ROCK AND RDLL HALL DF FAME

Stevie Wbnder

By Michael Hill

E v e n AMONG MOTOWN’S GREATS, Stevie W onder surely remains tional honesty that often transcended the material itself. “For Once in unique. He has pursued an ever-expanding vision, creating work that M y Life” is a self-aware young man’s declaration o f independence. “M y stands alone in the M otow n canon for its unflagging adventurousness Cherie Am our” contains sophisticated crooning, yet W onder remains ut­ and thorough originality. A s a musical pioneer, he has embraced influ­ terly candid in his romantic yearning. His first self-production, “Signed ences ranging from reggae to jazz, and his work has been a catalyst for so­ Sealed Delivered,” features gospel-like testifying about a lover’s devotion. cial change. His is the Sound o f Young America grown up — sensitive, A t the start o f the Seventies, W onder demanded the freedom to write aware, responsible, remarkable. and produce all his records. W here I’m Coming From, produced entirely Ronnie W hite o f the Miracles officially brought W onder to the atten­ on his own, was for W onder something o f an artistic disappointment, but tion o f M otown president Berry Gordy in 1961, but it’s W hite’s younger it yielded a Top Ten pop and R6?B hit with “If You Really Love Me.” brother who should be credited with “discovering” Little Stevie. Steve- 1971, W onder turned twenty-one and was granted the right to void his land M orris started out singing in his church choir, but. he was head­ contract; he left Detroit for N ew York City, where he was wooed by strong and mischievous, and he preferred to do things his way. And so eleven major labels before deciding to remain in the M otown fold, reaf­ the street comers became his stage. The younger W hite was among the firming his commitment as a black artist to a black-run enterprise. M u sic kids w ho hung out w ith the precocious M orris, whose major pastimes of My Mind, released in 1972, was the first o f a quartet o f albums that back then were “playing harmonica, bongos and hooky.” W hite pestered represent the creatively independent W onder. This was deeply personal his brother to check out this star o f the stoops; Ronnie was dubious, but work, inspired by the times and bearing the influence o f both W hat’s G o ­ finally relented, and came away impressed enough to arrange, along w ith ing O n and Sgt. P epper. Like Marvin Gaye, W onder was addressing so­ songwriter Brian Holland, an audition with Gordy. Gordy was skeptical cial, spiritual and romantic issues; like the Beatles, he sought to create a too, until he listened to Morris sing the Miracles’ “Lonely Guy” and dem­ seamless work, both musically and conceptually. onstrate his facility on a variety o f instruments. He offered the boy a deal In 1972 and 1973, W onder topped the pop charts twice, with “Super­ then and there - and christened him Little Stevie W onder. stition” and ‘You Are the Sunshine o f M y Life,” both from Talking BooJ{. Hitsville became a second home to W onder. He found a mentor in Innervisions, released in 1973, consolidated the ideas o f his tw o previous A 6?R director Clarence Paul and willing musical tutors in M otown’s leg­ albums in a brilliant aural collage that features moody jazz (“Too High”), endary rhythm section, bassist James Jamerson and drummer Benny Ben­ gritty funk (“Living for the City”), techno-gospel (“Higher Ground”) and jamin. W onder’s earliest singles, “Thank You (for Loving M e A ll the Tin Pan A lley (“A ll in Love Is Fair” ). W ay)” and “Contract on Love,” enjoyed only minor success; his live per­ O n Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974) W onder is eloquent regarding formances, however, were something else. W onder was a natural stage matters o f the spirit, on “Heaven Is Ten Zillion Light Years Away,” and performer with an infectiously playful demeanor. That caught the ear o f matters o f the libido, on “Boogie On Reggae W oman.” He’s especially in­ the pop audience, when, in August 1963, M otown released “Fingertips, cisive on ‘You Haven’t Done Nothin’,” an indictment o f Richard Nixon. Part Two,” an impromptu encore jam recorded live at Chicago’s Regal In 1974, W onder also began to renegotiate his M otown contract, a Theater. Although it hardly seemed the stuff o f career-breaking success, two-year effort that astonished the music industry for its landmark artist- “Fingertips,” which was punctuated by lively audience-artist call and re­ oriented terms. Throughout those years, W onder toiled over a record he sponse arid a spirited harmonica solo, reached Number One on both the hoped w ould surpass his already amazing output; the result was the mas­ pop and Rfe?B charts just as the accompanying album, Little Stevie: The terful Songs in the Key o f Life, released in 1976, a double album that in­ Twelve Year Old Genius, landed at die top o f the pop chart. N o artist up cludes an added EP to contain W onder’s creative overflow. Among the to that point had dominated all three charts simultaneously. many treasures o f this set: “Love’s in Need o f Love Today,” “Sir Duke,” M otown tried to fashion sound-alike follow-ups for W onder, but it “I W ish,” “Isn’t She Lovely,” “A s” and “Another Star.” would take two years before he’d score another Top Ten hit with “Up­ Since then, W onder has performed regularly; collaborated with artists tight (Everything’s Alright).” By then, his voice had deepened and ma­ ranging from Michael Jackson to Paul McCartney to Dionne W arwick; tured - he could hardly be called Little Stevie - and the song itself, the and he continues to exceed the standards he has set for himself in the re­ first he cow rote, was rock & roll, pure and simple. W onder had been im­ cording studio. He has remained experimental, releasing the pop-sym­ pressed by the young Rolling Stones when they opened some dates for p h o n ic Journey Through the Secret Life o f Plants in 1979, and eager to ex­ him in 1964, and he sought to recapture some o f their rhythmic intensity plore other musical forms, saluting Bob M arley with “Master Blaster in “Uptight”' - (fammin’).” He hasn’t lost his playful streak, as a listen to the pseudo-rap ^H lf his confident rendering o f “Uptight” suggested the range o f the teen­ coda o f “D o I D o” illustrates, or his concern for the black community at age W onder’s talent, his version o f Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the W ind” home and in the third world. His anthem to the legacy o f Dr. Martin Lu­ illustrated his depth and daring. The decision to record this almost sacro­ ther King, “Happy Birthday,” became a rallying cry for the movement to sanct folk anthem shocked many at M otown, yet it became a Top Ten recognize Dr. King’s birthday as a national holiday. pop and Number One R&B hit. W onder reprised this success with “Music is a world within itself,” Stevie W onder sings on “Sir Duke,” “Place in the Sun,” w hich managed to be an affecting plea for racial “with a language w e all understand.” He has reached out from the world equality. “I W as Made to Love Her,” his biggest hit o f 1967, was a re­ o f music to the world at large and helped us to understand ourselves. His turn to his funkier side, featuring an intense and soulful vocal per­ is music o f the soul as well as soul music. To paraphrase “Sir .« j formance. In fact, W onder distinguished every effort w ith an emo­ D uke,” w e can feel it all over.