The 25 Days of Great Singers Day 18: Stevie Wonder There is no such thing as a singers list that doesnt have Stevie on it. His voice is powerful but with a certain peace and happiness to it that makes him impossible not to love. Every note -- every inflection -- has a rich clarity to it. There is no muddiness or mistake; he hits exactly what he was aiming for and leaves you with your jaw on the floor. His vibrato is so piercing and yet never overdone. Even at 64 the man still sounds damn near perfect. He is without a doubt a freak of Nature. Stevland Hardaway Morris was born in 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. He was born premature which contributed to retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the growth of the eyes is aborted and causes the retinas to detach causing him to go blind. This didnt stop him from singing and playing instruments like harmonica, bass, drums, and piano. At the age of 11 he sang his own composition, Lonely Boy, to Ronnie White of the Miracles. White then took him to audition at Motown and Berry Gordy signed him. Producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder and sans the little the name has stuck. Throughout the 60s Wonder had a bunch of hits including Fingertips, Uptight (Everythings Alright), For Once In My Life, Signed, Sealed, Delivered Im Yours, and My Cherie Amour. But it was the 70s that cemented him as the legend he is. 1972 had Talking Book which had the hits Superstition and You Are the Sunshine of My Life and is a record everyone should own. In 1973 he gave us Innerisions which had Higher Ground and Living for the City, won three Grammy awards including Album of the Year, and is ranked #23 on Rolling Stones Greatest Albums of All Time. As amazing as he had been so far, he wasnt done yet by a long shot. In 1976 he released what many including myself believe to be his masterpiece. Songs in the Key of Life was the first by an American artist to debut at No. 1 and it stayed there for 14 weeks. Poignant, political, and passionate this double-EP packed raw emotion into every track and it gave us my favorite and the song with the craziest, funkiest, most badass break ever: Sir Duke. This was his tribute to the legends that helped make music what it was and is today. Theres Basie, Miller, Satchmo, and the king of all, Sir Duke. And with a voice like Ellas ringing out, theres no was the band can lose! Stevie Wonder is still performing to this day and still sounds as good as ever. It is worth delving into his entire catalog of work and just listening to it all. I own nearly every single record he ever put out and still listen frequently despite having had them for over 15 years. Today Ill leave you with his tribute to Bob Marley, Master Blaster (Jammin).
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:16:51 +0000
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