On The Cover: Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Judkins (born May 13, 1950), name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris, known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist record producer and activist. Stevie Wonder was placed in an incubator and given too much oxygen, causing permanent sight loss. Playing the harmonica at five, he started piano lessons at six and took up the drums at eight. Lula Mae Hardaway, his mother was afraid to let the young boy out of the house. To pass the time, Wonder would beat on pots, pans, and any other surface that helped him keep rhythm with the tunes he heard on the radio. As he became proficient on various real instruments, he started playing at the local church and soon grew to be something of a neighbourhood sensation. A child prodigy at an early age, Steveland sang like a seasoned veteran. After the family moved to Detroit word spread of the gifted Wonder. It would be only a matter of time until someone from Motown caught wind of this talented youngster. Wonder signed with Motown Records Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Wonder has been married twice: to Motown singer Syreeta Wright from 1970 until their divorce in 1972; and since 2001, to fashion designer Kai Milla Morris. He has seven children from his two marriages. His daughter Aisha Morris (born on Februrary 2, 1975, with Yolanda Simmons) was the inspiration for his hit single “Isn’t She Lovely.” Aisha Morris is a singer who has toured with her father and accompanied him on recordings, including his 2005 album, A Time 2 Love. Stevie Wonder was awarded the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Ends