Stevie Wonder

http://www.steviewonder.net/

 

American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer, Stevie Wonder, is one of the most celebrated and prominent figures in popular music, who at the age of 13, was the youngest recording artist to have achieved a #1 single with “Fingertips, Part 2”, and subsequently the first to simultaneously reach #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, R&B Singles and Album Charts.

To date he has amassed 49 Top Forty singles, 32 #1 singles and worldwide sales of over 100 million units.  Stevie has won 25 Grammy Awards, the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award.

While Stevie Wonder’s songs are unequivocally classic and his influence timeless, equally laudable are his humanitarian efforts, philanthropic leadership, and generosity of spirit.  He has received numerous accolades including awards from the President’s Committee on Employment of Handicapped People, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation and the American Association of People with Disabilities. Since 1996, Stevie’s Annual House Full of Toys Benefit Concert has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of toys, computers, games and educational aids to children, families and organizations in need.

In 1983, Stevie spearheaded the realization of “Martin Luther King Day” as a national holiday.  His participation in the 1985 “We Are The World” fundraiser for hunger in Africa was a music industry milestone while his involvement to put an end to apartheid in South Africa is legendary. He is the youngest recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, is a Commander of France’s National Order of Arts and Letters and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the NAACP Hall of Fame, and the Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame.

Upon being awarded the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, Stevie performed his commission, “Sketches Of A Life,” which placed him in a very select group of eminent composers who have received library commissions, including Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein and Paquito D’Rivera.

As a live performance tour de force, Stevie continues to astound audiences around the world.  This summer, he headlined and performed at iconic sold-out music Festivals across Europe in nine countries including London’s Calling, Roskilde in Denmark and the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Stevie is a designated U.N. Messenger of Peace with special focus on persons with disabilities. He continues to be pivotal in U.S. and world events, demonstrating the activism that has made him such a vital voice for social progress and world harmony.