Dec 14

Stevie Wonder

Highly Appreciated

STEVIE WONDER
 
 
Stevie Wonder  (born May 13, 1950) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist.  A child prodigy, he has become one of the most creative and loved musical performers of the late 20th century.  He has been blind since shortly after birth.  Among Wonder's works are singles such as "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You"; and albums such as Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life.  He has recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and received 25 Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist, and has sold over 100 million albums and singles.  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 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the U.S. singles chart's 50th anniversary, with Wonder at number five.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
Adversity in life seems to be one of the sparks that have ignited many a talented musician over the years.  The idea that being blind aids hearing and, thus, musical talent is nearly a cliché.  Two of the greatest R&B artists of all time are blind:  Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles; other notable blind musicians include José Feliciano, Clarence Carter, Terri Gibbs, Ronnie Millsap, and Doc Watson.  There are many others who are less well known, such as Blind Lemon Jefferson (apparently the source of the name of the 1990's band Blind Melon), Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, and (from the world of gospel music) the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi (also called the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama and the Original Five Blind Boys of Mississippi).  Frontman John Kay of Steppenwolf didn't just wear sunglasses to look cool; he has a degenerative eye disease.  There is no telling how many better known blind artists I am inadvertently omitting, there are so many. 
 
(June 2011)
 
*       *       *
 
Several of the performers that had appeared at the original  Woodstock Music & Art Fair in 1969 were in attendance at the Vietnam Veterans Benefit Concert near Washington, D.C., on July 4, 1987:  Richie Havens, Country Joe, John Sebastian, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (at least individually, with Stephen Stills and Neil Young appearing in a reformed Buffalo Springfield).  By the way, hardly anyone knows that Creedence Clearwater Revival was also a headliner at Woodstock; however, their subpar performance didn't start until 3:00 a.m. (after the Grateful Dead) and was omitted from the film and concert albums (though they did make the 1994 box set).  Other musicians at the Vietnam Veterans Benefit Concert included James Brown, Stevie Wonder, the Byrds, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Linda Ronstadt, Frankie Valli, and the Four Tops; and there were also speeches by John Ritter, Louis Gossett, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Oliver Stone, and Ed Asner. 
 
(January 2013)
 
*       *       *
 

On October 7, 2014, a remarkable assemblage of musicians came together under the name "The Impossible Orchestra" to perform the Beach Boys song "God Only Knows".  The event was simulcast on BBC Television and BBC Radio stations in order to herald the launch of BBC Music, and the event also made national news in this country.  A recording of the song was released on a single the following day as a fund-raising effort for Children in Need 2014.  The musicians span the spectrum of popular music and included Brian Wilson, Pharrell Williams, One Direction, Lorde, Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, Dave Grohl, Brian May, and many others.  

 

(October 2014)

 

*       *       *

 

Except for the manic "ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha Wipe Out!!!" at the beginning, "Wipe Out" is a million-selling surf instrumental dating from 1963.  As performed by the Surfaris, this song made it to #2 on the charts, kept from the top only by "Little" Stevie Wonder's first hit song "Fingertips". 

 

(December 2014)

 

*       *       *

 

Their opening album, Awake in a Dream (1991) was praised by Alex Henderson in Allmusic:  "Eleven was a so-called alternative rock trio of the early 1990's that drew heavily on the psychedelic rock and soul music of the late 1960's and early 1970's.  Awake in a Dream is much too guitar-oriented to have been played on a Black radio station in 1970 or 1973, and yet, enjoyable selections like 'Before Your Eyes', 'All Together' and 'Rainbow's End' make it clear that singer/guitarist Alain Johannes, bassist/singer/organist Natasha Shneider and drummer Jack Irons have spent a lot of time listening to the likes of Sly and the Family Stone, Ike and Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder.  Shneider is also heard on the clavinet, a synthesizer that was prominent in 1970's soul and funk but was seldom used in the urban contemporary music that followed in the 1980's and 1990's."  

 

(April 2015/1)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021