Talk:Stevie Wonder/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

Additional facts, current career

I think it would be useful to mention several additional facts about Mr Wonder - for example his skills as a musician and composer (he's far more than just a singer) or the way he has coped with blindness. Maybe someone who has read a bit more about him would care to elaborate... otherwise I'll have to get round to some research.
I think it would also be good to make clear that his career still continues - the final paragraph makes it sound like a posthumous review. 195.107.47.196 15:56 Apr 14, 2003 (UTC)

The above mentioned final paragraph was fixed 16 September 2003.

There is an incomplete sentence in the first paragraph:

American music magazine Rolling Stone named the ninth greatest singer of all time.

The word "him" or "Wonder" should come after "named."

Discography

The song "Sunset" should be added to the discography. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.170.193.188 (talk • contribs) 00:43, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

If you think so, then do it. Wasted Time R 22:48, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Plays bass guitar, not guitar

I changed guitar to bass guitar in the Infobox (it had already been changed in the introduction of the article).
Wonder's bass guitar playing is well known, but I haven't found him playing the (six-string) guitar being mentioned anywhere.
I have no record covers or other reference (except the Internet) handy, but my guess is that if Wonder is credited anywhere for playing guitar, it is an odd occurance and not enough to call him a guitar player. Therefore, guitar shouldn't be mentioned in the list of instruments he plays. --Alderin 18:52, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

I thought Stevie did play guitar, and played bass lines on keyboard? I have a copy of 'Innervisions' with me which states Stevie plays all instruments on some tracks, eg 'Higher Ground', 'Living For The City', etc. And isn't the 'Superstition' riff his, too?Wwwhhh 03:10, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Guitar on "Superstition" is Jeff Beck. --Stlemur 21:59, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Wrong, "Superstition" is one of the finest examples how to play a Hohner Clavinet. It slightly resembles a guitar, but is a keyboard. On "Higher Ground", you won't find a guitar either - it's a combination of synthesizers with the Clavinet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.177.81.235 (talk) 19:41, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

Incorrect Redirect?

Both the phrases "Shes a bad mama jama" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama" redirect to this article. I was under the impression that Carl Carlton was the artist that sang She's a Bad Mama Jama. Am I incorrect? Did Wonder write the song?--Dgrotto 07:07, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

No, you're not incorrect, that song is sung by Carl Carlton. I don't think Wonder wrote the song...--Mblovestix 17:36, 12 November 2006

Jungle Fever question

Does anyone know how I can get a copy of the song Stevie sang as the credits rolled after Jungle Fever. It was a beautiful track but not featured on the movie soundtrack. Thanks in advance. Mark in Dominica

I believe it's called "Feeding Off The Love of the Land." Apparently it was originally written and produced for the Talking Book album, but never released, except as the b-side to the Jungle Fever's "Gotta Have You" single. Ystonem (talk) 14:12, 2 December 2009 (UTC)

It's also on an album called Nobody's Child without strings, just piano and two vocal tracks.

Commercial Period

Attention wikipedia denizens. I added the "commercial period section". I've been to many forums and discussions (Berekely 1999, NYU 2003, etc) that discussed Wonder's career and those at the forum kept referring to 1980-1990 as his "commercial period". I think this is obvious to me, that this period is where his 70s work set the stage to expose people to his popular works, and then this fame allowed his permeation into pop culture.

However if the moderators which to strike this for not providing proper referencing i understand, although I think it would be doing this artist's record a diservice; grouping his ascent into fame in the 80s with his less-impactful 90s-and-beyond work obfuscates this important phase of his career.

Picture

What happened to the picture? It doesn't show Stevie, but someone named Craig Moffat! /M

Early career?

There doesn't seem to be anything in this article about his career in the 1960s. Didn't he sign with Motown at 11 and have hits in his teens?--T. Anthony 12:00, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Amen! With over 10 Top 10s before 1972, I think the early part of his career bears some fleshing out. Anybody up for it? Iamvered 19:44, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Left handed?

i was looking for information, if stevie wonder is right or left-handed ... does anybody have a clue? his amazing left hand piano technique and unusual moog keyboard bass lines give me the impression he might be left-handed.

i also don't think he plays the bass. both his "guitar" and "bass" playing are actually keyboards, and on most songs that have an electric/acoustic bass nathan watts is credited as the bass player...

also on superstition there's no guitar, the sound that seems to be a guitar is actually a (hohner?) clavinet, all intruments except sax and trumpet are played by SW himself . jeff beck plays on another song ("looking for another pure love") on the same album.

i was looking for information, if stevie wonder is right or left-handed ... does anybody have a clue? his amazing left hand piano technique and unusual moog keyboard bass lines give me the impression he might be left-handed.

i also don't think he plays the bass. both his "guitar" and "bass" playing are actually keyboards, and on most songs that have an electric/acoustic bass nathan watts is credited as the bass player...

also on superstition there's no guitar, the sound that seems to be a guitar is actually a (hohner?) clavinet, all intruments except sax and trumpet are played by SW himself . jeff beck plays on another song ("looking for another pure love") on the same album —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.37.25.135 (talk • contribs) 02:16, January 25, 2007 (UTC)

Early career AND bass playing

I agree that more stuff should be added about his early career - I wish I could do something to help. Tying in with other comments, wasn't the British (jazz) bass player Malcolm Cecil closely associated with Stevie's early career and/or classic period? 83.191.57.3 22:39, 27 January 2007 (UTC) (Sorry, that wasn't signed - Technopat 22:41, 27 January 2007 (UTC))

While on the subject, in the early career section it mentions that he also wrote material for his label mates. Can someone please provide examples? Thanx. --Technopat 16:20, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Stevie plays synth bass you dolts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.51.172.65 (talk) 03:13, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

More required

Should be something on the origin of his stage name. Did Berry Gordy personally devise it? Is there anything on record from him as to how he devised/chose that name for Stevie?

For the sake of completeness we should list the dates/names of his marriages/wives. And the names and birthdates of all of his children (and identify their mothers). No need to put in unnecessary info about his personal life. Just the factual points.

Davidpatrick 04:19, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Why does someone as great as Stevie Wonder collaborate with gangsta rap musicians?

I mean, Stevie is an icon. Why does he play music in the albums of some of these gangsta rap musician with violent gang connections, which is antithetical to Stevie's positive social views? AppleJuggler 10:55, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Basically,they are all in it to make money including Stevie. You could also argue that his participation on American Idol cheapened his status. The guy has to make the rent Paul210 11:11, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Oh well, I guess you're right. AppleJuggler 03:50, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Well consider this just a FYI note. I mean it clearly says: "This is not a forum for general discussion about the article's subject" above on this very same discussion/talk page, and since this talk-entry is clearly not related to Stevie Wonder's Wikipedia page... --best regards Wayfarer-Talk | on July 13, 2009 | at 23:26 GMT —Preceding undated comment added 22:26, 13 July 2009 (UTC).

--Wayfarer-Talk | July 13, 2009 | 23:28 GMT —Preceding undated comment added 22:31, 13 July 2009 (UTC).

Yes, the music is antithetical to his views, but understanding stevie's musical and social history would help to answer this question. Stevie is a musician first and has always respect the craft of other musicians from covering Bob Dylan and Ray Charles to having his music sampled by Coolio in "Gansta's Paradise" (which is more positive than people give credit) and others. Also, many of the rappers despite the connections are socially conscious (not that makes everything right). About him on American Idol, believe it or not its the American Bandstand of our generation and he was promoting a cd. Is that any less than doing the talk show circuit and performing on all those different outlets. ErnDawg08 18:37, 6 May 2007 (UTC)ErnDawg08

I agree with you there regarding his involvement in American Idol. If Stevie thinks American Idol is a good platform to introduce his album to a wider audience, it's perfectly fine. It's only rational to seek for the best possible way to reach out to the widest possible audience, and this applies to Stevie or others. However, with regard to the rappers he associated with -- I disagree with your point. It is hypocritical for rap musicians who are involved in violence to appear 'socially conscious'. It is ridiculous isn't it, when actions speak louder than words. You lead by example! So these rappers hold no moral currency and are poor role models (and possibly dangerous ones too, as youngsters may think that it is alright to behave badly so long as one preaches good things!). Stevie Wonder, on the other hand, can be said to be a good example for children. He was even invited to perform on Sesame Street in the 1970s. I doubt most of these gangsta rappers will be invited to perform on Sesame Street or any other children's show, and I'm certainly against my children listening to this type of rap musicians -- not only are these musicians poor role models, but their songs contain sexually explicit or violent lyrics. Even if they sing some 'socially conscious' songs, I wouldn't want my kids to adulate men who shoot or fight in the streets. So I find Paul210's explanation for Stevie's association with these musicians to be the most plausible. AppleJuggler 13:20, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

User:diddat Rap music, like most other forms of music, allows the creator to express whats going on in his / her enviroment, much like the news, so why should Mr. wonder judge the next artist for his or her view of the world around them! Stop blamming rap for all the worlds problems, besides George Bush has taken care of that for us! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.111.204.190 (talk) 02:50, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Information on Albums + Tonality

I find one thing lacking in the information on this page, which is the information of collaborations, problems (if any) faced when producing his albums as well as any conflicts that surfaced when he did his albums. This page contains a lot of information on which of his songs winning what awards and being what place on the charts, but it is seriously lacking information on his personal life.

Some of the article's sentences seem to be rather biased, using subjective words and sounding like a fan-made article. Could someone good with words and situations like these look into this?

Thanks! =)

202.172.242.168 09:35, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

I think the above commenter has a good point. We need to professionalise the article and try to remedy sentences that are considered more of fan-gush rather than objective statements. Could someone please carefully review this article? AppleJuggler 01:51, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

The Birthdate of Stevie's Child Mandla Kadjay Carl Stevland Morris

In the personal life section of the article you have Mandla's birthdate as the same as his father. Yes, he was born on May 13th; but its impossible for him to born in the same year as his father. According to all of the references that I have found, Mandla Kadjay Carl Stevland Morris's birthday is May 13, 2005.

ErnDawg08 18:29, 6 May 2007 (UTC)ErnDawg08 May 6, 2007

Thanks - fixed that and added some more info. There are apparently seven children; only 3 accounted for - more info appreciated. Tvoz |talk 18:47, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Citations not leading anywhere

There are several (7) referenced citations. However the anchors don't exist any longer. Where did they go? --83.79.166.252 23:45, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

Article contradicts itself

The article states that he signed on to Motown at age 11 (at the top) but in the early career section then states that he was discovered at age 12 by a Motown musician.

62.42.24.206 15:41, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Article is not NPOV and contains peacock terms

The article does not have a point of view appropriate for an encyclopedia; I've removed some peacock terminology, but it still dips into subjective adjectives a bit too much. Yes, he's a well-respected musician. It doesn't mean you deviate from factual information. [17:58, August 10, 2007 76.19.97.38]

This article was obviously written by a Stevie Wonder fan and reads more like a biased press release than an encyclopeda article. I recommend that it be rewritten from scratch. 76.66.126.164 (talk) 14:20, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Instruments, handedness, keys, influence

Stevie does not play bass guitar as far as I know. But he plays bass on synthesizers on many of his greatest recordings. As far as questions regarding whether or not he is left or right handed, I have seen him recording bass parts in the studio, and he uses both hands to make those incredible parts. His bass style on synth is both original and often imitated.

One mistake in the article I noticed, is that "Superstition" and "I Wish" are not in E flat. If I recall correctly, Superstition is in B minor, and I Wish is in D minor.

I was the producer and arranger of Jon Gibson's remake of "Have A Talk With God." Jon was signed to Solar records around the same time I was, and sang on my first solo record "Wolf." Stevie also contributed harmonica to that album on one track, "Soaring." I had previously worked for Stevie for almost three years in the studio as a synthesizer programmer. We remain friends to this day, and he is definitely a major influence on my music.

Nope, Superstition and I Wish are both in E flat minor. I don't know where you got your keys unless you never listened to the songs. And I'm sure he can play bass guitar, there's a picture on the internet of him playing bass and a video on youtube of him playing Stevie Ray Vaughn's guitar, most of the stuff he plays is on the bass strings which leads me to believe that he can play bass. The stuff he plays in the video doesn't sound very good to me but he know's a bit, I doubt he's good enough to put his bass or guitar playing on his recordings because he never released any tracks with him playing those instruments, he always had someone else do them. And Stevie did learn from the best bass player ever, James Jamerson, that should be in the article, I'm not sure how directly he learned from Jamerson but Stevie was definitely around Jamerson in the studio when Jamerson was doing what he does best. His influence can definitely be heard on Stevie's bass playing.

76.83.199.134 17:07, 16 August 2007 (UTC)Bill Wolfer

reverted / deleted text

Have reverted to the previous version and eliminated the following text as it does not fit in the paragraph. Please fix the date and wikify the text before including it in a more appropriate section of the article.

In 19876, Stevie Wonder was introduced to guitar legend Edmund Darris http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Darris in Los Angeles by Stevie's brother. Darris submitted a demo tape to his idol but Stevie was not very impressed with Darris' music. The next year, Stevie Wonder met with Darris againin St. Louis at the Keil Auditorium, although they never collaborated, Stevie welcomed Darris into an elite cirle of musical greats.

--Technopat 07:27, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Random

Should we mention that he was the youngest to ever be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at age 39. And the youngest to recieve the Kennedy Center honor at age 49.

Cultural references

In the 1980s cult movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a student claims that a supposedly deathly ill Ferris Bueller is going to donate his eyes to Stevie Wonder, making reference to the singer's blindness.

In Twista's song, "Hope", he says, "See the vision of the world through the eyes of Stevie Wonder."

In The Game's song, "Dreams", he says "I had dreams of makin' a classic, then my world turned black like I was lookin' out of Stevie Wonder's glasses."

In one of the songs in Ludacris' album, Release Therapy, he says "I'd give my eyes to Stevie Wonder just to see what he seen, then I'd take em right back to see Martin Luther's dream."

In Lil Waynes Freestyle To The Upgrade You Instrumental he mentions "They Cannot See Me They Are Like Stevie"

In the original Die Hard movie, Bruce Willis makes a wise crack about one of the cops who pulls up to the building, saying: "Who's driving this car, Stevie Wonder?" and is later repeated in the Eddie Murphy film Vampire in Brooklyn in the first scene when an abandoned ship crashes into the New York dockyards, the on-duty ship inspector shouts: "Who's piloting this ship?! Stevie fucking Wonder?!!"

In The Fresh Prince of Bel Air episode where a woman is going to marry a white man but the family was not told of it and she felt nobody would care, she was told "Who did you think you were bringing your fianceé home to, Stevie Wonder?"

Paul McCartney's "Red Rose Speedway" Album has "We Love You Stevie" in Braille on the original back cover of the vinyl record.

India.Arie made a song entitled "Wonderful" on her debut album Acoustic Soul, which she dedicated to Stevie Wonder.

Stevie Wonder appeared in a poster warning of the dangers of drunk driving which he referred to his own blindness by saying "Before I ever get in a car with a drunk driver, I will drive myself."

In the Grandmaster Flash song "Dreamin'" from the 1982 album The Message, the band dedicates the song to Stevie. In Stevie Wonder style, the band sings how they dream about (being like) him.

The song "Isn't She Lovely" was used in two episodes of the NBC sitcom Scrubs. The first time was the episode "My Life in Four Cameras", as Clay Aiken guest starred and performed the song in a talent show. The song is also Carla and Turk's special "song." The second time was the episode "My Friend With Money".

In the movie High Fidelity, the character Barry harangues a customer who comes in to purchase "I Just Called to Say I Love You" then rhetorically asks how Stevie Wonder's later output would compare to his previous accomplishments.

Per the Wikipedia:Avoid trivia sections in articles guideline, I've migrated this section here so that it may be sourced, then integrated into the article with encyclopedic context where, and if, appropriate. Yamaguchi先生 01:10, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Citations & References

See Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags Nhl4hamilton (talk) 09:31, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Deaf

Yeah... Stevie Wonder is blind. Not deaf, as the article says. I'm pretty sure a deaf person would have trouble composing music.

Yeah, Beethoven and Smetana sucked. :rollseyes: Funkeboy (talk) 05:27, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Stevie Wonder was not deaf. Also, a large part of the reason that Beethoven and Smetana were still able to compose was that they were both already composing before they went deaf, and had become musically advanced enough to continue composing after becoming deaf. Someone who was born deaf would likely have a bit more trouble composing music. William Rehtworc (talk) 05:02, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

diagnossed vision loss

According to this article, Stevie Wonder had "cataracts and "eac one grew"behind the eye". The page on retynopathy of prematurity says he had this "disease" instead. Cataracts and retinopathy of prematurity are tw completely different thigns. I have retinopathy of prematurity and the organ which is affected is the retina, not my cataracts. My retina is fractioned (due to excessive eye growth) thus reducing my vision. i would like for anyone to check and verify or establish his case on his cause for blindness. thanks 72.188.180.87 (talk) 02:08, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

I always thought that cataracts were now cureable a simple operation. They replace the lens with something plastic right? I'm just wondering why he can't be cured it's not like his optic nerves or retinas aren't functioning ... right?

And you forgot to sign your comment. Interesting point, although i wish I knew if the vission loss occurred to retinopathy of prematurity or cataracts. As for sure, Retinopathy of prematurity is extremely hard to "cure" and very few centers specialize on this kind of operation. Also, you must keep on mind that being able to see again has just the same impact on someone as going completely blind. You must learn how to use this sense and develop it. I have not been able to see and I would be shocked to my core if I could; however, this doesn't make anything easier since i would have to learn how things look like, how to distinguish them, how to focus the eye, things like that. On another note I don't believe that would do his career much good, although he's not been growing much into popularity, despite his efforts at American Idol and the like. 72.188.180.87 (talk) 02:39, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

I've added a source to the article which makes it clear that retinopathy of prematurity was the cause of his blindeness, not cataracts. Pawnkingthree (talk) 11:00, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Anosmia

The wikipedia article on Anosmia says Stevie Wonder is Anosmic. Any truth to this? -OOPSIE- (talk) 02:29, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

Smell

According to http://rulefortytwo.com/secret-rock-knowledge/chapter-1/stevie-wonder-lost-his-sense-of-smell/ author Gavin Edwards, who also put out a book on rock n roll (urban) legends, stevie wonder recovered from the loss of his sense of smell. Note this is in the classic period of the page, where the reference is to a 1973 car accident. I did not edit the main page. Centerone (talk) 07:29, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

I changed so that the article now states what Gavin Edwards claims. Hopefully he´s correct. At least it's a reference...(the lack thereof is a big problem for this article, I think). From Gavin Edwards: "Fortunately, Wonder largely recovered. “I lost my sense of smell a little bit..."" ...so I guess Stevie lost some of his sense of smell, but far from all. (Njaker (talk) 16:57, 22 October 2008 (UTC))

Muscle Beach Party?

Why does this page ignore his first movie role, Muscle Beach Party? It was in 1964, when he was only like 15 or 14. Don't you think this article should mention that? He was literally the only black person in the entire film.PokeHomsar (talk) 02:36, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

instruments

I think the list of instruments listed in the first paragraph that Stevie plays is too long. It seems superfluous to note that he plays piano AND synth AND clavinet AND melodica. The same applies to drums, congas, and bongos. I move that the sentence be rewritten to the effect of "Wonder primarily plays the keyboards and harmonica." The info box could remain as is. Thoughts? Bro2baseball (talk) 04:56, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Impact

Not sure that this section is really necessary - if anything, each artist named here must be referenced i.e. the article or whatever in which said impact/influence was stated. Feedback? --Technopat (talk) 10:40, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

I agree totally. Either get references to every single artist named to be influenced by Wonder, or else remove it. And perhaps the Impact-section should get more sub-headers..."Collaborations" or something. Too much unreferenced stuff in this article over all by the way. Njaker (talk) 07:30, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

Corey Glover, frontman of the funk metal band Living Colour, was influenced by Stevie Wonder as well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.238.235.215 (talk) 03:16, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

We have a piano of yours and was wondering if you would like it back!:)

Hello,

My name is Crystal. I am writing on behalf of Walter and Rita Hagmann in Florida. I know of no way to contact you personally. I only hope that you receive this sometime. Rita and Walter Hagmann used to live next door to you in New York around 1975. It was at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Walter was one of the managers at the hotel at the time for many years.Walter and you , I am told, used to be great friends and would hang out together. They have pictures of you and one of your children playing with one of their children so young, maybe about 1 year old or less, they are in a playpen playing together. They have great pictures of you about 25 years old I believe, talking on the phone with these shades on, it looks like it has a musical note on one of the lenses. They have a piano of yours, that you gave them at the time. I believe your grandfather had given it to you. It was moved from the Fifth Ave. Hotel back then, all the way to Boca Raton, Florida where Rita resides.It might be of some sentimental value to you and we were wondering if you would like it back. It needs to be retuned and finished though after all of these years. It is a William Tonk and Brothers piano. It says Patent, June 16, 1908 on it.I asked her to get the serial number on it too. I am located in Orlando,Florida and I am a friend of theirs. Any other information you need, or if you just want your piano back, please let us know. We would be more than happy to see it returned to its rightful owner!:)No charge, of course!!lol!

My email is [removed]@aol.com Thank you I hope you get this —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.121.143.202 (talk) 00:05, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

Even if this was a contact page for Stevie Wonder, he'd hardly be able to read it, would he? I removed your email address as it isn't wise to leave that lying around. You'd have better luck contacting him through his website or record label or something. 86.8.176.85 (talk) 07:02, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Inappropriate text in Discovery and Early Motown Recordings section

I'm new to Wikipedia but I was reading this article since Stevie Wonder just got the Gershwin Award. In the Discovery and Early Motown Recordings section, it starts out with facts and then says "In 1961, at the age of eleven, Wonder was discovered singing outside a street corner by a im bored" I do not have the correct information to delete the "im bored" part and don't know how to remove it until someone who does can post it. In the meantime, it's disrespectful. Thank you for any help you can give. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.108.25.222 (talk) 02:20, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Notable/Historical Grammy Info

These distinctions are mentioned on the page for "Album of the Year." Being that Wonder is a notable Grammy winner, being among those with most wins, this is very relevant. However, it would be ridiculous to mention all of the records and distinctions that can be attributed to his Grammy wins. Therefore, I think the below distinctions should be mentioned. They concern his most prestigious Grammy wins for the most prestigious Grammy award "Album of the Year."

The distinctions are worded as follows wheer mentioned on the [["Grammy Award for Album of the Year"]] page: Wonder is among the Grammy <nowiki>"Big Three," as he is one of only three people in history to hold the highest count of Grammy Awards for Album of the Year. Wonder, Paul McCartney and Paul Simon share this title with him for three Grammys won in this category.

&

"Wonder holds the distinctions of "Most Grammys for Album of the Year in One Decade," with three - also, "Highest Count of Proximal Consecutive and/or Nonconsecutive Wins of Grammys for Album of the Year," with three between 1974 and 1977, two consecutive, one nonconsecutive."</nowiki> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.20.131.39 (talk) 23:06, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

Stevie Wonder a countertenor?!

I do not think Stevie Wonder voice type should be classified as "countertenor". This normally means someone singing the alto part (g3-g5) in classical music (see corresponding entry in Wikipedia). Stevie Wonder has roughly a three-octave range (f#2-f#5), which extends far lower the countertenor range, and in any case applying these categories to pop/rock singers is misleading because they are allowed far more freedom in voice production -- for example one can use notes that are far lower even if they are a bit breathy or very soft -- the microphone will still make them audible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.153.164.247 (talk) 00:38, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

stevie wonders picture

change stevie wonders picture please the one before was better than this one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stevie_Wonder_2.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by Clifffrichard (talk • contribs) 01:28, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

Category: TM Practitioner?

If any editors would like to add something about Stevie's practice of TM they may also add the above category, but only if it is felt that it is relevant and notable to the article. Here is one source where it is mentioned.[1]-- — Kbob • Talk • 19:58, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

editsemiprotected

Dr. Henry Panion was not the music director during the 2007. He was the orchestra conductor during the Natural Wonder European/US tours of 1992-95 when Stevie toured with a 50 piece orchestra. He was also the conductor on the Live Natural Wonder album. Stevie hasn't toured with an orchestra since 1997. Stevie's music diector is Nate Watts. He's been his MD and friend for over 30 years. He's also the bass player. I know this to be true as I have been Stevie FOH Mixing engineer for the last 19 years.

Danny Leake```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.20.20.134 (talk) 03:01, 3 November 2009 (UTC)

Edit Request

{{editsemiprotected}}Please change ,"The product of a premature birth, the blood vessels at the back of his eyes had not yet reached the front, and their aborted growth caused the retinas to detach." to " The product of a six week premature birth, the blood vessels at the back of his eyes had not yet reached the front, and their aborted growth caused the retinas to detach."
Cited in Werner, Craig. Higher Ground. New York: Crown Publishers, 2004. Print.

Sources for the article

Here is a place where people can place sources. There is a remarkably good documentary here in seven clips that is not only really, really interesting, but gives references and insight to Stevie Wonder and each of the musicians he hand-picked to work on his pioneering album, Songs in the Key of Life. It shows the various groundbreaking techniques that were used (many that can't be heard on this concept album without listening very carefully), and has lots of quotes from people who contributed (like Herbie Hancock) and others, like Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, and other more contemporary artists. It names all the performers who were the core group working on the album, and the detail that is discussed and shown, creating this album, also, would be outstanding for the album page, too. In sections, they are here: [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]. I think I'll copy this note to the album talk page, but for any editor, the info here is essential to grasping Stevie's willlingness to experiment with new musical territory. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 15:54, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

Edit Request

{{editsemiprotected}} Please change "In 1961, at the age of eleven, Wonder was discovered singing outside a street corner by a relative of The Miracles' Ronnie White, who was later introduced to Wonder." to "In 1961, at the age of eleven, Wonder was discovered singing at a friend's house by Gerald White, Ronnie White's brother of the Miracles, who later introduced Wonder to Berry Gordy."
Cited in Werner, Craig. Higher Ground. New York: Crown Publishers, 2004. Print.

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3