Stevie Wonder, The #9 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

 

Just to get close to the Top 10 is a phenomenal achievement.  And The #9 Artist* just barely edged out the Eagles.  Unless one of the two can manage a hit or two late in their career, the only thing that could change the standings is increases in album sales and/or increased airplay.

This next artist found success at an early age, signing his first recording contract at the age of 11.  For decades, he wowed the world with his songwriting and musical skills, which increasingly tackled political and social issues and complex arrangements.  Unlike the rest of the artists in the Top 10, he did not dominate any one decade, but rather has been a steady performer over the years that, when his career body of work is examined, few in music history can top it.

Stevland Judkins was born May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan.  His premature birth (six weeks premature) and the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, combined to give Judkins retinopathy of prematurity, a condition of the eyes in which growth is aborted and causes the retinas to detach, so he became blind.

Judkins' parents divorced when he was four and his mother, herself a songwriter, moved the family to Detroit, Michigan.  She changed her name to Lula Hardaway and later changed her son's surname to Morris.  He began playing the piano, harmonica, and drums at an early age and sang in the choir at Whitestone Baptist Church.  He soon began singing on street corners and sometimes at parties and school dances with a friend, calling themselves Stevie and John.

Stevie attended Fitzgerald Elementary School, and when he was just 11, he sang a song he had written, "Lonely Boy", for Ronnie White of the Miracles.  Thoroughly impressed, White arranged an audition for Stevie at Motown, where CEO Berry Gordy promptly signed him to a recording contract with Tamla Records, a subsidiary of Motown.  Producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder, and the company gave Stevie a five-year deal to hold his royalties in a trust until he was 21 and the label would provide a private tutor for him while he was on tour.

Wonder released his debut album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie consisting of mostly songs written by Paul, including two that Stevie co-wrote.  Singles were released but none of them caught on.  Later in the year, Stevie released an album of mostly Ray Charles covers called Tribute to Uncle Ray (which he had actually recorded first).  

Wonder joined the Motortown Revue in theatres across the U.S. which accepted black artists at the time.  His performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois, was recorded and released in 1963 as the album Recorded Live:  The 12 Year Old Genius.  "Fingertips" was released as a single, and went it rocketed to #1, it made the 13-year-old Stevie the youngest artist ever to enjoy a #1 song.  Another young aspiring artist, Marvin Gaye, played drums on the live recording.

That same 13-year-old also enjoyed a #1 album in the U.S. with the live project.  Despite this success, Stevie wasn't immediately able to follow it up.  Stevie also released the album Workout Stevie, Workout in 1963 and appeared in the movies Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach and released the album Stevie at the Beach in 1964.  

 

He was now 15, but he had little to show for his efforts since "Fingertips".  The top producers at Motown passed on Stevie, until he began working with Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby.  Moy asked Stevie to play his song ideas for her, but she didn't like any of them.  When Sylvia asked to make sure Wonder didn't have anything else, he reluctantly played something he had been working on and sang "Everything is alright, uptight".  Moy liked it and she and Cosby helped him finish it.  Stevie dropped the "Little" from his name, the song shot up to #3, and Wonder was a regular at the top of the charts after that.  

The album Up-Tight Everything's Alright was easily his best album to this point.  Stevie was nominated twice for "Uptight" at the Grammy Awards--Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Rhythm & Blues Solo Vocal Performance.  "Nothing Too Good For My Baby" is another solid track from the album.

Stevie's album Down to Earth later in 1966 overall was a disappointment, it did include the quality single "A Place In The Sun", #6 in Canada and #9 in the U.S.  The Andantes and the Originals sang backing vocals.

Wonder released the album Someday at Christmas, which featured two songs which have become standards.  The title song is a plaintive cry from Stevie not usually heard in Christmas songs.

"What Christmas Means To Me" is another holiday favorite.

Wonder's next project the following year, I Was Made To Love Her, featuring the title song (#1 R&B for 4 weeks and #2 overall in the U.S. and #5 in the U.K. and Canada), fared much better.  "I Was Made To Love Her" (co-written by Stevie's mother, Lula Mae Hardaway) was kept out of the #1 spot only by the classic "Light My Fire" by the Doors.  To shed the image of "Little" Stevie Wonder, Stevie had stopped playing harmonica since "Fingertips", but the harmonica came back strong on this one.

 

The non-album single "I'm Wondering" hit #4 on the R&B chart and #12 overall. 

"Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day", co-written with Moy and Cosby, was another hit released prior to his next album and the first to feature Wonder's talents on the clavinet.  It topped the R&B chart and reached #9 overall.

 

In 1968, Stevie released his Greatest Hits album and then recorded an album of instrumental songs called Eivets Rednow, which is "Stevie Wonder" spelled backward, but nothing from the album stuck.  However, the album For Once In My Life was a solid effort, with the title song leading the way.

"For Once In My Life" was written by Motown's Ron Miller and Orlando Murden, recorded first by Jean DuShon and covered many times as a ballad.  Miller also wrote "Heaven Help Us All", "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" and "A Place In The Sun" for Wonder and "Touch Me In The Morning" for Diana Ross.  Stevie's version was the first to up the tempo of the song, and "For Once In My Life" hit #2 on both the R&B and Top 40 charts and #3 in the U.K and #5 in Canada.

 

"For Once In My Life" earned Stevie a Grammy nomination for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance, Male.  In 1969, Stevie received a Distinguished Service Award from the United States government.  Wonder released the great love song "My Cherie Amour" (French for "My Dearest Love"), the title song from his 1969 album.  Stevie wrote it for his girlfriend at the time, Marcia, titled "Oh My Marcia".  By the time he recorded it, however, Marcia was out of the picture, so Wonder changed the title to "My Cherie Amour".  It was an across-the-board winner, #3 Adult, #4 Popular, and #4 R&B in the United States, #3 in the United Kingdom, and #5 in Canada.

 

At this time, Stevie was having vocal problems which required him to wait before recording.  Because of this, Motown had him turn to another Miller song written in 1966 instead of recording a new one.  "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" rose to #2 in the U.K. and the Netherlands and #7 in the United States.

The wonderful Stevie continues with much more in Part Two!