LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Stevie Wonder
Since winning the EMMA Award
Stevie Wonder is an Afro-American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer who released the well-received A Time to Love in 2005 and the concert DVD Live at Last: A Wonder’s Summer Night in 2009. Stevie occasionally released new music during the 2010s, recording the Golden Globe-nominated single “Faith” with Ariana Grande in 2016 and the song “Future Sunny Days,” which was specifically written for the 2018 finale of the hit TV drama Scandal. In 2009, on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Stevie was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
In June 2013, Stevie continued his advocacy work when he announced he would make good on a promise to perform a concert in Marrakech for negotiators from the World Intellectual Property Organization when they agreed on an international treaty providing blind and visually impaired individuals around the world with more access to books. In 2014, Stevie received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then President Barack Obama. In 2015, Stevie was paid tribute by a pantheon of performers on the telecast Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life—An All-Star Grammy Salute, which recognised his classic 1976 album. In 2020, Stevie joined several efforts to support health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and performed at Global Citizen’s One World Together at Home global broadcast in April 2020.
On 21st August 2024, Stevie performed “Higher Ground” at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and briefly spoke at the event, saying: “This is a moment to tell your children where you were and what you did. When we stand between history’s pain and tomorrow’s promises, we must choose courage over complacency.” Stevie 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. Rolling Stone magazine named him the ninth greatest singer of all time. Stevie Wonder’s life and heritage serve as a testament to the power of music to inspire, unite, and create positive change in the world. From his early onsets as a child sensation to his rise to fame as one of the best musicians of all time, his music has touched the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world, and his continued advocacy for social and political causes has helped to make the world a better place.
Background (Before 2002)
Stevie Wonder, whose original name is Stevland Hardaway Morris, is known as one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the 20th century. Stevie was born in Saginaw, Michigan, to a World War II veteran father and a songwriter mother. Stevie was born six weeks premature and received too much oxygen in an incubator, which led to retinopathy of prematurity. This disease prevents eye growth and often causes the retinas to detach, which left him blind as a result.
Stevie began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, and drums, and formed a singing partnership with a friend; they called themselves Stevie and John. Together, they played on street corners and occasionally at parties and dances. Stevie was signed by Motown in 1961, and Berry Gordy created the stage name “Little Stevie Wonder,” which was given to Wonder by producer and songwriter Clarence Paul. After his first album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, was released, he enrolled at Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, Michigan.
That same year, Tribute to Uncle Ray was released, in which Stevie covered the songs of soul icon Ray Charles. After dropping “Little” from his stage name in the mid-’60s, he released the hit single “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” which reached No.1 on the R&B charts. In 1969 Stevie saw the release of the singles “My Cherie Amour”, and “Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday.” He would remain a consistent hitmaker during the next two decades, with the artist co-producing his 1970’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered album. It featured the iconic No. 1 R&B title track of the same name, and a cover of The Beatles’ single “We Can Work It Out.”
Stevie’s subsequent albums were equally successful and led to many awards for the singer, including multiple Grammys. He has routinely tackled social issues through his music and award show appearances and successfully spearheaded a movement in 1980 to create a national holiday recognising the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a celebration he sang about in the track “Happy Birthday” from the 1980 album Hotter Than July. In 1985, Stevie dedicated his Oscar Award for Best Original Song to anti-apartheid activist and future president Nelson Mandela. The Oscar was won for the single “I Just Called to Say I Love You”, as it was featured in the film The Lady in Red. He also 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 Dionne Warwick, Elton John and Gladys Knight, to benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research (known as amfAR). Stevie Wonder has been a longtime advocate for improving services for the blind and those with disabilities. He also campaigns for global peace and social equality for all ethnic minorities.
