Stevie Wonder

EARLY LIFE 

He was born Steveland Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 13, 1950. His mother later remarried and he was given the surname Morris.

Wonder rehearsing for a performance on Dutch TV in 1967

Steveland was born six weeks premature and was blinded soon after birth when too much oxygen was pumped into his incubator,

He enrolled at and attended the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing in 1964, where he studied classical piano.

CAREER 

Stevie Wonder mastered piano, bass, drums and harmonica before hitting his teenage years.

In 1961 Wonder sang his own composition, "Lonely Boy" for Smokey Robinson of The Miracles. This earned him a contract with Motown.

At age 13, he became the youngest person to top Billboard's Hot 100, with "Fingertips (Part 2)" in 1963, recorded live in concert. The lyrics were stuff Stevie Wonder came up with to engage the crowd.  Part 1 of the song and the studio version are both instrumental.

In 1969, Motown gave Wonder complete control of his recordings. He was one of the first artists to write, produce, arrange, and perform his own songs.

He is the only artist to win the Grammy for album of the year for three consecutive LPs — 1973's Innervisions, 1974's, Fulfillingness' First Finale and 1976's Songs in the Key of Life.

Stevie Wonder’s 1977 hit "Sir Duke" was written in Duke Ellington's honor.

His 1981 song "Happy Birthday" helped establish Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday.

Hits he's written for other artists include "Tears of a Clown" for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, "It's a Shame" for the Spinners, "Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" by Aretha Franklin, "Tell Me Something Good" for Rufus and "Let's Get Serious" for Jermaine Jackson.

Wonder won an Oscar for Best Song for "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red soundtrack in 1985. The tune landed at the top of both the pop and R&B charts.

Throughout his career, Wonder has recorded for only one record label: Tamla, one of the Motown imprints.

Wonder in 2006. By Antonio Cruz/ABr - Agência Brasil., 

Wonder has performed at funerals for several friends including Michael Jackson in 2009 and Whitney Houston in 2012.

While on tour, Wonder goes through two to three harmonicas a week.

PERSONAL LIFE

Stevie Wonder has been married three times. His first wife was the soul and R&B singer Syreeta Wright who he wed on September 14, 1970; their marriage lasted 18 months.

Syreeta Wright 1973. Wikipedia

Wonder married Kai Millard Morris on September 1, 2001 but they divorced eleven years later.

Wonder tied the knot for the third time on the July 15-16, 2017 weekend, this time with his longtime girlfriend Tomeeka Bracy. Wonder's nine children from five different relationships served as their father and new stepmother's groomsmen and bridesmaids.

On 1976's Songs in the Key of Life, Wonder wrote "Isn't She Lovely" to celebrate the birth of their daughter Aisha on February 2, 1975. The splashing and protests are really her, recorded during a memorable moment between Stevie and his daughter. Now Aisha Morris is a backup singer, accompanying her father on tour.

In 1973 Stevie Wonder was the passenger in a vehicle taking him to a benefit concert in Durham, North Carolina. The car he was riding in was behind a logging truck, which stopped suddenly, The truck lost its load and a log struck Wonder in the forehead leaving him in a coma for 4 days, His friend, Ira Tucker, was the first to elicit a response from him when she sang "Higher Ground" in his ear.

Wonder was introduced to Transcendental Meditation through his marriage to Syreeta Wright.
Wonder became vegetarian, and later a vegan; he now travels with his own chef.

Sources Artistfacts, Newsok