Stevie Wonder (born May 13, 1950) is an African-American singer, songwriter, producer, musician, humanitarian and social activist. Although his name at birth was Steveland Judkins, he later changed his name to Steveland Morris . Wonder has recorded more than 30 Top 10 hits, won 24 Grammys (a record for a living artist), also one for lifetime achievement, and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame.
Blind from infancy, Wonder has become one of the most successful and well-known artists on the Motown label, with nine U.S. #1 hits to his name and album sales totaling more than 70 million units. He has recorded several critically acclaimed albums and hit singles, and writes and produces songs for many of his labelmates and outside artists as well. A multi-instrumentalist, Wonder plays the drums, guitar, synthesizers, congas, and most famously the piano, harmonica and keyboards. Many critics refer to the quality of his work and its versatility as being indicative of musical genius.
Steveland Judkins was born prematurely in Saginaw, Michigan. Common belief is that he became blind after being exposed to excessive oxygen levels in his incubator, but the oxygen saved his life. The actual cause was premature development of his eye, causing the blood vessels to detach from the retina. He learned to play a number of instruments, most notably the piano, congas, and harmonica, at an early age.
In 1962, at the age of eleven, Morris was brought to Motown by Ronnie White of The Miracles, and Berry Gordy signed Morris to Motown's Tamla label as Little Stevie Wonder.
At the age of 13, Little Stevie Wonder had his first major hit, "Fingertips (Pt. 2)", a 1963 single taken from a live recording of a Motortown Revue performance. The song, featuring Wonder on vocals, congas, and harmonica, and a young Marvin Gaye on drums, was a #1 hit on the US pop charts and launched him into the public consciousness. Dropping the "Little" from his moniker, Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid- 1960s, including " Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "With a Child's Heart", and " Blowin' In The Wind", a Bob Dylan cover which was one of the first songs to reflect Wonder's social consciousness. He also began to work in the Motown songwriting department, composing songs both for himself and his labelmates.