Stevie Wonder: The Living Legend of Soul Music

Almost everyone knows Little Stevie Wonder, even the generation of the times. Only a few would miss the opportunity of admiring this sensational, harmonica-playing boy wonder of the ‘60s.

Indeed he was young and blind but these things didn’t hinder him from hitting millions with his ground-breaking single release ‘Fingertips’ in 1963.

Little Stevie Wonder had hit many records of classic Motown R&B in the ‘60s. The 13-year old child prodigy matured with the well-renowned artists of Pop Music, as he used his music for social progress. He paved way to success as he composed songs stylized from rhythmic soul like “Superstition” to ballads like “You are the Sunshine of my Life.” He also integrated Jamaican and African music; and rolled them into his own form of music expression. His tribute to the American composer Duke Ellington became one of his legendary biggest hits in 1977. He also composed and recorded music for music motion pictures like “The Woman in Red” in 1984 and the “Jungle Fever” in 1991. Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” from the movie “The Woman in Red” bagged him an Academy award.

Wonder mastered playing various instruments and working on synthesizers in the early ‘70s. His mastery of such made do almost everything in his recording studio. Thus, most of the times, he can stand alone onstage with his one-man band.

Throughout the ‘70s, Stevie Wonder released a series of ground-breaking, commercially triumphant albums that fused progressive rock and soul while biting both social commentary and sentimental ballads. Then, he accepted a contract with Motown in 1976 for $13 Million. During his times, it was the most-expensive contract ever in the recording history.

Stevie Wonder continued to amaze audiences in ‘80s and ‘90s as he engaged in children’s and civil rights causes. He even led the campaign in making Martin Luther King’s birthday as a holiday. In 1989, Stevie Wonder was officially accepted into the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.”

In the 1980s and 1990s he then actively engaged into children’s and civil-rights reasons. He even led the campaign to make Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. He was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Then on, he remained much-loved not only in the R&B community but also in the line of popular music. Almost all his recordings bore the trademark of his positive outlook that either he addressed serious issues on racism, social-conflicts or even spiritual feelings or he sang soulful heartbreaks and romantic uncertainties. He stayed smashing the hits until the late ‘90s.

Since the last album that he produced, Motown released a lot of remasters and compilations that redefined and repackaged Stevie Wonder’s enormous legacy. His far-reaching influence was realized in the neo-soul movement; hence, it all became popular. He also stayed as a composer for chosen jazz artists while he wandered to crossbreeding the sophisticated pop music harmony with R&B melody into repertoires.

Stevie’s dedication and brilliance in music opened up roads for 22 Grammy awards, without counting from his Hall of Fame award in 1989. He continued to hit the charts as he shared and recorded a couple of songs for charity causes. Thus, with all his contributions in almost all aspects of life, Stevie Wonder remains a living legend.

TJ Grooves

Rare Soul Grooves & Soul Music TV