Timeline Description: Recording artist Stevie Wonder (born May 13, 1950) has recorded more than 30 top ten hits and won 25 Grammy Awards, more than any other artist. He remains active in the music industry today, recording and playing professionally.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 13, 1950 | Birth of Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950. He was six weeks premature, causing retinopathy of prematurity, leading to blindness. |
| 1954 | Moved to Detroit In 1954, his parents divorced and he moved to Detroit with his mother. She changed his last name to Morris, the name he kept throughout his life. |
| 1961 | Sang "Lonely Boy" At only 11, Stevie sang a song he wrote, "Lonely Boy" to Ronnie White from the Miracles. Ronnie secured him an audition, recognizing that the young boy was a child prodigy. |
| 1962 | Signed to Motown's Tamla Label CEO Berry Gordy signed Stevie to the Tamla record label and gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder. Arrangements were made for his earnings to be held in trust until he was 21, save for a living allowance for his mother. For the next year, Stevie worked closely with producer Clarence Paul. |
| 1963 | "Fingertips" Reached Number One Stevie's song, "Fingertips", reached number one on the R&B charts and the Billboard Top 100. It was the first live recording to ever reach number one. |
| 1960 | Renewed Success and Songwriting(Late 1960s) After some failures in early puberty, Stevie Wonder again begin to succeed, both as a performer and a songwriter. |
| 1970 | New Contract At 20, Wonder signed a new contract, providing him with a much higher royalty percentage. He continued to work, producing new albums, singles, and writing songs. |
| 1972 | Number One Hits, Toured with Rolling Stones(1972 to 1973) Between 1972 and 1973, Stevie Wonder had a number of number one hits, including "Superstition". He toured with the Rolling Stones in 1973, and appeared on Sesame Street. |
| 1974 | Grammy Awards(1974 and 1975) By the age of 25, Stevie Wonder had won two Grammy Awards, one for Innervisions in 1974 and one for Fulfillingness' First Finale in 1975 |
| September 1976 | Songs in the Key of Life In September 1976, the artist released the double album, plus EP, Songs in the Key of Life. This album is widely considered his best, and debuted at number one. |
| 1980 | Hotter than July 1980's Hotter than July was Stevie Wonder's first platinum album. The single, "Happy Birthday", helped to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday. |
| 1985 | Duet with Springsteen In 1985 and 1986, Stevie Wonder participated in several significant charity musical events, including "We Are the World" and "That's What Friends Are For". |
| 1989 | Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame In 1989, Stevie Wonder was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. |
| 1991 | Soundtrack for Jungle Fever In 1991, the artist recorded the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Jungle Fever. He continued to record and work in the music industry throughout the 1990s. |
| 2000 | Continued Work(2000 to 2016) Stevie Wonder toured in 2007, and contributed to a number of albums in the first years of the 21st century, releasing two albums of his own in 2014. |