5 Surprising Facts About Popular R&B Singer, Stevie Wonder

With his wonderful voice, Stevie Wonder has serenaded admirers all over the world. Stevland Hardaway Judkins was born on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan, to Lula Mae Hardaway, an American songwriter, and Calvin Judkins, a United States Army personnel, glamsquad reports 

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He was the third of his mother’s five children. He was born prematurely and became blind in the hospital incubator. When he was four years old, his mother divorced his father, and the family relocated to Detroit, where he attended Fitzgerald Elementary School.

It was here that he began singing in the Whitestone Baptist Church choir. His mother then changed her surname to Morris, and he kept the name for the rest of his life. He began playing the piano, harmonica, and drums at a young age.

1. ‘I Wish’ is an autobiographical song

   The award-winning composition from his 1976 album “Songs in the Key of Life” is based on his own life experiences.

2. The 60 best-selling music artists

   With over 100 million records sold, he is one of the 60 best-selling music artists from the second half of the 20th century.

3. He was banned in South Africa

   For accepting his 1985 Academy Award in the name of Nelson Mandela, he was banned by the South African government and radio channels.

4. He won for three consecutive albums

   Wonder is the only musician to have received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year three times in a row.

5. He also has partial loss of smell

   Owing to a car crash in 1973, he also partially lost his sense of smell.