Stevie Wonder, born Stevland Hardaway Morris, is a highly influential American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Acknowledged as a pioneer across genres like R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz, he redefined contemporary R&B in the 1970s with his innovative use of synthesizers and electronic instruments. Blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown's Tamla label at age 11 and was branded 'Little Stevie Wonder'. He's known for crafting socially conscious albums with complex compositions, solidifying his place as a music icon.
On May 13, 1950, Stevland Hardaway Judkins, later known as Stevie Wonder, was born. He is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer.
In 1961, Stevie Wonder was signed by Motown, and his surname was legally changed to Morris. Berry Gordy created the stage name "Little Stevie Wonder".
In 1961, at the age of 11, Stevie Wonder impressed Ronnie White and was signed by Berry Gordy to Motown's Tamla label, receiving the name Little Stevie Wonder.
In September 1962, Stevie Wonder's instrumental album "The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie" was released, consisting mainly of Clarence Paul's compositions.
In October 1962, Stevie Wonder's album "Tribute to Uncle Ray," consisting of covers of Ray Charles' songs and one original composition, was released.
After his first album release, in 1962, Stevie Wonder enrolled in the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, Michigan.
In 1962, at age 12, Stevie Wonder joined the Motortown Revue, touring theaters across America that accepted Black artists.
In May 1963, Stevie Wonder's live performance was released as the album "Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius", featuring the hit single "Fingertips".
In 1963, at the age of 13, Stevie Wonder's single "Fingertips" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making him the youngest solo artist to top the chart.
During 1964, Stevie Wonder appeared in the films Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach, though they were unsuccessful.
In November 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. received an honorary degree from Newcastle University.
Between 1967 and 1970 Stevie Wonder managed to score several hits like "I Was Made to Love Her".
Between 1967 and 1970 Stevie Wonder recorded four 45rpm singles.
In 1967, Stevie Wonder wrote "The Tears of a Clown" for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, initially released as a track on their album.
In 1968, Stevie Wonder recorded an album of instrumental soul/jazz tracks under the title Eivets Rednow, which is Stevie Wonder spelled backward.
In 1969, Stevie Wonder participated in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Se tu ragazzo mio", in conjunction with Gabriella Ferri.
In 1969, Stevie Wonder performed at the Harlem Cultural Festival, featured in the 2021 documentary Summer of Soul. During his set, he plays a drum solo.
In September 1970, Stevie Wonder married Syreeta Wright, a songwriter and former Motown secretary.
Between 1967 and 1970 Stevie Wonder recorded an Italian LP.
In 1970, "The Tears of a Clown", written by Stevie Wonder, became a major hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles upon its re-release as a single.
In 1970, Stevie Wonder married Motown singer-songwriter Syreeta Wright.
In 1970, Stevie Wonder released "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours", his first self-produced song.
On May 13, 1971, Stevie Wonder, reaching his 21st birthday, allowed his Motown contract to expire.
By 1971, most of Stevie Wonder's early songs had hit the charts.
In 1971, aspects of Stevie Wonder's album Where I'm Coming From showed signs of the beginning of Wonder's "classic period", such as its new funky keyboard style that Wonder used throughout the classic period.
In March 1972, Stevie Wonder returned to Motown with the album Music of My Mind, marking a shift towards full-length artistic statements.
In 1972, Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright divorced amicably.
In 1972, Stevie Wonder released "Music of My Mind" and then "Talking Book", marking the start of his "classic period". "Talking Book" featured "Superstition", a distinctive hit using the Hohner Clavinet keyboard.
In 1972, Stevie Wonder's "classic period" began; Wonder attained personal control of production, and on which he programmed a series of songs integrated with one another to make a concept album.
In late 1972, Stevie Wonder released the album Talking Book, featuring the hits "Superstition" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". During this time, Wonder began touring with the Rolling Stones.
In April 1973, Stevie Wonder and his band performed "Superstition" and "Sesame Street Song" on Sesame Street.
On August 6, 1973, Stevie Wonder was involved in a serious car accident while on tour in North Carolina, resulting in a coma for four days, partial loss of his sense of smell, and temporary loss of taste.
In November 1973, despite doctor's orders, Wonder performed at a homecoming benefit concert for Shaw University in Raleigh, which was facing financial difficulties. The benefit raised over $10,000 for the school's scholarship fund.
In 1973, Stevie Wonder released the album Innervisions, which would win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
In 1973, Stevie Wonder released the studio album Innervisions, featuring hits like "Higher Ground" and "Living for the City".
In 1973, Stevie Wonder won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Innervisions.
In March 1974, Stevie Wonder performed a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden, showcasing up-tempo material and improvisations.
In July 1974, Stevie Wonder released the album "Fulfillingness' First Finale", which included the hits "You Haven't Done Nothin'" and "Boogie on Reggae Woman".
On October 21, 1974, Stevie Wonder spoke and led students in song at the University of Massachusetts Boston during the Boston busing desegregation.
In 1974, Stevie Wonder won a Grammy Award for Innervisions.
In 1974, Stevie Wonder won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Fulfillingness' First Finale.
In 1974, Stevie Wonder's album Fulfillingness' First Finale won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
In 1974, Wonder participated in a jam session with ex-Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney in Los Angeles, which later became the bootleg album 'A Toot and a Snore in '74'. He also co-wrote and produced Syreeta Wright's album 'Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta'.
On February 2, 1975, Stevie Wonder's daughter Aisha Morris was born to Yolanda Simmons.
In 1975, Stevie Wonder won a Grammy Award for Fulfillingness' First Finale, marking his second consecutive Grammy win.
In September 1976, Stevie Wonder released the double album Songs in the Key of Life, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and featured hits such as "I Wish" and "Sir Duke".
1976 marked the culmination of Stevie Wonder's "classic period", which was characterized by his funky keyboard style, personal control of production, and the creation of concept albums.
In 1976, Stevie Wonder learned about the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the first multi-font reading machine for the blind, and became the user of the first production unit, beginning a long-term relationship with Ray Kurzweil.
In 1976, Stevie Wonder released the album Songs in the Key of Life.
In 1976, Stevie Wonder won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Songs in the Key of Life.
In 1976, Stevie Wonder's album Songs in the Key of Life won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, making him the only artist to win the award with three consecutive album releases.
In 1976, during his acceptance speech for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards for "Still Crazy After All These Years", Paul Simon thanked Stevie Wonder for not releasing an album that year.
In 1977, Stevie Wonder and Yolanda Simmons had a son, Keita.
In 1977, Stevie Wonder released "Looking Back", a retrospective three-disc album of his early Motown period.
In 1979, Stevie Wonder released Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants", an instrumental soundtrack album. He also toured with an orchestra in support of the album and used a Fairlight CMI sampler onstage.
In 1979, Stevie Wonder used Computer Music Inc.'s early music sampler, the Melodian, on his soundtrack album Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants". This marked his first digital recording.
In 1979, Stevie Wonder wrote and produced the dance hit "Let's Get Serious", performed by Jermaine Jackson. The song was ranked by Billboard as the No. 1 R&B single of 1980.
In 1980, Stevie Wonder began his campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday in the United States.
In 1980, Stevie Wonder released "Hotter than July", his first platinum-selling single album, which featured the single "Happy Birthday", used to promote Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday.
In 1982, Stevie Wonder invited Raymond Kurzweil to his recording studio to discuss computer control methods on acoustic instruments.
In 1982, Stevie Wonder released Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I, a retrospective of his 1970s work, which included four new songs.
In 1983, Rolling Stone Record Guide noted that Stevie Wonder's albums during his "classic period" "pioneered stylistic approaches that helped to determine the shape of pop music for the next decade".
In 1983, Stevie Wonder had a son named Mumtaz Morris with Melody McCulley.
In 1983, Stevie Wonder performed the song "Stay Gold" for Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of "The Outsiders".
In 1984, Kurzweil Music Systems, with Wonder as musical advisor, unveiled the Kurzweil K250.
In 1984, Stevie Wonder released the soundtrack album for "The Woman in Red".
In 1984, Stevie Wonder won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from the movie The Woman in Red.
In 1984, Stevie Wonder won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the film "The Woman in Red".
In 1985, Stevie Wonder was featured in a duet with Bruce Springsteen on the charity single "We Are the World" for African Famine Relief.
In 1985, Stevie Wonder won an Academy Award for the song "I Just Called to Say I Love You".
In 1985, on his 35th birthday, Stevie Wonder was honored by the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid for his stance against racism in South Africa.
In 1986, Stevie Wonder participated in the charity single "That's What Friends Are For", inspired by AIDS awareness.
In 1987, Stevie Wonder appeared on Michael Jackson's Bad album, on the duet "Just Good Friends".
In 1989, Stevie Wonder played harmonica on a remake of his own song, "Have a Talk with God", on Jon Gibson's album Body & Soul.
In 1991, Stevie Wonder recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee's film "Jungle Fever", which included singles like "Gotta Have You" and "Jungle Fever".
In 1992, Stevie Wonder performed at Panafest, an international music festival in Ghana, where he composed many of the songs for "Conversation Peace".
In 1994, Stevie Wonder played harmonica on the track "Deuce" for the Kiss tribute album "Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved".
In 1994, as co-chair of Panafest, Stevie Wonder headlined a concert at the National Theatre in Accra, Ghana.
In 1995, Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright continued to work together; she sang on 1995's Conversation Peace.
In 1995, Stevie Wonder described the powerful impact of his 1992 visit to Ghana and how he decided he'd eventually move there permanently.
In 1996, Stevie Wonder sang at the Summer Olympics closing ceremony.
In 1996, Stevie Wonder won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, adding to his collection of 25 Grammy Awards.
In 1997, Stevie Wonder collaborated with Babyface on "How Come, How Long", a song about domestic violence that was nominated for a Grammy Award.
In May 1999, Rutgers University presented Stevie Wonder with an honorary doctorate degree in fine arts.
In December 1999, Stevie Wonder announced his interest in pursuing an intraocular retinal prosthesis to partially restore his sight.
In early 1999, Stevie Wonder performed in the Super Bowl XXXIII halftime show.
In 2000, Stevie Wonder contributed two new songs, "Misrepresented People" and "Some Years Ago", to the soundtrack for Spike Lee's Bamboozled.
In 2001, Stevie Wonder married fashion designer Kai Millard.
In 2002, "I Just Called to Say I Love You" was placed 13th in the list of best-selling singles in the UK.
In 2002, Stevie Wonder performed at the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City.
In 2003, Rolling Stone included Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life, Talking Book, and Music of My Mind in their "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
In 2004, Rolling Stone included "Superstition", "Living for the City", "Higher Ground", and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" in their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.
On May 13, 2005, Stevie Wonder's son Mandla Kadjay Carl Stevland Morris was born to Kai Millard, on Stevie's 55th birthday.
In October 2005, Stevie Wonder's album "A Time to Love" was released, receiving mixed reviews and lower sales compared to previous albums.
In 2005, Aisha Morris, Stevie Wonder's daughter, toured with her father and accompanied him on recordings, including his album A Time to Love.
In 2005, Kanye West expressed his ambition to compete with Stevie Wonder's albums Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life.
In 2005, Stevie Wonder performed at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia.
In 2005, Stevie Wonder released the album "A Time to Love".
On May 31, 2006, Stevie Wonder's mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, passed away in Los Angeles.
In June 2006, Stevie Wonder made a guest appearance on Busta Rhymes' album "The Big Bang", on the track "Been through the Storm".
In 2006, Stevie Wonder performed at the pre-game show for Super Bowl XL.
In 2007, Stevie Wonder embarked on a 13-date tour of North America, his first U.S. tour in over 10 years.
In June 2008, Stevie Wonder was simultaneously working on two album projects: The Gospel Inspired by Lula and Through the Eyes of Wonder.
On September 8, 2008, Stevie Wonder began the European leg of his Wonder Summer's Night Tour in Birmingham, UK, marking his first European tour in over a decade.
In June 2009, Stevie Wonder received the Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award.
In October 2009, Stevie Wonder and Kai Millard separated.
In 2009, Stevie Wonder performed at the Obama Inaugural Celebration.
In 2009, Stevie Wonder played the harmonica on "Never Give You Up", featuring CJ Hilton and Raphael Saadiq, which was nominated for a Grammy.
In 2009, Stevie Wonder sang at the memorial service for Michael Jackson.
In 2009, Stevie Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
In 2010, Stevie Wonder's tour included a two-hour set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, a stop at the Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park, London, and appearances at England's Glastonbury Festival, Rotterdam's North Sea Jazz Festival, a concert in Bergen, Norway, and a concert in Dublin, Ireland, at The O2 on June 24.
In 2011, Stevie Wonder performed at the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
In August 2012, Stevie Wonder filed for divorce from Kai Millard.
In 2012, Stevie Wonder sang at the funeral of Etta James and, a month later, at Whitney Houston's memorial service.
In October 2013, Stevie Wonder appeared on Celine Dion's studio album Loved Me Back to Life, performing a cover of his 1985 song "Overjoyed".
In 2013, Stevie Wonder revealed he had been recording new material for two albums, When the World Began and Ten Billion Hearts, in collaboration with producer David Foster, scheduled for release in 2014.
In December 2014, Stevie Wonder's daughter Nia was born to Tomeeka Robyn Bracy.
In 2014, Stevie Wonder planned to release When the World Began and Ten Billion Hearts; the albums have not seen release.
In 2014, Stevie Wonder was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, presented at a ceremony in the White House on November 24th that year.
In 2014, Stevie Wonder was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In October 2015, Stevie Wonder sang about being a vegan on The Late Late Show with James Corden during "Carpool Karaoke".
In 2015, Stevie Wonder was featured on two tracks on Mark Ronson's album Uptown Special.
In 2017, Stevie Wonder married Tomeeka Bracy.
On April 4, 2018, Stevie Wonder joined Twitter with a video honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.
In 2018, Stevie Wonder sang at the funeral of Aretha Franklin.
In 2018, Stevie Wonder was featured on the track "Stop Trying to Be God" on Travis Scott's album Astroworld.
On July 6, 2019, Stevie Wonder announced at a concert in London's Hyde Park that he would be undergoing a kidney transplant in September.
In October 2020, Stevie Wonder announced the launch of his new label, So What the Fuss Records, and released two singles: "Can't Put It in the Hands of Fate" and "Where Is Our Love Song".
In October 2020, while promoting his new singles, Stevie Wonder mentioned that Through the Eyes of Wonder and The Gospel Inspired by Lula were still projects in development.
In 2020, Rolling Stone updated their "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list to number 4 for Songs in the Key of Life and number 59 for Talking Book, and also "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" was included in the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list at number 203.
In June 2021, Stevie Wonder appeared in the documentary Summer of Soul, which showcased the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969.
In October 2022, Stevie Wonder celebrated the 50th anniversary of his album Talking Book.
In 2023, Stevie Wonder was awarded the Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in recognition of his campaign to establish a U.S. national holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.
On May 13, 2024, Stevie Wonder's 74th birthday, he was conferred Ghanaian citizenship by Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo. Wonder took the Oath of Allegiance and received his Certificate of Citizenship at Jubilee House in Accra.
In May 2024, Stevie Wonder was a recipient of the George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music and Dance in America, the highest honor awarded by the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.
On August 21, 2024, Stevie Wonder performed "Higher Ground" at the 2024 Democratic National Convention and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election. He also spoke, encouraging people to choose courage over complacency.
On August 30, 2024, Stevie Wonder released "Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart", his first new song in four years.
In 2024, Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph ranked Stevie Wonder as the fifth greatest keyboard player of all time.