0 Who Is Stevie Wonder

Who Is Stevie Wonder? by Jim Gigliotti

Who Is Stevie Wonder? Steveland Judkins walked into the Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, one day in the fall of 1961. He was there to audition for the studio bosses. Every day, other musicians came to Motown for the same reason. They all hoped to become stars. Stevie, as he was called, was just like them—except that he was only eleven years old, and he was blind. Stevie started off by playing the piano. Then he banged on the drums for a while. He was wearing dark sunglasses indoors, but plenty of young musicians thought wearing shades like that looked cool. And Stevie found his way around the instruments with no problem. Not everyone in the room realized Stevie was blind.

At first, Berry Gordy, who was the man in charge of Motown, didn't think Stevie was such a big deal. Gordy already had enough people who could play the piano and the drums. But after playing the drums, Stevie sang for a bit. Then he played the harmonica. Gordy was impressed that not only could Stevie do so many things well, but he did them with a wide smile

on his face. Stevie clearly was enjoying himself, and everyone watching him was having a good time, too. Gordy decided then and there that he was going to sign Stevie to a recording contract. That was more than fifty years ago. Today, Stevie is known around the world by his stage name, Stevie Wonder. He is a groundbreaking musician who has entertained millions of fans, performed in front of world leaders, and worked hard for social change. He has earned the highest honors awarded to composers, singers, musicians, and citizens of the United States. And he has done it all with the same positive attitude and wide smile on his face that he had in the Motown studio that day in 1961.