Stevie Wonder Biography

Fast Facts

• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983
• Became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1999
• Graduated from the Michigan School for the Blind
• His family moved to Detroit when his mother ended her relationship with her husband
• Was born 6 weeks premature and excessive oxygen use in an incubator lead to his blindness
• Quote: "Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there․"
• Quote: "I just dig audiences․ That to me is the most worthwhile thing about this whole business․ People coming to have a good time and letting me sing for them․"
• Quote: "Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision․"
• During negotiations with Motown in the 1970s he fought for and won control of his creative licensing and rights to his songbook
• At the age of 14 he stopped recording for a year because his voice was changing
• In 1984 he dedicated his Oscar for Best Song to then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela, which sparked outrage with officials in South Africa and lead to a ban on his music