Stevie Wonder

Born Steveland Morris May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. Stevie Wonder was placed in an incubator and given too much oxygen, causing permanent sight loss. Recognized as a folk artist, Stevie started playing the harmonica at five, he started piano lessons at six and took up the drums at eight. To pass the time of day, Stevie would beat on pot, pans, and any other surface that helped him keep rhythm with the tunes he heard on the radio. As he became proficient on various real instruments, he started playing at the local church and soon grew to be something of a neighborhood sensation. As a child prodigy at an early age, Steveland sang like a seasoned veteran. Stevie was awarded the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Currently, Stevie has received 22 Grammy Awards. In the early 1970's Stevie pioneered the use of synthesizers, a
venture that hugely influenced the face of popular music. In 1973 he was the first black person to win a Grammy for the best album of the year. Stevie Wonder is without question one of the great personalities in music history.