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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Happy 65th Birthday to Stevland Hawkins (Stevie Wonder) -- Michigan Star Performer - Composer

From Biography article at Internet Movie Database dot-com:
Born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, United States, on May 13, 1950 to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. Due to being born six weeks premature, Stevie Wonder was born with a condition called retinopathy of prematurity, which made him blind. Stevie Wonder, even with this disability, made his landmark to be a pioneer and innovator in the music industry. . . . .

In 1972 Stevie Wonder returned to MoTown records and signed a thirteen million dollar contract with MoTown Records. This entitled Stevie Wonder to a higher royalty rate and more full creative control and the rights to his own songs, which few artists had gotten at that time period. This contract unleashed Wonder's songs to now talk about controversial issues such as poverty, war, drugs, and politics. Stevie is known for writing and performing political songs such as, "You Haven't Done Nothing," which took a political stab at Richard Nixon. The first album he had released with his new agreement with MoTown was Music Of My Mind in 1972. In late 1972 Stevie Wonder released an album which today is known as a historic piece in music: Talking Book. That included the number one hit-song: "Superstition." This song featured the clavinet which Stevie Wonder was credited pioneer of, he later used the electric amplified keyboard instrument in many of his other albums along with the synthesizer. The song "Superstition" was seen as a significant contribution to the Funk genre. Talking Book also featured, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" which also peaked at number one. Stevie Wonder also toured with The Rolling Stones in 1972 which contributed to his album's success. Stevie Wonder struck a controversial issue with the album, Innervisions in 1973, with singles such as "Living For The City" which talked about poverty.  The album also included singles such as Golden Lady, and "All Love Is Fair."
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005567/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

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