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ARTICLE
Seemingly lacking any form of an off switch, it’s not just that he’s been prolific with his own projects – Stevie Wonder has spent many years stealthily (and not so stealthily) turning up on other artists’ work. And it’s quite a list.
How Wonder got to the position of being one of the world’s most sought-after session musicians (on top of a remarkable career in his own right) requires us to take a brief interlude into his past, all the way back to 1950.
Stevie Wonder (the Stevie is short for Stevland) was born in Saginaw, Michigan. Although he wasn’t blind at birth, he was six weeks premature. That, coupled with a brief stay in an incubator, brought on a nasty disease that left him blind. Never knowing any different, he was soon to embrace what he could do rather than be hindered by what he couldn’t.
By the time he was four, his parents were divorcing, and, along with his siblings and mother, he moved to Detroit. There he sang in the church choir and, by age eight, was singing solo. By now he was already comfortable with the harmonica, piano and drums and, along with a friend, would perform in public for whatever they could get. At this point he wasn’t even a teenager.
Then, aged 11, he was signed to Motown’s Tamla label. Because of his incredibly young age it was agreed all royalties would be held in trust until he was older, with a small weekly payment being made to help cover his expenses. The first two albums did poorly, and it wasn’t until 1963 that he began to make a significant impression on the charts. By the following year, with his voice changing through puberty, Motown came close to ditching him. It seemed nobody knew quite what to do with this child prodigy. Errors had certainly been made in getting him to record heaps of Ray Charles covers for no other reason than he was blind too, he was in danger of becoming a novelty act that failed to acknowledge his skills and accomplishments.
All that changed with the release of ‘Uptight (Everything’s Alright)’, a thumping, jumping hit inspired by the Rolling Stones ‘Satisfaction’. Wonder not only sang and played keyboards on the song, but co-wrote it as well. He was now 15 years old and the stage was set for a long and eventful musical career of songwriting, performing and producing.
Along the way, he would pop up on an incredible number of other people’s songs.
Although they may not have been great hits at the time, or weathered the passage of time, Wonder was already getting plenty of work as a session musician on other Motown artists’ work, starting not long after he’d been signed. His confident, harmonious harmonica playing (in contrast to his contemporary Bob Dylan, who was putting out tracks that sounded as if he’d only picked up the instrument for the first time five minutes before the recording light went on) brightened songs by Sammy Ward and The Velvelettes, and he played bongos for Connie van Dyke, all before his breakthrough hit in 1965.
Come 1966 he was playing drums on ‘Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever’ by the Four Tops, and in 1967 joined Jimi Hendrix to play drums on two BBC session tracks.
By 1970, Wonder had scored a string of hits in his own right and was about to release ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours’ and ‘Heaven Help Us All’. But they wouldn’t be that year’s only hits he’d be associated with. It also saw the release of The Detroit Spinners’ ‘It’s A Shame’, their biggest hit to date, and a song that Wonder not only played drums and keyboards on, but co-wrote and produced too. Not bad for someone on the brink of leaving their teenage years behind.
Amongst others, Wonder would crop up on songs by The Supremes and Martha & The Vandellas over the next couple of years, which, alongside a busy recording and performing schedule in his own right, sounds as if it would have been more than enough for most people. Not for Stevie Wonder, though. 1974 is the year he had hits with ‘Don’t You Worry ’bout A Thing’ and ‘He’s Misstra Know-It-All’, but that didn’t stop him becoming involved with Minnie Ripperton’s album, ‘Perfect Angel’. The record features the number one single ‘Lovin’ You’ with its extraordinary...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!, this will also give you access to the full digital copy of each issue
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full access to this article and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore
How Wonder got to the position of being one of the world’s most sought-after session musicians (on top of a remarkable career in his own right) requires us to take a brief interlude into his past, all the way back to 1950.
Stevie Wonder (the Stevie is short for Stevland) was born in Saginaw, Michigan. Although he wasn’t blind at birth, he was six weeks premature. That, coupled with a brief stay in an incubator, brought on a nasty disease that left him blind. Never knowing any different, he was soon to embrace what he could do rather than be hindered by what he couldn’t.
By the time he was four, his parents were divorcing, and, along with his siblings and mother, he moved to Detroit. There he sang in the church choir and, by age eight, was singing solo. By now he was already comfortable with the harmonica, piano and drums and, along with a friend, would perform in public for whatever they could get. At this point he wasn’t even a teenager.
Then, aged 11, he was signed to Motown’s Tamla label. Because of his incredibly young age it was agreed all royalties would be held in trust until he was older, with a small weekly payment being made to help cover his expenses. The first two albums did poorly, and it wasn’t until 1963 that he began to make a significant impression on the charts. By the following year, with his voice changing through puberty, Motown came close to ditching him. It seemed nobody knew quite what to do with this child prodigy. Errors had certainly been made in getting him to record heaps of Ray Charles covers for no other reason than he was blind too, he was in danger of becoming a novelty act that failed to acknowledge his skills and accomplishments.
All that changed with the release of ‘Uptight (Everything’s Alright)’, a thumping, jumping hit inspired by the Rolling Stones ‘Satisfaction’. Wonder not only sang and played keyboards on the song, but co-wrote it as well. He was now 15 years old and the stage was set for a long and eventful musical career of songwriting, performing and producing.
Along the way, he would pop up on an incredible number of other people’s songs.
Although they may not have been great hits at the time, or weathered the passage of time, Wonder was already getting plenty of work as a session musician on other Motown artists’ work, starting not long after he’d been signed. His confident, harmonious harmonica playing (in contrast to his contemporary Bob Dylan, who was putting out tracks that sounded as if he’d only picked up the instrument for the first time five minutes before the recording light went on) brightened songs by Sammy Ward and The Velvelettes, and he played bongos for Connie van Dyke, all before his breakthrough hit in 1965.
Come 1966 he was playing drums on ‘Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever’ by the Four Tops, and in 1967 joined Jimi Hendrix to play drums on two BBC session tracks.
By 1970, Wonder had scored a string of hits in his own right and was about to release ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours’ and ‘Heaven Help Us All’. But they wouldn’t be that year’s only hits he’d be associated with. It also saw the release of The Detroit Spinners’ ‘It’s A Shame’, their biggest hit to date, and a song that Wonder not only played drums and keyboards on, but co-wrote and produced too. Not bad for someone on the brink of leaving their teenage years behind.
Amongst others, Wonder would crop up on songs by The Supremes and Martha & The Vandellas over the next couple of years, which, alongside a busy recording and performing schedule in his own right, sounds as if it would have been more than enough for most people. Not for Stevie Wonder, though. 1974 is the year he had hits with ‘Don’t You Worry ’bout A Thing’ and ‘He’s Misstra Know-It-All’, but that didn’t stop him becoming involved with Minnie Ripperton’s album, ‘Perfect Angel’. The record features the number one single ‘Lovin’ You’ with its extraordinary...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!, this will also give you access to the full digital copy of each issue
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full access to this article and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 130, Pages 38-41.
