Who Is Stevie Wonder? (Who Was?)

Product Description Discover more about Stevie Wonder, the music prodigy whose awards include 25 Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.Stevie Wonder is one of the most successful singer-songwriter-musicians of our time. Signing his first record deal when he was only eleven, he had his first No.1 hit when he was thirteen. Since then he has had thirty US top ten hits, won a range of awards for his music and his civil rights work, and created such iconic songs as "Isn't She Lovely" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You." Stevie Wonder is a beloved entertainer who continues to tour and perform around the world. About the Author Jim Gigliotti is a freelance writer based in Southern California. A former editor at the National Football League, he has written more than 50 books for all ages. His writing credits include biographies for young readers on Olympian Jesse Owens and baseball star Roberto Clemente. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 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.    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 doc