Only a handful of artists have the cultural magnetism that enables their work to influence our lives - Stevie Wonder is one of them.

Not only is he a legendary musical artist, but the UN Messenger of Peace is highly recognized for his philanthropic work and efforts to ensure Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered each January as a civil rights hero.

Soul prodigy

Born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in 1950, he grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, about 100 miles from Detroit. It was a difficult birth. Wonder was six weeks premature and placed in an oxygen-heavy incubator, which is believed to have contributed to his eye disorder - retinopathy of prematurity - causing his blindness. He’s always taken it in stride, however.
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"Do you know, it's funny," Wonder told The Guardian, "but I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage, and I never thought of being black as a disadvantage. 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." 

Stevie Wonder, a star is born

Wonder showed an early gift for music, singing in the Whitestone Baptist Church choir and learning to play the piano, harmonica, and drums. He partnered with a friend and performed on street corners and at parties and dances.

A school friend, Gerald White, brought his brother, Ronnie White of The Miracles, to check out Stevland’s talent when the singer was just 11 years old. White was instantly impressed, and took Stevland to meet Berry Gordy, who signed him to Motown's Tamla label under the name Little Stevie Wonder - the rest is musical history.

Gordy placed the young singer’s career in the hands of his associate, Clarence Paul, Stevie's designated mentor. Paul, who also produced early Temptations records, co-wrote Wonder's first hit song, Fingertips (1963).

Meeting Martin Luther King Jr.

As a young teenager, Wonder performed with the Motown Revue in Alabama. It was the first time he’d experienced segregation. He later recalled someone shooting at the musicians’ tour bus, just barely missing the gas tank. 

At 15, Wonder attended a Chicago Freedom Movement rally where he met the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., his hero. King’s speech on the Montgomery Bus Boycott - an African American protest against segregated seating - had stuck with Wonder since the age of five: “I asked, ‘Why don’t they like colored people? What’s the difference? I still can’t see the difference. Want to know why? Because there is no difference.”

On the evening of 4 April 1968, Wonder was on his way back to Detroit from the Michigan School for the Blind when the news broke on the radio that King had been assassinated in Memphis. His driver immediately switched off the radio and they traveled the rest of the way home in shock and silence.

Mourning Martin Luther King Jr.

Five days later, Wonder flew to Atlanta to join thousands mourning the loss of the civil rights hero. At the funeral, Wonder was joined by African-American Congressman John Conyers, who had just submitted a bill to make King’s birthday a national holiday but the measure failed to gain popular support. The idea ignited a crusade to commemorate the slain civil rights icon, however, a movement spearheaded by Wonder and some of the biggest names in music including Bob Marley and Michael Jackson.

To fight the pushback from conservative politicians, Wonder put his musical career on hold and led rallies from coast to coast, galvanizing millions of Americans with his passion and lobbying Congress to pass the bill. Wonder had a vision for a national day of love, peace and unity. 

Happy Birthday

In 1980, Wonder recorded and released Happy Birthday as an ode to King and called to make MLK Day an official federal holiday. The song - now lovingly known to African Americans as the ‘black version’ of the traditional song - was included on the album Hotter Than July, which also featured a large photo of King with a call to endorse the holiday: “We still have a long road to travel until we reach the world that was his dream. We in the United States must not forget either his supreme sacrifice or that dream.”

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Stevie Wonder: Superstar

The glorious anthem, characterized by Wonder’s unmistakable sense of joy and positivity, went on to become one of his biggest hits and the soundtrack behind his journey to make MLK Day a reality. Following an incredibly successful tour with Bob Marley, where Wonder would close each show by leading the audience in singing Happy Birthday, the cause for MLK was revived.

As Ronald Reagan was preparing for his presidential inauguration in 1981, 100,000 people rallied in Washington DC for MLK Day. Coretta Scott King and Wonder both gave testimonies and the bill was finally passed 78 to 22; MLK Day was signed into law in November 1983 and has been officially observed on the third Monday of January every year since 1986. All 50 states had recognized MLK Day by 2000.

A lifetime of philanthropy

Wonder considers his contribution to creating MLK Day one of his proudest achievements - more so, even, than his incredible 25 Grammy awards. But this is not the only time in American history when Wonder’s impact was felt by everyone around him and beyond.

In 1985, Wonder was part of the supergroup USA for Africa that recorded the all-star charity single We Are the World, which helped to raise more than $63m for humanitarian aid in Africa famine relief - and it’s still earning money today. In the same year, he participated in another charity single, That’s What Friends Are For, to raise money for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR).
 

Stevie Wonder's arrest

Wonder was a political lightning rod throughout the 80s. He won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1984 for I Just Called to Say I Love You from The Woman in Red and dedicated the award to Nelson Mandela, who remained imprisoned at Pollsmoor Prison. This resulted in his music being banned by the South African government.

The following year, Wonder was arrested along with a group of anti-apartheid protestors outside the South African Embassy during demonstrations, stating he was “a conscientious criminal for world equality”. Wonder also hired exiled South African musicians to play on the song It’s Wrong (Apartheid) for his album In Square Circle.

On top of fundraising for children with visual impairments and disabilities, Wonder served on the President's Committee for charities such as Employment of People with Disabilities, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, and Junior Blind of America. His Wonder Vision Awards Program has a mission to help integrate blind and low-vision people into the workforce. For over two decades, Wonder’s annual House Full of Toys Benefit Concert has been providing toys and gifts to children, people with disabilities, and families in need.

Shelter in the Rain

When Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, Wonder recorded Shelter in the Rain and dedicated the song to the victims. The proceeds from the music were used to aid in disaster relief for the city of New Orleans, which had been devastated by the storm.

In 2009, to honor all his philanthropic efforts on disabled communities, the United Nations named Wonder a Messenger of Peace.

To this day, Wonder continues to use music for greater causes and inspire others. “As an artist, my purpose is to communicate the message that can better improve the lives of all of us.”