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. JACKSON- 
LEE 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 Massachu-
setts) 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 achieve-
ments, activism, and contributions to the music industry. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stevie Wonder Con-
gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Stevland Hardaway Judkins, later known as 
Stevie Wonder, born in Saginaw, Michigan to Lula 
Mae Hardaway on May 13, 1950, has been a major 
figure in the music industry for the past 40 years. 
(2) Born prematurely, Stevie Wonder was 
placed in an incubator where an excess of oxygen ex-
acerbated a visual condition known as retinopathy of 
prematurity, which ultimately caused his blindness. 
(3) In 1961, Ronnie White of the Miracles ar-
ranged an audition with Motown Records’ Berry 
Gordy Jr, who quickly signed him and named him 
‘‘Little’’ Stevie Wonder. 
(4) His first album, ‘‘Little Stevie Wonder: the 
12 Year Old Genius’’, made the child a huge star, 
and produced a number 1 hit with the single ‘‘Fin-
gertips’’ (Part 2) in 1963. 
(5) The following year, Stevie Wonder enrolled 
in the Michigan School for the Blind, where he stud-
ied classical piano. 
(6) In 1964, Wonder recorded little while his 
voiced changed and he returned in 1965 without the 
‘‘Little’’ nickname. 
(7) His first recording as a teenager ‘‘Uptight 
(Everything’s Alright),’’ which he co-wrote with 
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Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy, was a number 3 pop 
hit in the United States and hit number 1 on the 
rhythm and blues charts; this was the beginning of 
a string of number 1 hits that continued unbroken 
for over 6 years. 
(8) Stevie Wonder co-wrote almost all of his 
singles from 1967 onwards, and collaborated with 
some of the most notable Motown artists. 
(9) Shortly after reaching his 21st birthday in 
the spring of 1971, his recording contract with 
Motown Records expired, and he conditioned his re-
turn on obtaining complete artistic control of his 
records. 
(10) Motown Records agreed and he became 
the youngest artist with the ability to artistically 
control his career. 
(11) In 1976, Stevie Wonder’s double album 
‘‘Songs in the Key of Life’’ was another huge critical 
commercial success with 2 number 1 pop hits, ‘‘Sir 
Duke’’ and ‘‘I Wish’’, as well as the classic ‘‘Isn’t 
She Lovely’’. 
(12) With no new music for the next 3 years, 
aside from the release of the mostly instrumental 
soundtrack to the documentary The Secret Life Of 
Plants in 1979, he returned to pop with ‘‘Hotter 
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Than July’’ in 1980, which included the United 
States pop Top 5 hit ‘‘Masterblaster (Jamming)’’. 
(13) ‘‘Hotter Than July’’ also included the hit 
single ‘‘Happy Birthday,’’ which Stevie Wonder, one 
of the main figures in the campaign to have the 
birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. become a 
national holiday, used to popularize the movement. 
(14) Wonder, along with the Congressional 
Black Caucus and other civil rights organizations, 
hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981 
in Washington, D.C., where he was joined by a 
peaceful crowd of 50,000 supporters, and such per-
sonalities as Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Jesse 
Jackson, and Gil Scott-Heron. 
(15) The first Martin Luther King Day was 
celebrated on January 15, 1986, with a concert 
headlined by Stevie Wonder. 
(16) Stevie Wonder pioneered the use of the 
synthesizer in rhythm and blues, and also broadened 
his lyrics to encompass racial problems and spiritual 
concerns. 
(17) In his acceptance speech as the recipient 
of the 1984 Oscar for Best Song, he dedicated his 
award to then imprisoned civil rights leader Nelson 
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Mandela; the South African government promptly 
banned Wonder’s music from that country. 
(18) In 1985, Stevie Wonder performed on the 
number 1 charity singles ‘‘We Are the World’’ by 
USA for Africa and ‘‘That’s What Friends Are For’’ 
by Dionne Warwick & Friends; both songs raised 
awareness about famine in Africa and the AIDS epi-
demic, respectively. 
(19) Stevie Wonder returned quickly with the 
new album, ‘‘Characters’’ in 1987 which was a hit 
on the rhythm and blues side, topping the album 
charts and producing a number 1 hit in ‘‘Skeletons.’’ 
and was his final release of the 1980s. 
(20) He returned in 1991 with the soundtrack 
to the Spike Lee film, Jungle Fever, and his next 
full album was 1995’s ‘‘Conversation Peace’’. 
(21) He won two Grammy’s for the single ‘‘For 
Your Love’’. 
(22) Since then, Motown has released a number 
of re-masters and compilations to continue Wonder’s 
vast legacy. 
(23) ‘‘A Time to Love’’, Wonder’s first new 
album in 10 years, was released in 2005. 
(24) Stevie Wonder has recorded more than 30 
Top10 hits, won 22 Grammy Awards (a record for 
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a solo artist), including a Grammy Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award and has been inducted into both the 
Rock and Roll and the Songwriters Halls of Fame. 
(25) He is the recipient of countless other 
awards and honors such as the U.S. Distinguished 
Service Award, 1999 MusiCares Person of the Year, 
Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards 
Lifetime 
Achievement, 
NAACP 
Image 
Award, 
United in Recovery’s Ambassador of Peace Award, 
and an ASCAP Founders Award. 
(26) Stevie Wonder has become one of the most 
successful and well-known artists in the world, with 
9 United States number 1 hits to his name and 
album sales totaling more than 100,000,000 units. 
(27) Stevie Wonder has also been active in such 
social causes as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the 
Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, and his annual 
House Full of Toys Benefit Concert and he is a 
leading figure in the ‘‘Charge Against Hunger’’ in 
conjunction with American Express, which has 
raised over $150,000,000 dollars to feed nearly 
6,000,000 underprivileged people yearly. 
(28) At age 49, Stevie Wonder was the young-
est-ever recipient in the 22-year history of Kennedy 
Center Honors, given annually for lifetime contribu-
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tion to arts and culture, and presented to Stevie 
Wonder by President Bill Clinton in Washington 
D.C., December 5, 1999. 
(29) On October 17th, 2006, Stevie Wonder re-
ceived a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Na-
tional Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design to Stevie Wonder, in recogni-
tion of his ground-breaking musical achievements, activ-
ism, and contributions to the music industry. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
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materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 
and the cost of the gold medal. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 
51 of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 
struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 
items. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 
SALE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund, such amounts as may be nec-
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 
to this Act. 
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 
sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 
3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 
Enterprise Fund. 
Æ 
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