stevie Wonder has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. With three straight albums, he truly became the first and only artist to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Stevie has amassed an incredible 25 Grammy awards, and Barack Obama honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.
Stevie Wonder obviously seems to enjoy life despite the fact that he is blind and does not allow his condition hold him back in any way. He prefers to play practical jokes on his friends.
Stevie Wonder’s close friend Lionel Richie described the time Wonder deceived him by getting into a car during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“I visited his home. “Wanna hear a new song?” he asks. It is in the car with me. “Come on, follow me,” Richard remembered.
Stevie Wonder motioned for his pal to take the passenger seat as he and Lionel Richie made their way to the automobile. As soon as Stevie sat in the driver’s seat, the most shocking event occurred.
He starts the engine and inserts the tape, correct? Lionel Richie continued, “And then he does this [turns around] and starts driving back down the driveway. I then yelled, “Stevie! Why are you doing that? He then responded, “Ah, got you, didn’t I?
Richie said, “I would hate to be around him because every time I am, I would not want to offer him a sentence because he will make a song with it.”
Stevie Wonder revealed his future plans in a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey. Additionally, it entails moving permanently to Ghana from the United States. As part of his efforts to “protect” his grandkids and great-grandchildren from racial injustices in the US, Wonder revealed that this is what he is doing.
According to People, Stevie Wonder told Oprah, “I want to see our nation smiling again.” “And I want to watch it before I travel to Ghana because I’m going to do that,” she continued.
“I’m moving permanently because I don’t want my children’s children’s children to have to beg people to like them,’” the speaker said. Please cherish me, respect me, and recognize my importance. How do you live like that?
Stevie Wonder has demonstrated to the entire world that being blind does not preclude you from achieving success. The great musician accomplished something that had never been done before, and he serves as a true inspiration to a lot of people.
Being blind hasn’t diminished his life, despite his claims that he misses everything that comes with sight, including chauffeuring his wife and children.
I never considered being blind or black to be a disadvantage, he said, adding, “Do you know, it’s funny. Since I am who I am. I adore me! And I don’t mean that in an arrogant way; I adore that God has given me the freedom to take whatever I had and turn it into something.”
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