Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder Songfacts Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder Songfacts Songfacts Stevie Wonder wrote this song as a tribute to music, specifically to Duke Ellington who had just passed away in 1974. Ellington was a jazz bandleader and composer who was a big influence on Wonder. "I knew the title from the beginning but wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for us," Stevie said. "So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation. They gave us something that is supposed to be forever. That's the basic idea of what we do and how we hook it up." In addition to Ellington, musicians referenced in this song are "Satchmo" Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Sodarisa Miller. >> Suggestion credit: Brent - Moosic, PA This wasn't the first song Wonder wrote in tribute to one of his musical inspirations: "Bye Bye World" from his 1968 album Eivets Rednow is about the guitarist Wes Montgomery. Wonder's second album, released in 1962 when he was just 12 years old, was Tribute to Uncle Ray, which paid homage to Ray Charles.

This was more of a marketing ploy by Motown, who were pushing Wonder as the second coming of Charles. The lead guitarist on this song was Mike Sembello, who had a hit in 1983 with " Maniac ." The other musicians on this track, as listed on the album, are: Raymond Pounds – drums Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke - YouTube Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Uploaded on Nov 25, 2007 1976 - Songs in the Key of Life Raymond Pounds - Drums All Other Instruments Stevie Wonder Category Stevie Wonder - Biography - IMDb Stevie Wonder Biography Showing all 105 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (3) | Trivia (43) | Personal Quotes (52) Overview (4) 6' (1.83 m) Mini Bio (1) Born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, United States, to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. Due to being born six weeks premature, Stevie Wonder was born with a condition called retinopathy of prematurity, which made him blind. Stevie Wonder, even with this disability, made his landmark to be a pioneer and innovator in the music industry. Stevie Wonder's mother, Lula Mae Hardaway left her husband and moved herself and her children to Detroit. Due to her leaving Lula Hardaway Judkins changed her name to Lula Hardaway and changed Stevie's surname to Stevland Morris.

Stevland Morris growing up played various instruments such as the piano, harmonica, drums, and bass. Stevland Morris never played a lot of outdoor activities due to his protective mother. Stevland Morris due to his musical talent was also strongly apart of the church choir. Stevland Morris was originally discovered by Gerald White who often persuaded his brother, soul singer Ronnie White to visit the talented Stevland Morris. Ronnie White after seeing Stevland Morris brought Stevland and his mother to MoTown Records to visit Berry Gordy. Berry Gordy stated he was not impressed by Stevland's singing,or drumming,bongo skills and then he played the harmonica, which astounded Berry Gordy and Stevland Morris in 1961 at the age of eleven signed onto MoTown Records with the stage name, Little Stevie Wonder. The reason why Stevie Wonder had gotten that stage name was because many people were astounded by his ability to play numerous instruments and his ability to sing doing both at the same time, and people called Stevie "A Little Wonder".

Stevie Wonder released his first album called,The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie at the age of twelve followed by an additional album, Tribute To Uncle Ray dedicated to Ray Charles. In 1963, Stevie Wonder released a hit-song called, Fingertips Pt(2). The song reached number one on the Billboard Pop Charts. Stevie Wonder became the first singer to have a number one album and single simultaneously. In the song were several percussion instruments played by Stevie Wonder and this song was added to the album,Recorded Live: The Twelve Year Old Genius. Stevie Wonder was then referred to as the child prodigy. Stevie Wonder in 1964 made in film debut in the movie, Muscle Beach Party as well as the sequel Bikini Beach both directed by William Asher. In this movie Stevie Wonder shows off his musical talent singing the songs, Happy Street and Happy Feeling (Dance And Shout). Stevie Wonder also dropped "Little" from this stage name as his voice started to change and he could no longer sing songs which Clarence Paul had written for him, as they were all written in a higher pitched note.

Stevie Wonder then started focusing more on songwriting and came out with genuine hits like Uptight (Everything's Alright),With A Child's Heart, Blowing In The Wind, and a song which he wrote for Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Tears Of A Clown. Several other songs which were smashing hits in the 60's and 70's were I Was Made To Love Her, Signed Sealed And Delivered I'm Yours, which Stevie stated was an idea he had gotten from his mother,and For Once In My Life. In 1970 Stevie Wonder left MoTown and recorded two independent albums by himself. Berry Gordy was shocked to hear this by Stevie Wonder and Berry Gord agreed to Stevie Wonder's demand of more independence and full creative control and rights to all his songs. In 1972 Stevie Wonder returned to MoTown records and signed a thirteen million dollar contract with MoTown Records. This entitled Stevie Wonder to a higher royalty rate and more full creative control and the rights to his own songs, which few artists had gotten at that time period.

This contract unleashed Wonder's songs to now talk about controversial issues such as poverty,war,drugs, and politics.Stevie is known for writing and performing political songs such as, You Haven't Done Nothing, which took a political stab at Richard Nixon. The first album he had released with his new agreement with MoTown was, Music Of My Mind in 1972. In late 1972 Stevie Wonder released an album which today is known as a historic piece in music,Talking Book. Which included the number one hit-song, Superstition. This song featured the clavinet which Stevie Wonder was credited pioneer of, he later used the electric amplified keyboard instrument in many of his other albums along with the synthesizer. The song Superstition was seen as a significant contribution to the Funk genre. Talking Book also featured, You Are The Sunshine Of My Life which also peaked at number one. Stevie Wonder also toured with The Rolling Stones in 1972 which contributed to his album's success.

Stevie Wonder struck a controversial issue with the album, Innervisions in 1973 with singles such as Living For The City which talked about poverty and was credited to African Americans.The album also included singles such as Golden Lady, and All Love Is Fair. On August,6, 1973 Stevie Wonder was in a car accident. The twenty-three year old Stevie Wonder was in the passenger seat of a 1948 Dodge Flatbed Truck,he was sleeping and had his headphones on, the driver distracted by something, and failed to notice the truck ahead of them and crashed. This sent Stevie Wonder into a coma for several days.

In a biography entitled, The Miraculous Journey Of Lula Mae Hardaway she retells the story, "There was a great, grinding screech as metal hit metal and, then, impossibly, as if in some lavishly produced Hollywood action movie, one of the great logs disencumbered itself of the truck and came crashing through the windshield, spearing Stevie square in the forehead." Wonder was sent to a hospital immediately after the accident, and was placed under intensive care, with what they described a "bruise on the head" Wonder then made a successful recovery and in 1974 released Fullfillingness' First Finale and which song topped number one on the Billboard Pop Charts was the political song, You Haven't Done Nothing. By the age of twenty-five he was a multiple Grammy-Award winner, winning Grammies for albums such as Talking Book, Inner Vision, and Fullfillingness' First Finale and at the age of twenty-five with several talent musicians he was on the verge of making what came to be one of this most admirable masterpieces, an album called, Songs In The Key Of Life.

The double-album, Songs In The Key Of Life was released in 1976 and the album became the first of an American artist to debut straight at number one where it remained for fourteen consecutive weeks. The album contained two tracks which rose to number one on the Billboard Charts,I Wish and Sir Duke. The album also contained an extraordinary sentimental song about his daughter Aisha Morris called,Isn't She Lovely". It also contained the song which focused strongly on poverty called, Village Ghetto Land. Rolling Stones listed the album as the 56th Greatest Album Of All Time out of 500. In 1979, Wonder released a soundtrack album called Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants. It was featured in the film The Secret Life Of Plants. Wonder also wrote the song,Let's Get Serious for Jermaine Jackson who left The Jacksons and was starting his own solo career. The song was ranked by Billboard to be the number one rhythm and blues song of 1980. In 1980, Stevie Wonder released the album called Hotter Than July. On this album was a song called Happy Birthday.

That song was dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr, and Stevie Wonder was one of the pioneers to getting Martin Luther King Jr a national holiday. Stevie Wonder in 1985 received an Academy Award for his song, I Just Called To Say I Love in the film, The Woman In Red. In 1986, Stevie Wonder made a guest appearance on the hit-show The Cosby Show. It was during this episode in which people were astounded toward what the synthesizer could really do. In 1987 Stevie Wonder made a duet with Michael Jackson on his Bad album with the single, Just Good Friends. In the same year Michael Jackson did a duet on Stevie Wonder's characters album. In 1991, Stevie Wonder recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee in his new movie, Jungle Fever. The album was entitled, Jungle Fever and the hit-song on it was entitled Jungle Fever. Other singles that came from this album were Gotta Have You,Feeding Off The Love Of The Land,and These Three Words. Stevie Wonder continued releasing new material throughout the 90's such as Natural Wonder, and Conversation Piece.

In 1996 Stevie Wonder's A Song In The Key Of Life album became a documentary subject, and several of the musicians who contributed to the success of the album had a reunion. In 1997 Stevie Wonder collaborated with Babyface on the single, How Come How Long. In 2000 Stevie Wonder contributed to two sound track songs for Spike Lee's film Bamboozled. The two soundtrack songs were Misrepresented People and Some Years Ago. In 2006, Stevie Wonder's inspiration of his life, his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway died on May,31,2006. Stevie Wonder then in 2007 announced his tour, A Wonder's Summer Night 13 concert tour- this was his first in over ten years, and he states, he wants to take all the sadness he feels,turn it around and celebrate. Stevie Wonder in 2008 was very involved in the Presidential Campaign, and why he thinks Obama will be a great president for America. Stevie Wonder talked at several press conferences about Obama and why America should vote for him.

Stevie Wonder in 2009 was named the United Nations Messenger Of Peace.On February 23,2009 Stevie Wonder received the Gershwin Prize For Pop Music awarded to Stevie Wonder by Barack Obama. On June,25,2009 one of his best friends,Michael Jackson had died. Stevie Wonder attended the memorial and performed the song, Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer at the Staple's Center. Stevie Wonder recently in 2011 can be heard playing harmonica on Drake Graham's album Take Care. Stevie Wonder's songs have been sampled by artists such as Jon Gibson,Red Hot Chilli Peppers,Mary J Blige and several other artists were inspired by Stevie's musical talent. Stevie Wonder will forever be known as a pioneer in music a philanthropist, and a messenger of peace addressing controversies in music which very few artists did at that time. Stevie Wonder has touched the hearts of millions through his music and his philanthropic generosity.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Peter Sean Spouse (2) Plays the chromatic harmonica Trivia (43) At age 49 he was youngest-ever recipient in the 22-year history of Kennedy Center Honors given annually for lifetime contribution to arts and culture, presented by President Bill Clinton in Wash DC, Dec. 5, 1999. Awarded the Polar Music Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music Award, in 1999. Recorded an instrumental jazz album under the name "Eivets Rednow" ("Stevie Wonder" spelled backwards). At the age of 17 he performed with The Jimi Hendrix Experience playing drums at the BBC. (Jammin'/I was made to love her, BBC Sessions) Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. His first #1 hit was the half-improvised "Fingertips - Part 2", recorded live in concert (The first live pop single to ever reach #1). It topped the Pop Music and R&B charts in 1963 when Stevie Wonder was only 12.

You can the hear the musicians struggling to keep up with the young vocalist and harmonica player as he improvises rhythm and blues riffs, and at one point in the recording a musician is heard shouting "What key? What key?" Has won 21 Grammy awards (a record for most Grammy awards) He was voted the 15th Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone. "Little Stevie" Wonder grew up to not very little at all, as he stands over 6' tall. In 1988, he announced his interest in running for mayor of Detroit in the 1992 election. However, he never followed through with a campaign. His ex-wife, Syreeta , died of breast cancer in Los Angeles on July 6, 2004. In his acceptance speech for the Oscar for Best Song in 1984, Wonder dedicated his award to imprisoned civil rights leader Nelson Mandela . The South African government promptly banned Wonder's music from the country. He has 7 children. The last of these, Mandla Kadjaly Carl Stevland Morris, was born May 13, 2005.

He was born on his 55th birthday and is his and Kai's first child. Mandla means "Powerful/Defiant" in Zulu. Kadjaly is Swahili for "Born from God" In addition to his being blind, he also has loss of smell due to a 1973 car crash in North Carolina from which he also has a scar. Shortly after reaching his 21st birthday in the spring of 1971, he became the first Motown Recording artist to gain complete artistic control of his records. Collaborated on the 1985 smash hit "We Are the World" (USA for Africa) His 1976 song "Isn't She Lovely" (from album "Songs in the Key of Life") was dedicated to then newborn daughter Aisha whose name and "baby sounds" can be heard on the track Joined friends Dionne Warwick , Gladys Knight and Elton John on the 1986 chart-topper "That's What Friends Are For", the proceeds of which were donated to AIDS research. Also played harmonica on the recording.

Oddly enough, two other vocalists introduced his 1973 smash hit "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (from album "Talking Book") before Wonder actually sang any lyrics. Respectively, these singers were James Gilstrap and Lani Groves . Played harmonica on Chaka Khan 's 1984 hit "I Feel For You" Wrote "Superstition" originally for friend Jeff Beck while completing his 1973 album "Talking Book." Though Beck had actually recorded the number in 1972, Motown rush-released Wonder's cut ahead of the album, and "Superstition" became his second number one hit in January 1973 Has been blind since birth Father of Aisha Morris , and Keita Morris . Son of Lula Mae Hardaway. Became the very first blind recipient of an Academy Award when his composition "I Just Called to Say I Love You" won Best Original Song from The Woman in Red (1984) soundtrack. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983.

Wrote the tribute for Mariah Carey 's endorsement in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" (Artists & Entertainers section / Issue May 12, 2008). Voted the ninth greatest singer of the rock era in a Rolling Stone magazine poll in 2008. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7050 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Received the Second Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song on February 25, 2009. Selection was announced September 2008. Friend Dizzy Gillespie played the trumpet solo on "Do I Do" from Wonder's "Musiquarium" compilation album (1982). He was nominated for a 2010 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services and contributions to Arts and Entertainment. Named U.N. Messenger of Peace [December 2, 2009]. Dedicated his song "Sir Duke" (from "Songs in the Key of Life" (1976)) to lifelong hero Duke Ellington .

Dedicated the finale of his 2008 "Live At Last" London concert to the memory of his beloved mother who had died 31 May 2006. Wonder performed his song "As" (from album "Songs in the Key of Life") to commemorate the moment. The funky "guitar riff" that underscores most of his song "Superstition" was actually generated on a Hohner D6 Clavinet keyboard that is still, to this day, a mainstay among Wonder's array of keyboard instruments. Inducted into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame in 2011. He is a lifelong staunch liberal Democrat. A guest at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert. His song "Another Star" was chosen by BBC television as the theme tune for their coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama 24 November 2014. Freddie Mercury once said he thought Wonder was the best ballad writer in the world. First African-American artist to win the Grammy Award for "Album of the Year" for "Innervisions" (1973).

The trophy was presented by Telly Savalas and Cher (Hollywood Palladium / 2 March 1974). Personal Quotes (52) Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision. Before I ride with somebody who's been drinking, I'll drive myself. I just dig audiences. That to me is the most worthwhile thing about this whole business. Just people coming to have a good time and letting me sing for them. I do believe in women. I really do. I am not a normal man. I am all for stem cell research. For the most part, I feel really comfortable with what I've given to the people. I want to give it to them again. First of all, I'm no better than the next person. Blind don't mean you can't, you know, listen. Time is long but life is short. Eyes lie if you ever look into them for the character of the person. Clearly, love is love, between a man and a woman, a woman and a man, a woman and a woman and a man and a man.

What I'm not confused about is the world needing much more love, no hate, no prejudice, no bigotry and more unity, peace and understanding. Period. I am what I am. I love me! And I don't mean that egotistically - I love that God has allowed me to take whatever it was that I had and to make something out of it. Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods. So let us celebrate the struggle! Ya gots to work with what you gots to work with. Minds ripen at very different ages. Do you know, it's funny, but I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage, and I never thought of being black as a disadvantage. God gave me life to continue to do things that I would never have done. Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it. You can't base your life on other people's expectations. Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness.

If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love. You know, I always when people ask me, like, what is my most favorite song, I quote Duke Ellington, when they would ask him, what's his favorite composition? And I say, I haven't written it yet. Because, you know, there are different songs for different occasions. This is like one thing that I've tried to do, and I think successfully, that when you realize that nothing really belongs to you, you begin to appreciate having an understanding of just where your head is at, and you feel so much better. I remember the beginnings of the Kurzweil reading machine. I was one of the first to meet Ray Kurzweil and purchase the reading machine in Boston. To think that the machine was at least two and a half large suitcases at the time, and now you have a camera and it takes a picture and you have sound. I can't say that I'm always writing in my head but I do spend a lot of time in my head writing or coming up with ideas. And what I do usually is write the music and melody and then, you know, maybe the basic idea.

But when I feel that I don't have a song or just say, God, please give me another song. And I just am quiet and it happens. You know, I have seven children, so I guess I know some things about life. The right to bear arms? What about the right to live? Sometimes I wish I could drive a car, but I'm gonna drive a car one day, so I don't worry about that. Some people have a desire to be with the same sex. But that's them. People can misconstrue closeness for love. Of course I read Braille, yes. No one has been a greater advocate for the power of love in this world than I; both in my life and in my music. My father really was not the dominant person who raised the family, it was my mother who raised the family. Let us come together before we're annihilated. I've had threats.

Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke Lyrics | SongMeanings Stevie Wonder At the Close of a Century Songs in the Key of Life Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection [Import Bonus Tracks] The Definitive Collection Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection [Bonus Tracks] Number 1's Definitive Collection [Bonus iPod Skin] Christmas & Hits Duos Music is a world within itself With a language we all understand With an equal opportunity For all to sing, dance and clap their hands But just because a record has a groove Don't make it in the groove But you can tell right away at letter A When the people start to move They can feel it all over They can feel it all over people They can feel it all over They can feel it all over people Music knows it is and always will Be one of the things that life just won't quit But here are some of music's pioneers That time will not allow us to forget For there's Basie, Miller, Sachmo And the king of all Sir Duke And with a voice like Ella's ringing out There's no way the band can lose You can feel it all over You can feel it all over people You can feel it all over You can feel it all over people You can feel it all over You

 can feel it all over people You can feel it all over You can feel it all over people You can feel it all over You can feel it all over people You can feel it all over You can feel it all over people You can feel it all over You can feel it all over people You can feel it all over I can feel it all over-all over now people Can't you feel it all over Come on let's feel it all over people You can feel it all over Everybody-all over people Stevie Wonder - 1976 - Songs in the Key of Life (full) - YouTube 393,326 views Last updated on Jun 29, 2014 "Songs in the Key of Life was Stevie Wonder's longest, most ambitious collection of songs, a two-LP (plus accompanying EP) set that — just as the title promised — touched on nearly every issue under the sun, and did it all with ambitious (even for him), wide-ranging arrangements and some of the best performances of Wonder's career.

The opening "Love's in Need of Love Today" and "Have a Talk with God" are curiously subdued, but Stevie soon kicks into gear with "Village Ghetto Land," a fierce exposé of ghetto neglect set to a satirical Baroque synthesizer. Hot on its heels comes the torrid fusion jam "Contusion," a big, brassy hit tribute to the recently departed Duke Ellington in "Sir Duke," and (another hit, this one a Grammy winner as well) the bumping poem to his childhood, "I Wish." Though they didn't necessarily appear in order, Songs in the Key of Life contains nearly a full album on love and relationships, along with another full album on issues social and spiritual.

Fans of the love album Talking Book can marvel that he sets the bar even higher here, with brilliant material like the tenderly cathartic and gloriously redemptive "Joy Inside My Tears," the two-part, smooth-and-rough "Ordinary Pain," the bitterly ironic "All Day Sucker," or another classic heartbreaker, "Summer Soft." Those inclined toward Stevie Wonder the social-issues artist had quite a few songs to focus on as well: "Black Man" was a Bicentennial school lesson on remembering the vastly different people who helped build America; "Pastime Paradise" examined the plight of those who live in the past and have little hope for the future; "Village Ghetto Land" brought listeners to a nightmare of urban wasteland; and "Saturn" found Stevie questioning his kinship with the rest of humanity and amusingly imagining paradise as a residency on a distant planet. If all this sounds overwhelming, it is; Stevie Wonder had talent to spare during the mid-'70s, and instead of letting the reserve trickle out during the rest of the decade, he let it all go with one massive burst.

(His only subsequent record of the '70s was the similarly gargantuan but largely instrumental soundtrack Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants.)" 5 stars Stevie Wonder | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Steve Huey Stevie Wonder is a much-beloved American icon and an indisputable genius not only of R&B but popular music in general. Blind virtually since birth, Wonder 's heightened awareness of sound helped him create vibrant, colorful music teeming with life and ambition. Nearly everything he recorded bore the stamp of his sunny, joyous positivity; even when he addressed serious racial, social, and spiritual issues (which he did quite often in his prime), or sang about heartbreak and romantic uncertainty, an underlying sense of optimism and hope always seemed to emerge. Much like his inspiration, Ray Charles , Wonder had a voracious appetite for many different kinds of music, and refused to confine himself to any one sound or style.

His best records were a richly eclectic brew of soul, funk, rock & roll, sophisticated Broadway/Tin Pan Alley-style pop, jazz, reggae, and African elements -- and they weren't just stylistic exercises; Wonder took it all and forged it into his own personal form of expression. His range helped account for his broad-based appeal, but so did his unique, elastic voice, his peerless melodic facility, his gift for complex arrangements, and his taste for lovely, often sentimental ballads. Additionally, Wonder 's pioneering use of synthesizers during the '70s changed the face of R&B; he employed a kaleidoscope of contrasting textures and voices that made him a virtual one-man band, all the while evoking a surprisingly organic warmth. Along with Marvin Gaye and Isaac Hayes , Wonder brought R&B into the album age, crafting his LPs as cohesive, consistent statements with compositions that often took time to make their point. All of this made Wonder perhaps R&B's greatest individual auteur, rivaled only by Gaye or, in later days, Prince .

Originally, Wonder was a child prodigy who started out in the general Motown mold, but he took control of his vision in the '70s, spinning off a series of incredible albums that were as popular as they were acclaimed; most of his reputation rests on these works, which most prominently include Talking Book , Innervisions , and Songs in the Key of Life . His output since then has been inconsistent, marred by excesses of sentimentality and less of the progressive imagination of his best work, but it's hardly lessened the reverence in which he's long been held. Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 13, 1950 (his name was later altered to Stevland Morris when his mother married). A premature infant, he was put on oxygen treatment in an incubator; it was likely an excess of oxygen that exacerbated a visual condition known as retinopathy of prematurity, causing his blindness.

In 1954, his family moved to Detroit, where the already musically inclined Stevie began singing in his church's choir; from there he blossomed into a genuine prodigy, learning piano, drums, and harmonica all by the age of nine. While performing for some of his friends in 1961, Stevie was discovered by Ronnie White of the Miracles , who helped arrange an audition with Berry Gordy at Motown. Gordy signed the youngster immediately and teamed him with producer/songwriter Clarence Paul , under the new name Little Stevie Wonder . Wonder released his first two albums in 1962: A Tribute to Uncle Ray , which featured covers of Wonder 's hero Ray Charles , and The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie , an orchestral jazz album spotlighting his instrumental skills on piano, harmonica, and assorted percussion. Neither sold very well, but that all changed in 1963 with the live album The 12 Year Old Genius , which featured a new extended version of the harmonica instrumental "Fingertips." Edited for release as a single, "Fingertips, Pt.

2" rocketed to the top of both the pop and R&B charts, thanks to Wonder 's irresistible, youthful exuberance; meanwhile, The 12 Year Old Genius became Motown's first chart-topping LP. Wonder charted a few more singles over the next year, but none on the level of "Fingertips, Pt. 2." As his voice changed, his recording career was temporarily put on hold, and he studied classical piano at the Michigan School for the Blind in the meantime. He dropped the "Little" portion of his stage name in 1964, and re-emerged the following year with the infectious, typically Motown-sounding dance tune "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," a number one R&B/Top Five pop smash. Not only did he co-write the song for his first original hit, but it also reinvented him as a more mature vocalist in the public's mind, making the similar follow-up "Nothing's Too Good for My Baby" another success.

The first signs of Wonder 's social activism appeared in 1966 via his hit cover of Bob Dylan 's "Blowin' in the Wind" and its follow-up, "A Place in the Sun," but as Motown still had the final say on Wonder 's choice of material, this new direction would not yet become a major facet of his work. By this time, Wonder was, however, beginning to take more of a hand in his own career. He co-wrote his next several hits, all of which made the R&B Top Ten -- "Hey Love," "I Was Made to Love Her" (an R&B number one that went to number two pop in 1967), and "For Once in My Life" (another smash that reached number two pop and R&B). Wonder 's 1968 album For Once in My Life signaled his budding ambition; he co-wrote about half of the material and, for the first time, co-produced several tracks.

The record also contained three more singles in the R&B chart-toppers "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day," "You Met Your Match," and "I Don't Know Why." Wonder scored again in 1969 with the pop and R&B Top Five hit "My Cherie Amour" (which he'd actually recorded three years prior) and the Top Ten "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday." In 1970, Wonder received his first-ever co-production credit for the album Signed, Sealed & Delivered ; he co-wrote the R&B chart-topper "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" with singer Syreeta Wright , whom he married later that year, and also scored hits with "Heaven Help Us All" and a rearrangement of the Beatles ' "We Can Work It Out." In addition, two other Motown artists had major success with Wonder co-writes: the Spinners ' "It's a Shame" and the Miracles ' only pop number one, "Tears of a Clown." 1971 proved a turning point in Wonder 's career.

On his 21st birthday, his contract with Motown expired, and the royalties set aside in his trust fund became available to him. A month before his birthday, Wonder released Where I'm Coming From , his first entirely self-produced album, which also marked the first time he wrote or co-wrote every song on an LP (usually in tandem with Wright ), and the first time his keyboard and synthesizer work dominated his arrangements. Gordy was reportedly not fond of the work, and it wasn't a major commercial success, producing only the Top Ten hit "If You Really Love Me" (plus a classic B-side in "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer"). Nonetheless, it was clearly an ambitious attempt at making a unified album-length artistic statement, and served notice that Wonder was no longer content to release albums composed of hit singles and assorted filler. Accordingly, Wonder did not immediately renew his contract with Motown, as the label had expected; instead, he used proceeds from his trust fund to build his own recording studio and to enroll in music theory classes at USC.

He negotiated a new deal with Motown that dramatically increased his royalty rate and established his own publishing company, Black Bull Music, which allowed him to retain the rights to his music; most importantly, he wrested full artistic control over his recordings, as Gaye had just done with the landmark What's Going On . Freed from the dictates of Motown's hit-factory mindset, Wonder had already begun following a more personal and idiosyncratic muse. One of his negotiating chips had been a full album completed at his new studio; Wonder had produced, played nearly all the instruments, and written all the material (with Wright contributing to several tracks). Released under Wonder 's new deal in early 1972, Music of My Mind heralded his arrival as a major, self-contained talent with an original vision that pushed the boundaries of R&B. The album produced a hit single in the spacy, synth-driven ballad "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)," but like contemporary work by Hayes and Gaye , Music of My Mind worked as a smoothly flowing song suite unto itself.

Around the same time it was released, Wonder 's marriage to Wright broke up; the two remained friends, however, and Wonder produced and wrote several songs for her debut album. The same year, Wonder toured with the Rolling Stones , taking his music to a larger white audience. For the follow-up to Music of My Mind , Wonder refined his approach, tightening up his songcraft while addressing his romance with Wright . The result, Talking Book , was released in late 1972 and made him a superstar. Song for song one of the strongest R&B albums ever made, Talking Book also perfected Wonder 's spacy, futuristic experiments with electronics, and was hailed as a magnificently realized masterpiece. Wonder topped the charts with the gutsy, driving funk classic "Superstition" and the mellow, jazzy ballad "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," which went on to become a pop standard; those two songs went on to win three Grammys between them. Amazingly, Wonder only upped the ante with his next album, 1973's Innervisions , a concept album about the state of contemporary society that ranks with Gaye 's What's Going On as a pinnacle of socially conscious R&B.

The ghetto chronicle "Living for the City" and the intense spiritual self-examination "Higher Ground" both went to number one on the R&B charts and the pop Top Ten, and Innervisions took home a Grammy for Album of the Year. Wonder was lucky to be alive to enjoy the success; while being driven to a concert in North Carolina, a large piece of timber fell on Wonder 's car. He sustained serious head injuries and lapsed into a coma, but fortunately made a full recovery. Wonder 's next record, 1974's Fulfillingness' First Finale , was slightly more insular and less accessible than its immediate predecessors, and unsurprisingly, imbued with a sense of mortality. The hits, however, were the upbeat "Boogie On, Reggae Woman" (a number one R&B and Top Five pop hit) and the venomous Richard Nixon critique "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (number one on both sides). It won him a second straight Album of the Year Grammy, by which time he'd been heavily involved as a producer and writer on Syreeta 's second album, Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta .

Wonder subsequently retired to his studio and spent two years crafting a large-scale project that would stand as his magnum opus. Finally released in 1976, Songs in the Key of Life was a sprawling two-LP-plus-one-EP set that found Wonder at his most ambitious and expansive. Some critics called it brilliant but prone to excess and indulgence, while others hailed it as his greatest masterpiece and the culmination of his career; in the end, they were probably both right. "Sir Duke," an ebullient tribute to music in general and Duke Ellington in particular, and the funky "I Wish" both went to number one pop and R&B. The hit "Isn't She Lovely," a paean to Wonder 's daughter, became something of a standard. Not surprisingly, Songs in the Key of Life won a Grammy for Album of the Year; in hindsight, though, it marked the end of a remarkable explosion of creativity and of Wonder 's artistic prime. Having poured a tremendous amount of energy into Songs in the Key of Life , Wonder released nothing for the next three years.

When he finally returned in 1979, it was with the mostly instrumental Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants , ostensibly the soundtrack to a never-released documentary. Although it contained a few pop songs, including the hit "Send One Your Love," its symphonic flirtations befuddled most listeners and critics. It still made the Top Ten on the LP chart on Wonder 's momentum alone -- one of the stranger releases to do so. To counteract possible speculation that he'd gone off the deep end, Wonder rushed out the straightforward pop album Hotter Than July in 1980. The reggae-flavored "Master Blaster (Jammin')" returned him to the top of the R&B charts and the pop Top Five, and "Happy Birthday" was part of the ultimately successful campaign to make Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday ( Wonder being one of the cause's most active champions). Artistically speaking, Hotter Than July was a cut below his classic '70s output, but it was still a solid outing; fans were so grateful to have the old Wonder back that they made it his first platinum-selling LP.

In 1981, Wonder began work on a follow-up album that was plagued by delays, suggesting that he might not be able to return to the visionary heights of old. He kept busy in the meantime, though; in 1982, his racial-harmony duet with Paul McCartney , "Ebony and Ivory," hit number one, and he released a greatest-hits set covering 1972-1982 called Original Musiquarium I . It featured four new songs, of which "That Girl" (number one R&B, Top Five pop) and the lengthy, jazzy "Do I Do" (featuring Dizzy Gillespie ; number two R&B) were significant hits.

In 1984, still not having completed the official follow-up to Hotter Than July , he recorded the soundtrack to the Gene Wilder comedy The Woman in Red , which wasn't quite a full-fledged Stevie Wonder album but did feature a number of new songs, including "I Just Called to Say I Love You." Adored by the public (it was his biggest-selling single ever) and loathed by critics (who derided it as sappy and simple-minded), "I Just Called to Say I Love You" was an across-the-board number one smash, and won an Oscar for Best Song. Wonder finally completed the official album he'd been working on for nearly five years, and released In Square Circle in 1985. Paced by the number one hit "Part Time Lover" -- his last solo pop chart-topper -- and several other strong songs, In Square Circle went platinum, even if Wonder 's synthesizer arrangements now sounded standard rather than groundbreaking. He performed on the number one charity singles "We Are the World" by USA for Africa and "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick & Friends , and returned quickly with a new album, Characters , in 1987.

While Characters found Wonder 's commercial clout on the pop charts slipping away, it was a hit on the R&B side, topping the album charts and producing a number one hit in "Skeletons." It would be his final release of the '80s, a decade capped by his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. New studio material from Wonder didn't arrive until 1991, when he provided the soundtrack to the Spike Lee film Jungle Fever . His next full album of new material, 1995's Conversation Peace , was a commercial disappointment, thought it did win two Grammys for the single "For Your Love." That same year, Coolio revived "Pastime Paradise" in his own brooding rap smash "Gangsta's Paradise," which became the year's biggest hit. Wonder capitalized on the renewed attention by cutting a hit duet with Babyface , "How Come, How Long," in 1996.

During the early 2000s, Motown remastered and reissued Wonder 's exceptional 1972-1980 run of solo albums ( Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants excepted) and also released The Definitive Collection , a representative single-disc primer. In 2005, after a decade had transpired without a new studio album, Wonder released A Time to Love , which was bolstered by collaborations with Prince and Paul McCartney , as well as one with daughter and "Isn't She Lovely" inspiration Aisha Morris . His far-reaching influence continued to be felt through samples, cover versions, and reinterpretations, highlighted by Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway 's Grammy-winning version of "Jesus Children of America." Well into the late 2010s, Wonder continued to appear on albums by other artists, including Snoop Dogg , Raphael Saadiq , and Mark Ronson . All the while, Wonder regularly toured. From November 2014 through 2015, he celebrated the approaching 40th anniversary of Songs in the Key of Life with lengthy set lists that included all 21 songs of the classic album.

Stevie Wonder’s number one tribute to a late great | Starts at 60 Men Stevie Wonder’s number one tribute to a late great Stevie Wonder was and still is considered one of the greatest musicians of our time, and it’s little wonder with shares 0 3 Stevie Wonder was and still is considered one of the greatest musicians of our time, and it’s little wonder with the amount of smash hits he had. One of them is ‘Sir Duke’, with was released and hit number one today in 1977. It also topped the Black Singles charts in America and was a number two UK single, which was his biggest hit to date in the region. A tribute to Duke Ellington, the jazz legend, the song also refers to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Stevie Wonder later recorded the song again for his live album Natural Wonder in 1995. We all remember the lyrics, “There’s Basie, Miller, Satchmo, and the king of all, Sir Duke / And with a voice like Ella’s ringing out / There’s no way the band can lose”.

Listen to ‘Sir Duke’ by Stevie Wonder below: Stevie Wonder | New Music And Songs | Stevie Wonder About Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder is a much-beloved American icon and an indisputable genius not only of R&B but popular music in general. Blind virtually since birth, Wonder's heightened awareness of sound helped him create vibrant, colorful music teeming with life and ambition. Nearly everything he recorded bore the stamp of his sunny, joyous positivity; even when he addressed serious racial, social, and spiritual issues (which he did quite often in his prime), or sang about heartbreak and romantic uncertainty, an underlying sense of optimism and hope always seemed to emerge. Much like his inspiration, Ray Charles, Wonder had a voracious appetite for many different kinds of music, and refused to confine himself to any one sound or style. His best records were a richly eclectic brew of soul, funk, rock & roll, sophisticated Broadway/Tin Pan Alley-style pop, jazz, reggae, and African elements -- and they weren't just stylistic exercises; Wonder took it all and forged it into his own personal form of expression.

His range helped account for his broad-based appeal, but so did his unique, elastic voice, his peerless melodic facility, his gift for complex arrangements, and his taste for lovely, often sentimental ballads. Additionally, Wonder's pioneering use of synthesizers during the '70s changed the face of R&B; he employed a kaleidoscope of contrasting textures and voices that made him a virtual one-man band, all the while evoking a surprisingly organic warmth. Along with Marvin Gaye and Isaac Hayes, Wonder brought R&B into the album age, crafting his LPs as cohesive, consistent statements with compositions that often took time to make their point. All of this made Wonder perhaps R&B's greatest individual auteur, rivaled only by Gaye or, in later days, Prince. Originally, Wonder was a child prodigy who started out in the general Motown mold, but he took control of his vision in the '70s, spinning off a series of incredible albums that were as popular as they were acclaimed; most of his reputation rests on these works, which most prominently include Talking Book, Innervisions, and Songs in the Key of Life.

His output since then has been inconsistent, marred by excesses of sentimentality and less of the progressive imagination of his best work, but it's hardly lessened the reverence in which he's long been held. Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 13, 1950 (his name was later altered to Stevland Morris when his mother married). A premature infant, he was put on oxygen treatment in an incubator; it was likely an excess of oxygen that exacerbated a visual condition known as retinopathy of prematurity, causing his blindness. In 1954, his family moved to Detroit, where the already musically inclined Stevie began singing in his church's choir; from there he blossomed into a genuine prodigy, learning piano, drums, and harmonica all by the age of nine. While performing for some of his friends in 1961, Stevie was discovered by Ronnie White of the Miracles, who helped arrange an audition with Berry Gordy at Motown. Gordy signed the youngster immediately and teamed him with producer/songwriter Clarence Paul, under the new name Little Stevie Wonder.

Wonder released his first two albums in 1962: A Tribute to Uncle Ray, which featured covers of Wonder's hero Ray Charles, and The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, an orchestral jazz album spotlighting his instrumental skills on piano, harmonica, and assorted percussion. Neither sold very well, but that all changed in 1963 with the live album The 12 Year Old Genius, which featured a new extended version of the harmonica instrumental "Fingertips." Edited for release as a single, "Fingertips, Pt. 2" rocketed to the top of both the pop and R&B charts, thanks to Wonder's irresistible, youthful exuberance; meanwhile, The 12 Year Old Genius became Motown's first chart-topping LP. Wonder charted a few more singles over the next year, but none on the level of "Fingertips, Pt. 2." As his voice changed, his recording career was temporarily put on hold, and he studied classical piano at the Michigan School for the Blind in the meantime.

He dropped the "Little" portion of his stage name in 1964, and re-emerged the following year with the infectious, typically Motown-sounding dance tune "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," a number one R&B/Top Five pop smash. Not only did he co-write the song for his first original hit, but it also reinvented him as a more mature vocalist in the public's mind, making the similar follow-up "Nothing's Too Good for My Baby" another success. The first signs of Wonder's social activism appeared in 1966 via his hit cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and its follow-up, "A Place in the Sun," but as Motown still had the final say on Wonder's choice of material, this new direction would not yet become a major facet of his work. By this time, Wonder was, however, beginning to take more of a hand in his own career.

He co-wrote his next several hits, all of which made the R&B Top Ten -- "Hey Love," "I Was Made to Love Her" (an R&B number one that went to number two pop in 1967), and "For Once in My Life" (another smash that reached number two pop and R&B). Wonder's 1968 album For Once in My Life signaled his budding ambition; he co-wrote about half of the material and, for the first time, co-produced several tracks.

The record also contained three more singles in the R&B chart-toppers "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day," "You Met Your Match," and "I Don't Know Why." Wonder scored again in 1969 with the pop and R&B Top Five hit "My Cherie Amour" (which he'd actually recorded three years prior) and the Top Ten "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday." In 1970, Wonder received his first-ever co-production credit for the album Signed, Sealed & Delivered; he co-wrote the R&B chart-topper "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" with singer Syreeta Wright, whom he married later that year, and also scored hits with "Heaven Help Us All" and a rearrangement of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out." In addition, two other Motown artists had major success with Wonder co-writes: the Spinners' "It's a Shame" and the Miracles' only pop number one, "Tears of a Clown." 1971 proved a turning point in Wonder's career.

On his 21st birthday, his contract with Motown expired, and the royalties set aside in his trust fund became available to him. A month before his birthday, Wonder released Where I'm Coming From, his first entirely self-produced album, which also marked the first time he wrote or co-wrote every song on an LP (usually in tandem with Wright), and the first time his keyboard and synthesizer work dominated his arrangements. Gordy was reportedly not fond of the work, and it wasn't a major commercial success, producing only the Top Ten hit "If You Really Love Me" (plus a classic B-side in "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer"). Nonetheless, it was clearly an ambitious attempt at making a unified album-length artistic statement, and served notice that Wonder was no longer content to release albums composed of hit singles and assorted filler. Accordingly, Wonder did not immediately renew his contract with Motown, as the label had expected; instead, he used proceeds from his trust fund to build his own recording studio and to enroll in music theory classes at USC.

He negotiated a new deal with Motown that dramatically increased his royalty rate and established his own publishing company, Black Bull Music, which allowed him to retain the rights to his music; most importantly, he wrested full artistic control over his recordings, as Gaye had just done with the landmark What's Going On. Freed from the dictates of Motown's hit-factory mindset, Wonder had already begun following a more personal and idiosyncratic muse. One of his negotiating chips had been a full album completed at his new studio; Wonder had produced, played nearly all the instruments, and written all the material (with Wright contributing to several tracks). Released under Wonder's new deal in early 1972, Music of My Mind heralded his arrival as a major, self-contained talent with an original vision that pushed the boundaries of R&B. The album produced a hit single in the spacy, synth-driven ballad "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)," but like contemporary work by Hayes and Gaye, Music of My Mind worked as a smoothly flowing song suite unto itself.

Around the same time it was released, Wonder's marriage to Wright broke up; the two remained friends, however, and Wonder produced and wrote several songs for her debut album. The same year, Wonder toured with the Rolling Stones, taking his music to a larger white audience. For the follow-up to Music of My Mind, Wonder refined his approach, tightening up his songcraft while addressing his romance with Wright. The result, Talking Book, was released in late 1972 and made him a superstar. Song for song one of the strongest R&B albums ever made, Talking Book also perfected Wonder's spacy, futuristic experiments with electronics, and was hailed as a magnificently realized masterpiece. Wonder topped the charts with the gutsy, driving funk classic "Superstition" and the mellow, jazzy ballad "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," which went on to become a pop standard; those two songs went on to win three Grammys between them. Amazingly, Wonder only upped the ante with his next album, 1973's Innervisions, a concept album about the state of contemporary society that ranks with Gaye's What's Going On as a pinnacle of socially conscious R&B.

The ghetto chronicle "Living for the City" and the intense spiritual self-examination "Higher Ground" both went to number one on the R&B charts and the pop Top Ten, and Innervisions took home a Grammy for Album of the Year. Wonder was lucky to be alive to enjoy the success; while being driven to a concert in North Carolina, a large piece of timber fell on Wonder's car. He sustained serious head injuries and lapsed into a coma, but fortunately made a full recovery. Wonder's next record, 1974's Fulfillingness' First Finale, was slightly more insular and less accessible than its immediate predecessors, and unsurprisingly, imbued with a sense of mortality. The hits, however, were the upbeat "Boogie On, Reggae Woman" (a number one R&B and Top Five pop hit) and the venomous Richard Nixon critique "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (number one on both sides). It won him a second straight Album of the Year Grammy, by which time he'd been heavily involved as a producer and writer on Syreeta's second album, Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta.

Wonder subsequently retired to his studio and spent two years crafting a large-scale project that would stand as his magnum opus. Finally released in 1976, Songs in the Key of Life was a sprawling two-LP-plus-one-EP set that found Wonder at his most ambitious and expansive. Some critics called it brilliant but prone to excess and indulgence, while others hailed it as his greatest masterpiece and the culmination of his career; in the end, they were probably both right. "Sir Duke," an ebullient tribute to music in general and Duke Ellington in particular, and the funky "I Wish" both went to number one pop and R&B. The hit "Isn't She Lovely," a paean to Wonder's daughter, became something of a standard. Not surprisingly, Songs in the Key of Life won a Grammy for Album of the Year; in hindsight, though, it marked the end of a remarkable explosion of creativity and of Wonder's artistic prime. Having poured a tremendous amount of energy into Songs in the Key of Life, Wonder released nothing for the next three years.

When he finally returned in 1979, it was with the mostly instrumental Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, ostensibly the soundtrack to a never-released documentary. Although it contained a few pop songs, including the hit "Send One Your Love," its symphonic flirtations befuddled most listeners and critics. It still made the Top Ten on the LP chart on Wonder's momentum alone -- one of the stranger releases to do so. To counteract possible speculation that he'd gone off the deep end, Wonder rushed out the straightforward pop album Hotter Than July in 1980. The reggae-flavored "Master Blaster (Jammin')" returned him to the top of the R&B charts and the pop Top Five, and "Happy Birthday" was part of the ultimately successful campaign to make Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday (Wonder being one of the cause's most active champions). Artistically speaking, Hotter Than July was a cut below his classic '70s output, but it was still a solid outing; fans were so grateful to have the old Wonder back that they made it his first platinum-selling LP.

In 1981, Wonder began work on a follow-up album that was plagued by delays, suggesting that he might not be able to return to the visionary heights of old. He kept busy in the meantime, though; in 1982, his racial-harmony duet with Paul McCartney, "Ebony and Ivory," hit number one, and he released a greatest-hits set covering 1972-1982 called Original Musiquarium I. It featured four new songs, of which "That Girl" (number one R&B, Top Five pop) and the lengthy, jazzy "Do I Do" (featuring Dizzy Gillespie; number two R&B) were significant hits.

In 1984, still not having completed the official follow-up to Hotter Than July, he recorded the soundtrack to the Gene Wilder comedy The Woman in Red, which wasn't quite a full-fledged Stevie Wonder album but did feature a number of new songs, including "I Just Called to Say I Love You." Adored by the public (it was his biggest-selling single ever) and loathed by critics (who derided it as sappy and simple-minded), "I Just Called to Say I Love You" was an across-the-board number one smash, and won an Oscar for Best Song. Wonder finally completed the official album he'd been working on for nearly five years, and released In Square Circle in 1985. Paced by the number one hit "Part Time Lover" -- his last solo pop chart-topper -- and several other strong songs, In Square Circle went platinum, even if Wonder's synthesizer arrangements now sounded standard rather than groundbreaking. He performed on the number one charity singles "We Are the World" by USA for Africa and "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick & Friends, and returned quickly with a new album, Characters, in 1987.

While Characters found Wonder's commercial clout on the pop charts slipping away, it was a hit on the R&B side, topping the album charts and producing a number one hit in "Skeletons." It would be his final release of the '80s, a decade capped by his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. New studio material from Wonder didn't arrive until 1991, when he provided the soundtrack to the Spike Lee film Jungle Fever. His next full album of new material, 1995's Conversation Peace, was a commercial disappointment, thought it did win two Grammys for the single "For Your Love." That same year, Coolio revived "Pastime Paradise" in his own brooding rap smash "Gangsta's Paradise," which became the year's biggest hit. Wonder capitalized on the renewed attention by cutting a hit duet with Babyface, "How Come, How Long," in 1996.

During the early 2000s, Motown remastered and reissued Wonder's exceptional 1972-1980 run of solo albums (Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants excepted) and also released The Definitive Collection, a representative single-disc primer. In 2005, after a decade had transpired without a new studio album, Wonder released A Time to Love, which was bolstered by collaborations with Prince and Paul McCartney, as well as one with daughter and "Isn't She Lovely" inspiration Aisha Morris. His far-reaching influence continued to be felt through samples, cover versions, and reinterpretations, highlighted by Robert Glasper Experiment and Lalah Hathaway's Grammy-winning version of "Jesus Children of America." Well into the late 2010s, Wonder continued to appear on albums by other artists, including Snoop Dogg, Raphael Saadiq, and Mark Ronson. All the while, Wonder regularly toured. From November 2014 through 2015, he celebrated the approaching 40th anniversary of Songs in the Key of Life with lengthy set lists that included all 21 songs of the classic album.

~ Steve Huey & Andy Kellman, Rovi

Question: What was the title of Stevie Wonder's 1977 tribute to Duke Ellington?
Answer: Sir Duke