I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1566 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Stevie Wonder, in recognition 

of his ground-breaking musical achievements, activism, and contributions 

to the music industry. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2007 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACKSONLEE of Texas, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. WATT, 

Mr. FATTAH, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

RANGEL, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. CARSON, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. AL

GREEN of Texas, Ms. WATSON, Ms. WATERS, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. 

CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. COHEN, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. 

BERMAN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. MCCOTTER, and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Stevie Wonder, 

in recognition of his ground-breaking musical achievements, activism, and contributions to the music industry. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stevie Wonder Con5 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) Stevland Hardaway Judkins, later known as 

4 Stevie Wonder, born in Saginaw, Michigan to Lula 

5 Mae Hardaway on May 13, 1950, has been a major 

6 figure in the music industry for the past 40 years. 

7 (2) Born prematurely, Stevie Wonder was 

8 placed in an incubator where an excess of oxygen ex9 acerbated a visual condition known as retinopathy of 

10 prematurity, which ultimately caused his blindness. 

11 (3) In 1961, Ronnie White of the Miracles ar12 ranged an audition with Motown Records’ Berry 

13 Gordy Jr, who quickly signed him and named him 

14 ‘‘Little’’ Stevie Wonder. 

15 (4) His first album, ‘‘Little Stevie Wonder: the 

16 12 Year Old Genius’’, made the child a huge star, 

17 and produced a number 1 hit with the single ‘‘Fin18 gertips’’ (Part 2) in 1963. 

19 (5) The following year, Stevie Wonder enrolled 

20 in the Michigan School for the Blind, where he stud21 ied classical piano. 

22 (6) In 1964, Wonder recorded little while his 

23 voiced changed and he returned in 1965 without the 

24 ‘‘Little’’ nickname. 

25 (7) His first recording as a teenager ‘‘Uptight 

26 (Everything’s Alright),’’ which he co-wrote with 


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1 Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy, was a number 3 pop 

2 hit in the United States and hit number 1 on the 

3 rhythm and blues charts; this was the beginning of 

4 a string of number 1 hits that continued unbroken 

5 for over 6 years. 

6 (8) Stevie Wonder co-wrote almost all of his 

7 singles from 1967 onwards, and collaborated with 

8 some of the most notable Motown artists. 

9 (9) Shortly after reaching his 21st birthday in 

10 the spring of 1971, his recording contract with 

11 Motown Records expired, and he conditioned his re12 turn on obtaining complete artistic control of his 

13 records. 

14 (10) Motown Records agreed and he became 

15 the youngest artist with the ability to artistically 

16 control his career. 

17 (11) In 1976, Stevie Wonder’s double album 

18 ‘‘Songs in the Key of Life’’ was another huge critical 

19 commercial success with 2 number 1 pop hits, ‘‘Sir 

20 Duke’’ and ‘‘I Wish’’, as well as the classic ‘‘Isn’t 

21 She Lovely’’. 

22 (12) With no new music for the next 3 years, 

23 aside from the release of the mostly instrumental 

24 soundtrack to the documentary The Secret Life Of 

25 Plants in 1979, he returned to pop with ‘‘Hotter 


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1 Than July’’ in 1980, which included the United 

2 States pop Top 5 hit ‘‘Masterblaster (Jamming)’’. 

3 (13) ‘‘Hotter Than July’’ also included the hit 

4 single ‘‘Happy Birthday,’’ which Stevie Wonder, one 

5 of the main figures in the campaign to have the 

6 birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. become a 

7 national holiday, used to popularize the movement. 

8 (14) Wonder, along with the Congressional 

9 Black Caucus and other civil rights organizations, 

10 hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981 

11 in Washington, D.C., where he was joined by a 

12 peaceful crowd of 50,000 supporters, and such per13 sonalities as Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Jesse 

14 Jackson, and Gil Scott-Heron. 

15 (15) The first Martin Luther King Day was 

16 celebrated on January 15, 1986, with a concert 

17 headlined by Stevie Wonder. 

18 (16) Stevie Wonder pioneered the use of the 

19 synthesizer in rhythm and blues, and also broadened 

20 his lyrics to encompass racial problems and spiritual 

21 concerns. 

22 (17) In his acceptance speech as the recipient 

23 of the 1984 Oscar for Best Song, he dedicated his 

24 award to then imprisoned civil rights leader Nelson 


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1 Mandela; the South African government promptly 

2 banned Wonder’s music from that country. 

3 (18) In 1985, Stevie Wonder performed on the 

4 number 1 charity singles ‘‘We Are the World’’ by 

5 USA for Africa and ‘‘That’s What Friends Are For’’ 

6 by Dionne Warwick & Friends; both songs raised 

7 awareness about famine in Africa and the AIDS epi8 demic, respectively. 

9 (19) Stevie Wonder returned quickly with the 

10 new album, ‘‘Characters’’ in 1987 which was a hit 

11 on the rhythm and blues side, topping the album 

12 charts and producing a number 1 hit in ‘‘Skeletons.’’ 

13 and was his final release of the 1980s. 

14 (20) He returned in 1991 with the soundtrack 

15 to the Spike Lee film, Jungle Fever, and his next 

16 full album was 1995’s ‘‘Conversation Peace’’. 

17 (21) He won two Grammy’s for the single ‘‘For 

18 Your Love’’. 

19 (22) Since then, Motown has released a number 

20 of re-masters and compilations to continue Wonder’s 

21 vast legacy. 

22 (23) ‘‘A Time to Love’’, Wonder’s first new 

23 album in 10 years, was released in 2005. 

24 (24) Stevie Wonder has recorded more than 30 

25 Top10 hits, won 22 Grammy Awards (a record for 


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1 a solo artist), including a Grammy Lifetime Achieve2 ment Award and has been inducted into both the 

3 Rock and Roll and the Songwriters Halls of Fame. 

4 (25) He is the recipient of countless other 

5 awards and honors such as the U.S. Distinguished 

6 Service Award, 1999 MusiCares Person of the Year, 

7 Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards 

8 Lifetime Achievement, NAACP Image Award, 

9 United in Recovery’s Ambassador of Peace Award, 

10 and an ASCAP Founders Award. 

11 (26) Stevie Wonder has become one of the most 

12 successful and well-known artists in the world, with 

13 9 United States number 1 hits to his name and 

14 album sales totaling more than 100,000,000 units. 

15 (27) Stevie Wonder has also been active in such 

16 social causes as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the 

17 Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, and his annual 

18 House Full of Toys Benefit Concert and he is a 

19 leading figure in the ‘‘Charge Against Hunger’’ in 

20 conjunction with American Express, which has 

21 raised over $150,000,000 dollars to feed nearly 

22 6,000,000 underprivileged people yearly. 

23 (28) At age 49, Stevie Wonder was the young24 est-ever recipient in the 22-year history of Kennedy 

25 Center Honors, given annually for lifetime contribuVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:50 Mar 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1566.IH H1566

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1 tion to arts and culture, and presented to Stevie 

2 Wonder by President Bill Clinton in Washington 

3 D.C., December 5, 1999. 

4 (29) On October 17th, 2006, Stevie Wonder re5 ceived a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Na6 tional Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. 

7 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

8 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

9 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem10 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

11 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 

12 medal of appropriate design to Stevie Wonder, in recogni13 tion of his ground-breaking musical achievements, activ14 ism, and contributions to the music industry. 

15 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

16 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

17 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec18 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

19 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec20 retary. 

21 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

22 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

23 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 

24 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

25 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 


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1 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

2 and the cost of the gold medal. 

3 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

4 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu5 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

6 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

7 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

8 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

9 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

10 items. 

11 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

12 SALE. 

13 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

14 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

15 Public Enterprise Fund, such amounts as may be nec16 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

17 to this Act. 

18 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

19 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

20 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

21 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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