1 Difficult Beginnings

CHAPTER 1 Difficult Beginnings Music had always been a big part of Stevie Wonder's life. He was still a baby when he began pounding on bongo drums in his crib. When he was a little boy, he grabbed whatever spoons he could find in the kitchen and played on the pots

and pans. When he was about five years old, a barber on his street gave him a harmonica, and Stevie learned to play it. Stevie never had any formal lessons, but he always seemed to know how to make music with any instrument that was available. Stevie was born as Steveland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan. His mother's name was Lula Hardaway, and his father's name was Calvin Judkins. Stevie had two older brothers, Milton and Calvin Jr. Two more brothers, Larry and Timmy, and a sister, Renee, were born in later years.

Stevie was born about six weeks earlier than expected. He probably was not blind when he was born. But when babies are born too early, they usually remain in the hospital until they are strong enough to go home. The hospital puts them in an incubator, which is supposed to keep conditions just right for them to be healthy. Stevie was in an incubator for more than a month. He seemed healthy in every way, except that doctors noticed his eyes didn't seem to respond to movement or light. They had not developed properly.

Naturally, Lula was upset at the news. She begged the doctors to do something to restore Stevie's sight, but there was nothing they could do. He was permanently blind. Stevie couldn't see, but his hearing was incredible. When he was growing up, his siblings would drop a coin on a table. "What is it, Stevie?" they would ask. "A dime," Stevie would

reply, correctly. They would drop another coin. "How about that one?" they would ask. "A quarter," Stevie would say. Right again. Stevie's hearing was so good that he could identify the coin simply by the sound it made. Stevie was so tuned in to sounds that naturally he was drawn to music. It started with the bongo drums in his crib. Stevie's father gave those to him. Calvin Sr. had been a pretty good musician

himself, and he taught Stevie songs and encouraged his son's love for music. However, Calvin didn't have a regular job. He would sometimes leave the family for long periods of time. No one knew where he was or what he was doing. When Calvin was around, he wasn't very nice to Stevie's mother. Lula thought that maybe in a bigger city Calvin could find a job and things would be better. So, when Stevie was four years old, the family moved about one hundred miles away to Detroit, on the eastern edge of Michigan.