Stevie Wonder, The blind vision

Artists are incredible people with incredible minds. They create masterpieces just from an image in their mind, whether they are painters, writers, or musicians. Their creativity leaves us speechless. Artists get impressed by their fellow artists as well as push their selves to their highest limits. There is no more significant example under this description other than Stevie Wonder.

Stevie Wonder is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is implausible and creative at his work but what put him on the top of the list is him being blind. Stevie Wonder has made those masterpieces and played almost every instrument artfully without having sight.

1. Achievements and rewards:

This legend has won 25 Grammys, has over ten million records, and gave ten U.S number one singles. In 70’s Stevie Wonder won the album of the year Grammy on three successive occasions, which was a rear accomplishment at that time. Stevie won the best R&B local performance award, Best Rhythm & Blues Song, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, and much, much more.

Stevie Wonder also got nominated for his great hits, productions, song writings, best vocals, and instrumental performances. Stevie has recorded 20 R&B number one hits and has sold over 100 million records, 19.5 million of which are albums. He is also one of the top 60 best-selling music artists.

2. The magician of instruments:

Stevie could be title a magician or king of musical instruments because he plays almost every device. He would play piano before he even reached ten and would astonish his family. Harmonica and drum were also his wonders at such shortage.

 He started learning other instruments like a synthesizer, bass guitar, clavinet, and bongos as growing. This man has touched tools with the delicacy of an artist and turned their sounds into a beautiful melody. And he learned and mastered all these instruments by being blind. His work with musical devices is that much at perfection that it becomes hard to believe that he is blind.

3. Wonder’s activism:

Stevie did not just do wonders in the music industry, but in the political area as well. He became the voice and front face of the campaign for Martin Luther King. He marched and protested with all the King’s followers to make his birthday the federal holiday in the U.S. Their hard work came to an end when the federal bill was signed in 1983 to make Martin Luther King’s birthday the national holiday.

He was an activist in his way. Not able to see himself, he becomes a vision for many. He was named as the messenger of peace in 2009 for his work. In 2014 he was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.

4. The praises:

It is news that people get jealous of ones who are successful in the same fields. But Wonder collected praises and appreciation not just from his fans, but other fellow artists.

Elton John, the English rock star, once wrote, “Let me put it this way: wherever I go in the world, I always take a copy of Songs in the Key of Life. For me, it’s the best album ever made, and I’m always left in awe after I listen to It.” for Rolling stone.  

Michael Douglas once said, “We have grown up singing his songs. In any country, in any language, he is a celebration. He is America’s ambassador of music.”

5. Musical prodigy:

 Stevie Wonder was known as a musical prodigy, but it was undoubtedly an arduous journey to the title and even after that. Stevie’s childhood days were tough. His family’s financial situation was not so good enough, and he had to witness his alcoholic father mistreating his mother very often.

 His mother, Lula Hardaway’s biography, shed light on this piece of information. His mother moved them to Saginaw to Detroit, in Michigan. There the co-founder of Miracle “Ronnie White” brought Stevie Wonder to the attention of Motown Records head Honcho Berry Gordy Jr. The prodigy took the road of success from there.

6. Little Stevie Wonder:

Little Stevie Wonder was given the title for his achievements at such a young age. When taken for an audition to Motown Records, He was labeled Little Stevie Wonder by the producer Clarence Paul.  He released his first album before he even reached his teens.

Another album was released shortly after that; live album little Stevie Wonders, the 12-year-old genius. His talent in singing and the instrumental performance had left people in awe. He showed at a young age that his disability would not stop him from catching his dreams. His loss of vision has helped in many ways than anything else could.

7. Slate’s article:

In the ’70s, Stevie gets into the flow of some of his excellent albums. From 1971 to 1976, Stevie released Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life. 

Hamilton gushed about songs in the key of life in slate’s article; he stated “a monumental work of American popular culture” and “perhaps the most ambitious work ever made by a pop star at the height of his or her powers.” Jack Hamilton was indeed a fan as he looked back at Winder’s work and writing in slates, “Most Americans follow up their 21st birthdays with a hangover.

Stevie Wonder opted for arguably the greatest sustained run of creativity in the history of popular music.”

8. Awareness through his songs:

Stevie’s lyrics have their importance and agenda in his songs. He has touched almost every topic with his lyrics; love, hate, trust, betrayal, inequality, divorce, and much more. He saw others’ problems while being blind. He went through a lot to get to the point where he is now and that struggle made him an empathetic man.

He would infuse all those issues in his mind around him and would address them through his music. His music has always been an inspiration, and all the lyrics, composition, the instruments involved, and how he artfully makes them work together. He showed his talent a how he handled and molded pop music through his time.

9. Blindness helped Stevie:

Disability becomes a hurdle in people’s lives, but Stevie has morphed his disability into a source of his imagination. He did not let despair catch him and mentioned that his blindness has helped him touch the limits of his vision and creativity on a few occasions.

He stated in The New York Times in 1975 in response to a reporter’s question about his blindness part in his creations, “It’s played a part in that I’m able to use my imagination to go places, to write words about things I’ve heard people talk about. In music and in being blind, I’m able to associate what people say with what’s inside me.”

10. His curiosity for piano:

His curiosity for piano rose when he touched the thing. He let his fingers roam and listen to the sound it made. He started hitting different notes just to see what would come out of it. He started learning piano at a young age and perfected it with the passage of time. He shared his first experience with the piano at Larry King Live in 2010.

He shared how it was to know and learn the piano while being blind; he said, “Obviously, the sound was fundamental to me, so, when I was able to, you know, to touch that thing, what’s called a piano, I was curious about it.”

11. Wonder appreciating other blind musicians:

Stevie was asked about another blind musician, George, sharing in the same Live show. Stevie praised George shearing as an amazing man. The host shared a conversation with George in which George said that he never regards being blind as a handicap because that’s all he knows.

To which Stevie Wonder replied, “Yes. I mean, it’s more difficult for someone who has seen and then lost their sight.”  Stevie was not born blind. He experienced the loss after his birth, and he did not waste his time and energy moping on it, but make it the source for his success.

12. Stevie’s words on his blindness and music:

Larry King further asked Stevie about how his blindness corporate with his music “When you write a song, where does it come from? I mean, you don’t see colors. You don’t see people.

You don’t know what a television set looks like. You feel a piano, but you’ve never seen a piano.” He replied, “I honestly think if I were to, you know, see a piano or to see someone or all the other things you mentioned… I think I’d be pretty close to where I imagine it to be.

I think I’ve got a pretty good imagination. And I think that you know, we feel before we see. We hear before we see.”

13. In the response of Oprah Winfrey:

Oprah Winfrey, the talk show host, also questioned his sight. She asked at an interview in 2004, “If you’ve never seen, can you miss it?” He said, “I miss what’s associated with seeing.” He then added, “I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss being able to drive somewhere with my wife and kids alone or, back in the day, with my girl.

But there’s nothing I can do about it. I just have to work it out.” At that, Oprah showed interest in how he understands the perception of sight. Wonder replied to that, “Because I’m living life, aware of what everyone else is doing. I have a vivid imagination.”

14. Wonder also faced bullying in his childhood:

In the interview with Oprah, Stevie mentioned how people would bully him for being blind. He added, “And growing up, I was around people who weren’t afraid to say, ‘Man, why are you lookin’ over there? What’s wrong with you? I’m over here. You need to keep your head still.”

Stevie put a humorous spin on the bullying, saying that he was not famous for his piano skills. He stated, “I was known as the blind boy who was always making noise, beating on walls, hitting on boxes, singing and playing the bongos from morning till sunset on the front porch; people were like, ‘Give us a break.'”

15. Loss of sight can heighten the sense of hearing: 

Stevie shared an interesting phenomenon as a blind person at Oprah’s show. He said, “If you close your eyes and put your hands right in front of your face, then move your hands; you can hear the sound of the air bouncing off your hands.” He explained that how a blind person can catch the sound that bounces off things. Their ears become their eyes. Calling it “facial radar.” 

He answered a question from Oprah, “Everything has a sound in terms of its placement. In other words, there are many things in this room, and they make up how this room sounds – how dead or alive it is acoustically. If you took this desk out, the audio picture would be different.”

16. “I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage”:

Stevie Wonder is not just a legend and inspiration in music but daily life as well. How he handles his blindness all his life and showcases it as some kind of gift.  He has proved more than once that being blind has not cut short his happiness and the chase after his dreams.

He handled the remarks against his color decently as well. He said at the interview with The Guardian in 2012 about his sight and color, “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.”

17. The gratitude of Wonder:

Being disabled can be noxious for anyone, but Wonder stayed positive and thankful for it all his life. He said at the same interview with The Guardian, “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 make something out of it. The genius in me is God – it’s the God in me coming out.” 

His being thankful for lack of something is the proof of his kind nature. This character of his motivated other disables as well to achieve their dreams.

18. His understanding of colors:

Associating colors with a blind can be a little doubtful, but the musician has his way to work. He would work with a person’s personality and would associate it as their color.

He replied to a question at an interview, “When someone mentions a color, I associate it with my understanding of what that color is; I may have been able to see for a short time after I was born.” 

Wonder then shared his thoughts about how he sees color in a person’s spirit that he does not have to see their color but the spirit they hold, whether it’s a good spirit or bad.

19. How Stevie Wonder became blind:

 In 2004, in the interview, Oprah asked about the incident that took Stevie’s vision. She asked, “Weren’t you put in an incubator and given too much oxygen?” He replied recalling the memory, “Right – I was premature. My doctor didn’t know what’s known now about the right amount of oxygen, so I was given too much, and an area of my eyes was destroyed.”

Stevie was put into the incubator as he was six weeks early from his actual arrival. The oxygen went high from the optimum level, causing Stevie to lose his vision at the age of seven weeks.

20. Stevie suffered from Retinopathy of prematurity:

The national eyes institute recognized the condition as Retinopathy of prematurity. It primarily affects premature babies who are less than three pounds. It is one of the most common causes of childhood blindness. Its condition was diagnosed in 1942, eight years before Wonder’s birth.

He considered himself lucky as he said, “A girl who was born one minute before me actually died; she couldn’t withstand that much oxygen.” And what makes him even more of a celebrity in our eyes is the fact that he never blamed the doctors for their mistake, a mistake that made him lose a part of himself.

21. How his eyes damaged:

Stevie explained what actually happened that cause him loss his sight. He said that the excess oxygen in the incubator made his blood vessels grow in his eyes. They were branched to the retina, the tissue at the back of the eye.  The growing pressure on the vessels causes them to rupture, which damaged the retina and made it detached.  

Although Stevie Wonder does not consider him unfortunate and he think that he was lucky as he survived the immense pressure of oxygen but still we believe all the suffering he has gone through was solely mistake or carelessness of the doctors.

22. The visit back to the hospital:

The musical prodigy visited the hospital he was born in. He stated, “Once I went to Saginaw, Michigan, and visited the hospital where I was born. There was this big hoopla – they gave me a special award. I think people were scared I was planning to sue that doctor’s ass.

But he didn’t have any intent to harm me.” He did not sue any of them because he knew it was a mistake. They did nothing intentionally. He had accepted his fate and is now having a great time with it. He is still one of the famous people without the sight.

23. Stevie’s mother and her agony:

 Stevie’s mother uses to worry about him a lot. No mother wants her kids to miss something so essential in their life. So watching her son growing without the sight made her sad, but Stevie never was sad about it. So when Oprah asked him about it, he agreed.

She wondered if he said those words to his mother “Don’t worry about me being blind because I’m happy.” Stevie replied, “I said something like that.” He then said it troubled him seeing his mother sad “It bothered me that my mother was crying all the time,” he added, “She thought God might be punishing her for something. She lived during a time when things were particularly difficult for a woman in her circumstances.”

24. Stevie’s mother and her lessons:

Even though his mother being sad and upset about his blindness, she always pushed him to follow his heart. She taught him some significant life lessons. “To persevere, to never be ashamed [and] to not let my past bury me.” These were the lessons Hardaway taught her son.

He said that his mother raised him like any mother would raise their child. She did not treat him any differently because of his disability. He then added to the interviewer, “[My mom] didn’t bind me up. She wasn’t like, ‘Don’t step there!’ or ‘Watch out, you’ll fall!'” She let him discover and explore the world on his own.

25. “My mother was just fast enough to catch me”:

Stevie elaborated more on his mother’s way of raising him. He said, “[My mom would] tell me to be careful, but I was going to do what I was going to do. She was just fast enough to catch me.

She knew I had to learn – and the more she allowed me to do, the more she could let go.” The method has helped Little Stevie Wonder to grow more into the man he is now; a man who is no doubt a legend. The quote “behind every successful man, there is a woman” is a perfect setting in their situation.

26. Elton John; Wonder’s fan:

Elton John is no doubt Wonder’s big fan. He is a music icon himself and did not just have good relations with his fellow musicians but also few royals. He was one of Princess Diana’s closest friends.

Elton mentioned their friendship in his biography “Me.” He revealed some events of how they became friends and their journey afterward and talked about some conflicts between him and Princess Diana.

In his biography, he shed some light on why things got disordered between him and Princess. Elton said that he had some fears for her friend, and that led to some arguments.

27. Royalty behind the doors:

Being friends with royalty comes with more than just friendship. Elton had a chance to be in royal parties, events, some gatherings. He gets to know the royal family members’ actual personalities. How they act around their family members in the walls of their home and how they work in public were very different.

He stumbled on some weird scenes in his span of life with the royal family as well. It was on those some occasions that he met Diana, and she gladly saved him the embarrassment. They clicked on their first encounter and stayed friends for a long time.

28. The biography:

Elton’s biography “Me” caught many eyes and ears for what he said about Rod Stewart, another musician. He mentioned the feud between them for quite some time. Moreover, The musician Rod Stewart said about Elton’s tour that “It’s dishonest. It’s not rock ‘n’ roll.” 

John did not hold his thoughts back o the matter with Stewart. He also talked about Diana and the feud they shared, but it was clear from the way he spoke of her that he was not angry with her, but he instead missed his old friend. John and Diana were able to the cloud between them.

29. Their first encounter:

 Elton and Princess Diana first met in 1981. It was before Princess Diana married Prince Charles. They met again at the birthday party for Prince Andrew. They instantly became friends the moment they start talking. Elton said that “She was a fabulous company… a real gossip: you could ask her anything, and she’d tell you.” They became close with the time as they meet again and again for different occasions.

They would meet at some parties, events. Their common meeting point would be any occasion about awareness of AIDS. They were both actively involved in the campaigns for AIDS awareness.

30. Meeting Diana’s children:

Elton wrote for Time magazine in 2018: “I first met a timid and sweet Prince Harry at a private lunch at Kensington Palace, given by his mother Princess Diana for Gianni Versace and me many years ago.” He gets to spend time with Diana’s kids, Harry and William.

The music icon helped and supported Diana’s children every step of the way. He became like a father to them. It was because Princess Diana trusted him with not just with her life but her children’s. Elton also honored Prince harry by writing him as one of the 100 in Time magazine.

31. Elton thoughts about Prince Harry:

  Elton was friends with PrincessDiana for a long time, so he saw her children grow up in front of his eyes. He admired them, supported them, and had their backs when the public or media threw stones at them.

He added further to the magazine that “What a joy it has been to see that young boy grow to inherit his mother’s warmth, sense of humor and courage to stand up and champion the causes he truly believes in.” 

Diana’s kids also help her with the awareness of AIDS. Diana went beyond the myths to the patients and took a picture with Aids patient to show that it is not contagious by touch.

32. What happened between Diana and Elton:

 As Elton mentioned in his biography, he said they had some argument over one of the charity events. In an interview with BBC, “[Diana and I] did have a little falling out earlier in the year over a charity event.

We did write each other letters, which neither of us responded to. It was only after the tragic death of Gianni Versace that we spoke.” The musician talked about the dispute after Diana’s death.

He sang at her funeral in 1997 “Candle in the wind,” sharing her life in a song. He later recorded the song and funded the charities Diana was looking after.

33. What got them back together?

  They did not mingle after their conflict but what got them back together was the death of a friend who was dear to both of them. Gianni Versace was a fashion designer who was murdered in front of his house.

Serial killer Andrew Cunanan murdered him on July 15, 1997. They both attended the funeral side by side, putting aside the entire clash and comforting each other.

It was the last public event Diana attended before her death. They were both devastated from losing such a great friend. That’s why both of them decided to hold on to their friendship.

34. Elton thoughts on the royal funeral:

Elton was not much a fan of royal funerals. At Princess Diana’s funeral, Elton did not like how her kids were told to act. He wrote in “Me” about his thoughts, “William and Harry looked completely shell-shocked, they were 15 and 12, and I thought the way they were treated that day was absolutely inhuman.

They were forced to walk through the streets of London behind their mother’s coffin, told to show no emotion and look straight ahead.” He went to record the track in his studio that he sang for Diana after the funeral. 

Then added his personal feeling about the funeral, “I hadn’t felt able to show emotion all day, I’d had a job to do, and how I felt about Diana’s death might have interfered with my ability to do it.”

35. “Candle in the wind”:

As much as Elton loved the song with what it meant and it was for, it started disturbing him for the same reason. It will keep on reminding him of Diana’s funeral.

He wrote in his biography that, “In the end, I started feeling uncomfortable with the single’s longevity.” he added, “Its success meant there was footage of Diana’s funeral week after week on Top of the Pops. It almost felt like wallowing in her death, as if the mourning for her had got out of hand.” He further said, “And I didn’t want to do anything to prolong [the wallowing] any further.

So when Oprah Winfrey asked me on her talk show to discuss the funeral, I said no,” he added. “It wasn’t that I wanted to forget it – or [Diana]. I just wanted life to get back to some semblance of normality.”

36. The royal party:

Elton talks about the royal party, which was where he first met Diana. He mentioned the party in his book _ “surreal.” and gave the reason by writing, “Because the Queen was there, and no one wanted to cause any offense to the royal sensibilities, the disco was turned down about as low as you could get without switching it off altogether.

You could hear your feet moving around on the floor over the music,” John then blended with the party guests and royal family members. He said, “Princess Anne asked me to dance with her to ‘Hound Dog’ by Elvis Presley. Well, I say ‘dance’: I ended up just awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot, trying to make as little noise as I could so that I didn’t drown out the music…

Then the Queen appeared, carrying her handbag. She walked over and asked if she could join us.”

37. The savior:

Elton then wrote in his book that how Diana saved him from the awkward situation. “So, now I was trying to dance as inaudibly as possible with Princess Anne and the Queen – still holding her handbag – while what appeared to be the world’s quietest disco played Bill Haley.

I tried my best to come up with a facial expression that suggested this was a perfectly normal state of affairs.” He wrote further, “Anyway, that night in 1981, [Diana] arrived in the ballroom, and we immediately clicked. We ended up pretending to dance the Charleston while hooting at the disco’s feebleness.” 

38. The story of the queen:

Elton also wrote about what he witnessed of the Queen at that party. He said humorously, “In private, [the Queen] could be hilarious,” John wrote how he noticed Queen slapping a family member in a party.   “At another party, I saw her approach Viscount Linley and ask him to look in on his sister, who’d been taken ill and had retired to her room.”

He wrote the queen’s exact actions “When he repeatedly tried to fob her off, the Queen lightly slapped him across the face, saying ‘Don’t’ – SLAP – ‘argue’ – SLAP – ‘with’ – SLAP – ‘me’ – SLAP – ‘I’ – SLAP – ‘am’ – SLAP – ‘THE QUEEN!'”. He added, “As [Viscount Linley] left, [the Queen] saw me staring at her, gave me a wink, and walked off,” 

39. An incredible friend:

  The music icon wrote some about his feeling to the royal family and their parties, “No matter how funny or normal the royal family seemed – whether they were asking me if I’d done any coke before I went on stage as Princess Alexandra once did, or winking at me after slapping a nephew across the face – there’d inevitably come a moment where I’d find myself thinking, ‘This is just bizarre. I’m a musician from a council house on Pinner Road. What am I doing here?'”

he added with more gentleness, “With Diana, it wasn’t like that. She was blessed with incredible social ease – an ability to make people feel totally comfortable in her company,” he explained. “Her kids have inherited it, Prince Harry in particular; he’s exactly the same as his mum: [he has] no interest to informality or grandeur.”

40. A sympathetic human:

 Elton John wrote some more about how Princess Diana would reach out to people in need, even if it were just a comforting touch. He described one of her photos with an AIDS patient holding their hand, “That famous photo of her holding an AIDS patient’s hand at the London Middlesex Hospital – that was Diana.

I don’t think she was necessarily trying to make a big point, although obviously, she did. At that moment, she changed public attitudes to AIDS forever. She’d just met someone suffering, dying in agony – why wouldn’t you reach out and touch them? It’s the natural human impulse to try to comfort someone.”