Childhood

Stevie Wonder was born at the former St. Mary's hospital in Saginaw, Michigan as Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950. He later moved with his family to Detroit, where his mother gave him the name Stevland Morris. He was blind at birth. He was born prematurely. Upon his birth, he was put on an oxygen treatment in an incubator. This led to “retinopathy of prematurity,” a visual condition that occurs in infants receiving an excess of oxygen due to intensive neonatal care, and is likely what caused his blindness. His family was relocated to Detroit in 1954 where he took up singing in his church’s choir. By the time he was 9, he taught himself how to play the drums, piano, and the harmonica. In 1961, at the ripe age of 11, he was discovered by Ronnie White of the Motown Records, that signed the young musical savant immediately and renamed him Little Stevie Wonder. Then, puberty. Wonder’s voice was changing and his recording career was put on hold. He studied classical piano at the Michigan School for the Blind, dropped “Little” from his stage name, and reemerged to the spotlight in 1965 with  “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” another No. 1 hit.

In 1962 he released his first album, A Tribute to Uncle Ray, which features covers on Ray Charles songs and The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, which put the boy's musical chops front and center. Neither album performed well, but 1963's live album, The 12 Year Old Genius, produced the chart-topper "Fingertips, Pt. 2" and was enough to get him on the map.

Family

Significant Life Events

Now known as "Stevie Wonder," the public began to view him as a more mature artist. He co-wrote several hits that landed in the R&B Top Ten, including "Hey Love" and "For Once in My Life." 1968's For Once in My Life was a smash hit that made him a superstar. Keep in mind Wonder was just 18 years old. He negotiated a new contract with Motown and assumed complete control over his career. In the 1970s Wonder experienced a personal renaissance. Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974), and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) produced some of Wonder's most iconic songs: "Boogie on a Reggae Woman," "Living in the City" and "Isn't She Lovely." In the '70s alone, Wonder acquired 15 Grammy Awards. Fulfillingness' First Finale, released after Wonder had survived a serious car accident that left him in a coma, displayed his trademark odes to romance and beauty while also looking squarely at spirituality and death.

Impact on America

Stevie Wonder is one of the most creative, beloved performers to emerge during the 20th century. Over the course of his triumphant career, Wonder has amassed 25 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, and more than 30 Top Ten hits. He has sold more than 100 million albums, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He is a member of the Songwriters and Rock and Roll halls of fame. Wonder, who is known as a prominent social activist, has been awarded several awards for his humanitarian efforts, including the National Civil Rights Museum's Lifetime Achievement Award and a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2014. He is also a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Wonder had dedicated his Oscar win to anti-apartheid activist/future president Nelson Mandela and had performed on the No. 1 charity singles "We Are the World," to raise money for famine relief in Africa, and "That's What Friends Are For," with Warwick, Elton John and Gladys Knight, benefiting the American Foundation for AIDS Research (afAR).