Stevie Wonder - The Soul of Wonders

Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Stevie Wonder is one of the pivotal figures in the history of black music. His contribution to the evolution of soul and rhythm and blues is especially crucial, thanks to his prolific crossovers with pop, jazz, funk and reggae. An extraordinarily precocious talent, over more than forty years of career he has earned huge commercial success, a shower of accolades (including a full 24 Grammy Awards) and legions of admirers across every age and generation.

Steveland Judkins Morris was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on 13 May 1950. Blinded in the first days of his life due to excess oxygen in his incubator, Stevie showed his enormous musical talent from a very young age. In 1954, he moved with his family to Detroit, where he began singing in the church choir. By the age of just nine he could already play piano, harmonica and drums. It's no surprise, then, that only two years later he made his recording-studio debut. In 1961, Ronnie White of the Miracles introduced him to Berry Gordy, the head of Motown, who immediately signed him, changing his name to "Little Stevie Wonder" and pairing him with songwriter-producer Clarence Paul.

In 1962 his first two albums came out: A Tribute To Uncle Ray, a collection of covers of songs by his idol Ray Charles, and The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie, a taste of orchestral jazz that already showcased the multi-instrumentalist's skill, tackling piano, percussion and harmonica.

Sales were poor, but Wonder didn't give up, and a year later released the live album The 12 Year Old Genius, which included an extended version of the instrumental "Fingertips", performed on harmonica. The single shot to the top of the pop and R&B charts, rewarding the young Stevie's exuberant verve.

The 12 Year Old Genius also became Motown's best-selling album of the moment.

After releasing further, less successful singles, Wonder decided to put his recording career on hold for a while, to devote himself fully to classical piano studies at the Michigan School For The Blind. He returned in 1964 under the name Stevie Wonder, with a hit that flew to the top of the charts, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)": a danceable track arranged with orchestral horns, built on a rhythm marked by reggae-like rhythm guitars. It's a formula that plenty of pop bands would borrow in the Eighties and beyond (think, for instance, of Culture Club's "The Church Of The Poison Mind"). In a similar but more forceful vein came the other hit single, "Nothing's Too Good To My Baby", included on the self-titled 1966 album. Wonder also began cultivating an interest in protest songs, covering, among others, Bob Dylan, with "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "A Place In The Sun" (on Down To Earth, 1965), and "Blowin' In The Wind" (on Uptight, 1966), though these remain minor records in his catalogue.

In 1967, another success arrived: the album I Was Made To Love Her climbed the charts, propelled by the title-track hit, a funk-soul number already part of the Beach Boys' repertoire. The following year came For Once In My Life, which yielded several singles: alongside the melodic, heartfelt funk of the title track, there's the bluesy strut of "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" and the disco-dance groove of "You Met Your Match", whose sound would echo years later in the Bee Gees' "Saturday Night Fever" and "Spirits Having Flown".

Another hit was "I Don't Know Why", a delightful soul ballad.

It was precisely this output of ballads that began taking on ever greater weight in his repertoire, as the Seventies and Eighties would go on to prove. An eloquent early example is "My Cherie Amour", a single recorded in 1966 and taken from the self-titled album released three years later: a sweet, sensual love song in which Stevie Wonder's signature sound starts to take clearer shape — the one that would define the masterpieces of the Seventies, thanks to the use of more evocative, refined chords. "Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday", on the other hand, marks greater continuity with the past, unfolding as a string-laden slow number, with Wonder's voice still vibrating with pure soul energy. The album also includes yet another cover of the Doors' "Light My Fire".

The following year, Signed, Sealed And Delivered was the result of Wonder's collaboration with singer Syreeta Wright, who would become his wife shortly afterward. Among its hits are "Heaven Help Us All" and a cover of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out". Around the same time, the soulman from Saginaw also wrote two other hit songs for other artists: "It's A Shame" for the Spinners and "Tears Of A Clown" for the Miracles.

On the very day of his twenty-first birthday, his contract with Motown expired, and the royalties held in his trust fund became his exclusively. A month later came Where I'm Coming From, his first album entirely produced and composed by Wonder himself, surrounded by top-tier session musicians and his wife Syreeta, who wrote some of the lyrics. Commercial success was not extraordinary; only one single was released, "If You Really Love Me", a ballad with jazzy flourishes that nonetheless failed to make much of a mark.

Wonder, however, didn't lose heart, and set his sights on a more ambitious project: tired of the standard R&B formula of hit-singles-plus-filler compilations, he aimed to craft tighter, more coherent albums, almost like concept records. He therefore decided not to renew his Motown contract and used his own funds to build his own recording studio. He subsequently struck a new deal with Motown, seeing his royalty rates skyrocket, and launched his own record label, Black Bull Music.

The move proved to be a winning one. In one stroke, Wonder managed both to retain the rights to his music and to wrest full control over his recordings, just as Marvin Gaye had recently done with the landmark album "What's Going On".

This turning point kicked off Wonder's finest era, a period rich in masterpieces that would lay the groundwork for a new way of making music, influencing entire generations and countless bands to come. The start of this golden age was officially marked by the release of Music Of My Mind (1972), which shook soul and "black" music in general to its very foundations, with a relentless outpouring of musical ideas. The album, like those that followed, was almost entirely written, produced, arranged and played by Wonder himself, with Wright contributing to some of the lyrics. The use of synthesizers brought a breath of fresh air, already evident from "Love Having You Around", a sparkling blend of rock, funk and soul. "Happier Than The Morning Sun" revives folk echoes already glimpsed in his earlier Dylan covers; but standing out above all are the engaging, melancholy soul of "Girl Blue", marked by arpeggiated guitars, driving percussion and clavichord touches, and the aggressive funk-reggae of "Keep On Running", a riotous orchestral blend of piano, organ, clavinet, vocal harmonies and handclaps. The hit single "Superwoman" is a two-part suite: the first section carries a light Latin rhythm where the synth sets the mood, while the second takes the shape of a more conventional R&B ballad. The album closes with the visionary gospel of "Evil", a meditation on Evil delivered over a backdrop of keyboards.

The reflective, romantic “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”, opening with a hushed, fine-tuned jazzy setting, is the single and ouverture of the following album, Talking Book. A record that crowns Wonder the undisputed king of black music, highlighting his genius for marrying a revolutionary drive with a quest for melodicism that remains catchy in every single track. But this “talking book” is also the fruit of pain: shortly before its release, Stevie's marriage to Syreeta Wright fell apart. And the album blossoms with open-hearted feeling, with declarations of total love (“You are the apple of my eye/ Forever you’ll stay in my heart”), and with hymns of fervent faith.

Dragging it to the top of the charts will also be the unmistakable riff of “Superstition”: a sweltering mix of funk, soul and r’n’b, in which the clavinet leaves an electronic, enveloping mark. There are also plenty of romantic, sentimental ballads, mostly written at the piano: worth remembering above all are “You And I”, “Blame It On The Sun” and “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”, which grows more energetic toward the end. The more “political” Wonder emerges in the anti-Nixon anthem “Big Brother”, while notable jazz flourishes enrich “Lookin’ For Another Pure Love”, featuring Jeff Beck on lead guitar, and “You’ve Got It Bad Girl”.

The success is celebrated with a massive tour alongside the Rolling Stones. A magical moment crowned the following year with the release of Innervisions (original title: “Last Days Of Easter”), another Wonder masterpiece and a cornerstone of black music as a whole. It is once again a declaration of love, a boundless prayer to the heavens unfolding across nine tracks, each one more thrilling than the last.

Among the singles, “Living For The City” is one of the most anguished tracks in Wonder's entire catalogue, with a harrowing lyric denouncing racial discrimination and a fierce performance, carried by a fine blues groove blending synthesizers and piano. But even more sublime moments can be savoured in the heart-pounding gospel of “Jesus Children Of America”, in the heartbreaking ballad “All In Love Is Fair”, or in “Too High”, which rests on a sliding bassline and unleashes an unexpected vocoder at the peak of a funky apotheosis, laying the groundwork for the acid-jazz that would make the fortune of dozens of bands years later, Jamiroquai first and foremost. Another gem is “Visions”, a heavenly ballad built on a harmonic foundation of minor-key chords and arranged with acoustic guitars that carve out arpeggios and solos, later echoed by the electric guitar.

Wonder also proves himself a formidable vocalist, able to range from warm, enveloping tones to harsh, biting vocal acrobatics, always managing to give his songs an unmistakable stamp.

The spell cast by the former enfant prodige, however, nearly breaks forever: shortly after the album's release, Wonder is involved in a terrifying car accident and remains in a coma for several days. But he would recover from this ordeal too, even stronger than before, as the new tour would prove, this time alongside Elton John. Meanwhile, Innervisions picks up five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.

At the end of another tour, the soulman from Saginaw stuns everyone with a surprise announcement: he wants to retire from the scene and devote himself to raising funds for the African people, moving permanently to the Dark Continent. Motown, albeit with great effort, manages to talk him out of it, pushing him to release, in the summer of 1974, a new album, Fulfillingness' First Finale. Though inferior to his previous work, it is rewarded with five Grammy Awards and the title of Album of the Year.

The driving tracks are “Boogie On Reggae Woman” and another anti-Nixon anthem, “You Haven’t Done Nothin'”: two tastes of solid r’n’b, whose energy comes largely from the electronic bass. The piano ballads on offer are the saccharine “Too Shy Too Say” and “They Won’t Go When I Go”, steeped in classical elements.

Meanwhile, the American composer produces and writes “Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta”, the second solo album by his ex-wife, keeping their artistic partnership alive along with a genuine post-marriage friendship.

After these triumphs, the return to the recording studio drags on longer than usual, giving birth to Songs In The Key Of Life (1976). While with the previous two records he had revolutionized soul music, with this double album Wonder consolidates those innovations, creating his most “mature” and ambitious project. A cocktail of sounds and genres that even includes a 7-inch EP and unfolds across a full seventeen tracks. Technical and compositional skill go hand in hand in a record that is compact and held together by a logical thread, with a handful of singles boasting unforgettable hooks.

Often these are simple declarations of love. Such is the case with the moving pop-jazzy single “Isn’t She Lovely?”, dedicated to his young daughter Aisha, complete with the baby's giggles captured live and a memorable closing harmonica solo. “Sir Duke”, meanwhile, pays tribute to the jazz legend Duke Ellington, with a swing introduction that flows into a catchy, cheerful theme poised between pop and jazz.

Some tracks would later be brought back to success by hip-hop artists: the funky “I Wish” would be sampled, more than twenty years later, by rapper and actor Will Smith, while “Pastime Paradise”, marked by a mellow soul groove and string arrangements, would become in 1995 one of Coolio's signature hits, under the title “Gangsta's Paradise”.

There's no shortage either of the customary protest songs, which dig into the hardship of Black communities, from the cities to the villages: from “Village Ghetto Land”, where strings flesh out much of the harmonic structure, to “If It's Magic”, a gem of simplicity and purity performed with just voice and harp.

The instrumental “Confusion”, on the other hand, is an evocative taste of Weather Report-style jazz-rock, marked by guitar and bass virtuosity layered over an energetic pace driven by the drums' on- and off-beats; on guitar is none other than Mike Sembello, who would top the charts in 1983 with “Maniac” (from the soundtrack of the film “Flashdance”). “Summer Soft” is another example of melodic sweetness, where voice and piano forge an atmosphere of soothing romance over a gently vigorous cadence. Finally, “Another Star” weds Seventies disco with samba, both in its rhythm and in its choruses, which evoke sweet Brazilian sounds.

Needless to say, Songs In The Key Of Life too is awarded Album of the Year. In creating and composing it, Wonder had poured out his genius and energy so fully that he withdrew from the scene for three years afterward.

In 1979, it was time for a new ambitious project, the soundtrack to a documentary, which took shape as another double album titled The Secret Life Of Plants, made up of numerous instrumental tracks, true symphonic and "naturalistic" gems bordering on new age, but also sweet pop songs like "Same Old Story" and "Send One Your Love". The evocative title track reveals the philosophy behind this new spiritualism of Wonder's, who, having become convinced that even plants can suffer, dreams of the advent of a new "naturalist philosophy". The album, however, was met with scepticism by critics and disappointed fans' expectations.

The following year, then, Wonder returned to a more direct pop album, the "scorching" (starting from the cover art) Hotter Than July. A record that was also more combative on the social-protest front. Just think of "Happy Birthday", a symbol of the campaign the American artist waged for years to have Martin Luther King's birthday recognised as a national holiday. A campaign that would gloriously come to fruition years later, in 1986, when 15 January was officially recognised as a symbolic day in the fight against violence and racial discrimination. Also worth noting is the other single, "Master Blaster (Jammin')", which surprisingly brings back reggae sounds à la Bob Marley.

On the ballad front, what stands out above all are the sweet, tender "Lately", with its thrilling closing vocal flourishes, and the mysterious magic of the piano-led "Rocket Love".

With Hotter Than July, Wonder earned his first platinum record, along with the approval of a new generation of fans.

The Eighties, however, would be marked by output that was decidedly inferior to the previous decade, both in quality and quantity. What made headlines above all were the high-profile collaborations: in 1982, with Paul McCartney on "Ebony And Ivory", a hymn to brotherhood and multiracial unity, and on "What's That You're Doing?", which revisits the funk-soul sounds of his golden years (both tracks would be included on the ex-Beatle's "Tug Of War"). That same year saw the release of Original Musiquarium, an anthology featuring previously unreleased recordings.

1984 marked a new commercial triumph, thanks to the soundtrack for the film Woman In Red, directed by and starring Gene Wilder. Besides several duets with the queen of soul-pop Dionne Warwick, including the smooth "It's You", the album features one of the most commercially successful songs of Wonder's entire career, which also earned him an Academy Award: "I Just Called To Say I Love You", a sentimental ballad with a syrupy, catchy chorus.

Confirming the newfound popularity he had reached, came the USA For Africa project, which saw Wonder alongside numerous American rock stars, including Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper and many others. The track, recorded for charity, was titled "We Are The World" and quickly became a huge commercial triumph.

Fans, however, had to wait until 1985 for the release of a new Stevie Wonder solo record, In Square Circle. The album veered decisively towards pop, while not entirely abandoning its soul roots. The hit single was "Part Time Lover", a catchy little tune in typical Eighties style. The album's standout track, though, was the tender "Overjoyed", one of Stevie Wonder's most beautiful love songs. In Square Circle earned him another platinum record and cemented Wonder's new pop direction.

Along the same lines, in fact, was the following album, Characters (1987), which featured collaborations with B.B. King and Steve Ray Vaughan. Among its tracks were the singles "Skeletons" and "You Will Know", as well as a duet with Michael Jackson, "Get It". The collaboration between the two would continue on "Just Good Friends" (on the bestseller "Bad", with which Jackson followed up the success of "Thriller").

If the Eighties marked a dimming of Wonder's creative spark, the following decade would prove even less brilliant.

The Nineties opened with the soundtrack to "Jungle Fever", Spike Lee's cult film. 1995 saw the release of Conversation Peace, which this time failed commercially as well, though it still picked up two Grammy Awards thanks to the single "For Your Love". That same year also saw the release of the live album Natural Wonder.

1996 brought a new duet, with Babyface, on the single "How Come, How Long". 1999, meanwhile, was the year of At The Close Of The Century, a compilation of hits collected in a four-CD box set.

In 2001, in the emotional wake of September 11th, Wonder took part in the tribute to the victims of the Twin Towers attack, performing "Love's In Need Of Love Today" together with Take 6.

In 2005, after a full ten years, Wonder returned to the recording studio for a new album, A Time 2 Love, preceded by the single "So What The Fuss", on which Prince contributes guitar and En Vogue provide backing vocals. He also took part in "Live 8 U.S.", where he paid tribute to Luther Vandross, having already played and sung at his funeral.

A prodigious vocalist, keyboardist and harmonica player, an eclectic composer endowed with superhuman sensitivity and strength of spirit, Stevie Wonder has profoundly influenced and renewed black music, as well as the style of many of today's artists, through disarming crossovers that showcase his lucid versatility. An extraordinary artist, who has never given up in the face of the difficulties life has thrown at him, balancing artistic work with social and humanitarian commitment.

In 1996, when he received an honorary degree as "Doctor of Music" from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, he recounted an anecdote with amusement: "Years ago many people told me: 'You have three strikes against you: you're blind, you're black, and you're poor.' But God told me: 'I will enrich you with the spirit of inspiration, so you can pass it on to others and so that, through your music, you can encourage the world to pursue unity, hope, and positivity.' I believed Him, not them." Wise words that sum up the wonder of the human and artistic experience embodied by Stevie Wonder.

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