Stevie Wonder
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- May 13, 1950
- Place of birth
- Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Biography
Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Wonder is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder.
Wonder's single "Fingertips" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, when he was 13, making him the youngest solo artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His "classic period" began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book, the latter featuring "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, making him the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. Wonder began his "commercial period" in the 1980s; he achieved his biggest hits and highest level of fame, had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations (including with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson), political impact, and television appearances. Wonder has continued to remain active in music and political causes.
Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of more than 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a male solo artist) and one Academy Award (Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red). Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also noted for his political activism, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was conferred Ghanaian citizenship in 2024.
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Movies with Stevie Wonder
- Fahrenheit 9/11 2004 · ★ 7.1
- The Greatest Night in Pop 2024 · ★ 7.9
- 20 Feet from Stardom 2013 · ★ 7.2
- Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) 2021 · ★ 7.6
- Chasing Happiness 2019 · ★ 8.0
- Quincy 2018 · ★ 7.3
- One Love Manchester 2017 · ★ 8.4
- Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall 2016 · ★ 7.0
- Bad 25 2012 · ★ 7.3
- American Symphony 2023 · ★ 6.5
- Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead 2015 · ★ 6.7
- Jim Henson Idea Man 2024 · ★ 7.8
- George Michael: Freedom 2017 · ★ 7.3
- One World: Together at Home 2020 · ★ 7.1
- Muscle Beach Party 1964 · ★ 5.7
- Bikini Beach 1964 · ★ 5.6
- Live 8 2005 · ★ 7.4
- Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street 2021 · ★ 7.4
- Cocksucker Blues 1972 · ★ 5.8
- iGenius: How Steve Jobs Changed the World 2011 · ★ 6.9
- Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music 2025 · ★ 7.7
- George Michael: Freedom Uncut 2022 · ★ 7.3
- One to One: John & Yoko 2025 · ★ 7.1
- The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts 2009 · ★ 7.9
- Genius. A Night for Ray Charles 2004 · ★ 7.4
- Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration 1993 · ★ 7.5
- We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song 1985 · ★ 8.4
- The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles 2014 · ★ 7.1
- 537 Votes 2020 · ★ 7.1
- Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That's the Weight of the World) 2026 · ★ 6.0
- Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever 1983 · ★ 8.7
- The Price of Protest 2019 · ★ 7.8
- America: A Tribute to Heroes 2001 · ★ 6.5
- 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2022 · ★ 8.2
- Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan 2023 · ★ 6.9
- Stevie Wonder: Live at Last 2009 · ★ 7.1
- Happy Birthday to John 1997 · ★ 5.3
- Tony Bennett: An American Classic 2006 · ★ 7.7
- Hope for Haiti Now 2010 · ★ 5.7
- George Michael: Portrait of an Artist 2023 · ★ 6.7