Updated on July 23, 2024
Stevie Wonder is an American Songwriter, Record Producer, and Multi-Instrumentalist who has won 25 Grammy Awards. He is considered to be one of the most successful musical performers of the 20th century.
He has been praised for his success in crossing racial barriers in music and is known for his bright colors and clothing style. He is most times seen wearing a hat or a scarf and is known to wear an outfit that pays tribute to his music idols Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.
Despite his influential lifestyle, here are some things you may not have known about Stevie Wonder.
1. Stevie Wonder’s real name is Stevland Hardaway Morris, and he was born on May 13, 1950, in Atlanta Georgia.
2. Stevie was not born blind. He was prematurely born and as a result, had to be incubated. The oxygen in his incubator became too much and worsened the blood vessels in his eyes, causing him to be blind.
3. He is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer and he grew up in California.
4. He was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2009.
5. He released “Music of My Mind” and “Talking Book” in the 1970s. This boosted his career and gave him critical success in the same year as Superman the Movie.
6. In addition to being one of the greatest musicians of all time, he sold over 100 million records.
7. Stevie Wonder’s film “The Woman in Red” won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1984. This made him the first Motown Artist and the second African-American musician to achieve this feat.
8. Stevie Wonder was a musical prodigy in the early 1960s. His dance hits and love songs have evolved into thoughtful commentaries on the joys and injustices of our time.
9. Stevie Wonder’s single and album “Singles in The Keys” tells the story of Wonder’s childhood from the 1950s to the early 1960s in lyrical detail, and also tells of how he wanted to go back and relive it. It was on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week as the top seller ending on July 1.
10. Stevie’s Instrumental Album “Rednow Eivets” is Stevie Wonder spelled backwards.
11. Stevie Wonder did not just sing, although he was blind, he learned to play the piano, drums, harmonica, and bass at age 9.
12. He was 23 when he recorded “To Love Somebody”. The song was originally written and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1967.
13. Stevie Wonder’s net worth is estimated at $200 million putting him amongst the world’s wealthiest people.
14. Stevie was involved in a car accident in 1973, putting him in a coma for several days. When he woke up, he lost his sense of smell and taste temporarily but gained them back shortly after.
15. The first song he learned to play was “Three Blind Mice”. The irony.
16. Stevie was performing at a club in his time when he suddenly yelled at Lil Wayne (the best rapper alive at the time) to shut up because he was interrupting his show.
17. He is mostly known for his Artistic Freedom and 1970s music. While his career spans six decades, he is mostly known for his 1970s era.
18. Wonder has 25 Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award which was awarded to him in 1996.
19. In 1989, Stevie was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
20. He has received three Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Broadcast Music Award for Best Original Song for “The Color Purple.”
Stevie Wonder has also appeared in numerous films, including “The War of the Worlds,” “The Living Daylights,” and “The Gospel According to Matthew.”
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