It's Friday In Athens Welcomes Back Stevie Wonder

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT...

"Three Dog Night was my first "rock" concert at the Coliseum at UGA when I was in 7th grade! I wonder if the lead singer can still fit into that tight white fringed jacket?" L.N. 7/3/09

First date with my wife, Three Dog Night, Omni in Atlanta, July 29, 1973....seems like yesterday.

Thanks Larry! C.A. 7/3/09

Hey Larry. Love Robert Palmer and I Loooove that smooth sound. How about some Lionel Richie.

Thanks. Mom. 6/26/09

Randy and Tina Raburn turned me

on to this (Robert Palmer) and I

love it. Out in Oregon.

Thanks. V.T. 6/26/09

LOVE the stories behind the performers and their songs.

Robbie 5/24/09

Ain"t heard that one "Brother Louie" in a while. hoss858 5/24/09

You (Dirk and Tony) are one of my fondest memories of UGA!!!!! My best friend and I STILL sing, "Silly Little Girl" when we are on road trips together! Deb Mc. 6/23/09

Larry, thanks for turning me on to this album (Yesterday & Today - The Beatles) way back in 19XX! It's remained one of my favorite Beatles albums of all time.

Dennis M. 6/19/09

Thanks for the lyrics to Louie Louie. I've always thought that they were the Kingsmen's lyrics recorded under the influence of Jack Daniel. Now we know it was rum. A great tune. I've never heard anybody say that they didn't like it. rjenkins 5/29/09

Love the site! Sheree 5/8/09

Have never seen a female lead singer play the guitar like that--Go Larry,thanks for your efforts to entertain your classmates! tbirdamf 5/8/09

OMG, I didn't recognize this one (39-21-40 Shape) till it started playing! Love it.

Dale 4/19/09

Larry, I just had to get up and move with (Shake A Tail Feather) that one! Keep it up!

Jeff 4/3/09

That really was a blast from the past! The last time I saw Dirk and Tony perform was at Jon Tuck’s graduation party in the mid seventies. What a party! Love the photo. And we all thought we looked so cute back then – foolish folks! Thanks for the memory. Leslie P. 3/20/09

I have the songs on my Ipod now in the car...............cruisin' in the afternoon just got better!

L.D. 3/20/09

Great site!! I really appreciate Dirk and Tony spotlight.They've entertained multitudes when they worked together and still are today on their own.

R. Jenkins 3/20/09

Thank you, thank you, Larry! I always enjoy the music you select but this (Dirk and Tony) is the best yet!! Talk about memories!

Melody P. 3/20/09

"Oh yeah - played this many times today. I sent it on to a few folks who are not on the list. The pictures almost made me sad - too much time has flown by. Loved hearing the song again. So glad you were able to get it on there. I think I played it 3 times at least." Betsy K. 3/20/09

Dirk, Looking GOOD my brutha!! I love the earlier pics of you and Tony. I hope to get to Athens again one of these days, soon, and hear you sing. You are a treasure! Bobby D.

3/20/09

Awesome!! Debbie G. 3/20/09

Loved hearing this song again!!! When will y'all be playing together again? Gilbert M. 3/20/09

Good morning & Happy first day of Spring!!!! What a great way to start my morning, Dirk and Tony!

Patti W. 3/20/09

You did a wonderful job on this week!!!! Dirk and Tony takes ya back a long way to some good times!!!

Thanks, Rhonda T. 3/20/09

Tina R. shared this and it was great fun. Thanks from Oregon. 03/13/09

Great to see you bashing the drums in the group video that your mum sent, we spotted her dancing. Also enjoyed the music played by the group. Uncle Jack & Aunt Carole in the U.K. 02/19/09

Thanks bsh69r, I missed that. Two heads or more are better than one.

02/17/09 friday@fridayinathens.com

Correction: The song that's played here was done by Scott McKenzie and is called "San Francisco". The MP3 is mistitled. Aside from that, I love your site...absolutely a great site and will keep revisiting it. :-) bsh69r 02/16/09

Really enjoying the site. Love the featured act (The Zombies) and their music. Great work you do.

A service. Barry H. 02/06/09

This ("Ain't That Peculiar") used to be the song back then! Heidi R. 01/29/09

One of my all time favorite groups "The Intruders", doing one of their best! I play this one on my home system at least once a week. Your buddy, Dirk H. 12/05/08

You’ve created something wonderful with your Friday website. Something positive to look forward to each week. Can’t wait to see what’s on the plate for this week. Leslie P. 11/17/08

Thanks for the wonderful music I enjoy it... Great site Connie 9/11/08

Larry, Live for "Fridays"....I even get up and put on my tornado red shoes and tap along to the songs!!!

A.P. 7/11/2008

Growing up as an "old school" listener, I love this kind of music. Thanks so much for putting real music on so we all can hear what it was like back then. This music is NOT DEAD, it's still alive; and people like "us", the listeners keep it alive!

Babedoll 7/9/2008

This "Private Number" was always a great song. Too bad they did not have more hits. I loved this song. Harper 7/9/2008

Don and Juan were one of the great Doo-Wop singing Duo's out there. Love 'em! "All That's Missing Is You" is one of their rarest records! Northern Soul! Brian Y. 7/2/2008

Larry; What would Friday's be without you and Friday is Always coming in Athens? Jimmy J 6/30/2008

Thank you for this site, I'm french and

I have 40 years. I am a collector of

vinyl and American music oldies, soul,

funk. Il are very few in my french

cas.Je this site is fantastic because I

found some artist American and that

I discovered the other, bravo and

keep this site. 5/20/2008

Hey! I haven't heard this song since I was visiting LLC in the summer of 1972. I was crazy about her... wow! Thanks for sharing this song with the public! MSH 5/19/2008

The words to this song (Expressway to Your Heart) are quite interesting. Larry keep the tunes coming.

TC jJ 5/19/2008

First timer for me. I love your terrific format and exciting info. I feel like I'm back in Athens. ES 5/14/2008

IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS----THIS IS THE BEST!!!! Unknown 5/9/2008

I love it. I am learning about all of these singers and I'm only

16 years old. Unknown 5/8/2008

Hey you,

I LOVE that song by the Casinos

this week. I think it's

one of the prettiest "pop" songs ever

written and a great slow dance song.

:) I keep getting a flash back of a

girl/boy party in 6th or 7th grade.

I remember slow dancing with

someone - maybe Kevin. I can

almost see the room (someone's

basement/ rumpus room) and I

know the guy had on a sweater but I

can't quite see the

face. I'll keep you posted. Anyway -

thanks for playing it for me.

Take care. B. - 4/25/2008

Larry - Thanks so much for Otis!

Can you find "Then You Can Say

Goodbye" by The Casino's? Thanks!

Betsy 4/18/2008

Thanks for sharing the one hit wonder.

I'm surprised this only made it to #7

as its played quite often as an oldie.

Keep the sounds coming.

JJ 4/13/2008

Lovin the tunes, Larry.See ya in June. Randy R. 3/21/2008

Mr. Larry; Thanks for all you do for us little people.

Sincerely JJ 3/7/2008

Thanks Larry! Nothing like a Dirty Old Woman! Betsy

3/3/2008

This is very cool.My kind of music. Thanks. George S.

2/29/2008

Larry, Does anyone remember the days at Legion Field with POCO & Pure Prairie League and the music park behind the pool and all the good times concerts concerts?

Bill M. 2/29/2008

Mr. Green sure does have a smooth voice. I'm surprised he didn't do even better. JJ 2/18/2008

Hey Larry - Ever heard of "Dirty Old Woman" by Denise La Salle? You make my Fridays. Betsy

2/15/2008

Enjoyed Joe Cocker. Thanks folks. - Jim 2/8/2008

This is a great song. Larry keep the tunes coming.

TC YF JJ 2/8/2008

A WONDERFUL site- Thanks for keeping GOOD MUSIC- Alive. - Big Doc-Bdge, GA 2/8/2008

Greetings to all at FIA!

I've been longing to hear "The Bus' by

the late, great Billy Preston. Any

chance you got that in your vaults?

Here's to a soulful 2008!

Carlos - Cleveland, OH 1/29/2008

Hey Larry, I just read about Miles and Jimi being friends. How about some Hendrix soon.

Love the website, Joy 1/18/2008

Great to get the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Thanks, Pat M. 12/28/07

A great way to enjoy the history of music and the beautiful sounds of the blues. Robert B. 12/7/2007

Enjoyed your special on the Rolling Stones. I would like to see more on Blues Artist old and young. Keep it Groovin. Robert B. 11/28/2007

Larry, Johnny Guitar Watson really brings back some wasted brain cells! Wore out the grooves in that album the year it came out. Thanks David L. 11/9/07

Watson is the man!!! Your Bro. Young Robert! 11/9/07

OMG, This song (Humble Pie - Thirty Days In The Hole) so reminds me of you Larry and 1972! LOL Andrie - 10/5/07

I love this website, I have to listen to this each and every day. Thank you very much. I will share this with all my

co-workers and friends. Nate 9/30/07

Love this site! I call it "Continuing Music Education"! I know the songs, but I didn't know all the stories behind the people who performed them. Andrie - 9/23/07

Can you dig up Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel by Tavares? Thanks! D. - Cleveland OH 8/17/07

The site is wonderful Larry and the music is just awesome!!! I love visiting It's Friday In Athens!!!! Please keep this going forever!!!! - Dierdra L. - President/CEO, Getan Records, THE LIGHTHOUSE GOSPELETTES!!! Athens, GA 7/29/07

It's Friday? How about "Don't Roll Your Bloodshot Eyes at Me" for a little local flavor? Mark B. 7/27/07

Consider the Manhattans on Friday’s! Frank P. 7/27/07

Larry!!!! You MADE my day with "Build Me Up"! I'm on vacation in Santa Barbara and sent it to my co-workers with the threat that I can now play it anytime I want! Psych! Hello Don M in the bay area and to Betsy! Everyone raves about your site, Larry! It's awesome! Gratefully yours, Scotty 7/20/07

Hey Larry, Before the summer's over we need something from the summer of love for its 40th anniversary. It's for us in the bay area. Don M. 7/13/07

Hey Larry The music is just great.Would also like to hear'The Horse' by Cliff Nobles. Thanks. Double Divine 7/6/07

Hey Larry, Remember those instrumentals that played before the top of the hour on AM Radio? How about "The Horse" by Cliff Nobles or "Soul Finger".

Thanks! Betsy K. 6/30/07

Larry, If I ever need a D.J. Guess what,You The Man!!! Thanx: Corndog 6/22/07

Yes! it's Friday and I'm up here jammin' in Cleveland, OH. How about some Soul Generation - Body & Soul (That's the Way It's Got to Be) Ya'll remember that one? Have a great weekend! losplus 6/22/07

How about Earth, Wind and Fire? Angie G. 6/6/07

Hooray for Friday!! Mary A. 6/1/07

This group (The Four Tops) is great. Thanks VM Jimmy J. - 5/25/07

Thanks for a Friday of Dusty Springfield, The Look of Love. Erica from Red Lobster, thanks for the look. - F.L. 4/5/07

I love this site! Any chance I could hear "Coldest Days Of My Life" by the Chi-Lites? - 4/4/07

I would love to hear "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous

Brothers or "Fats" Domino's

"Ain't That a Shame" or

"Blueberry Hill." Thanks,

Patrick - 3/30/07

Hey Larry! You are amazing! I have my whole office dancing to these! Just great! Can you do a BeeGees for my boss and slip in Build Me Up Buttercup? I sing it anyway at work, may as well have the music to go along with it (the more to torture my co-workers with! Looking forward to all the Fridays-with-Larry! :) Scotty - 3/30/07

Oh, my goodness, you found "Black Pearl." I nearly fainted this am, when I opened the site. Thank you sooooo much. Blessings P.W. Smith - 3/30/07

Please add "Black Pearl" by The Checkmates...not sure what year, but thinking mid 60's. Thanks sooooooo much.

P. Smith - 3/23/07

This is a great website. My mom always listened to the "Oldies" station here, and I wanted to be just like my Mom, so I started listening to it and I loved it, and this website has some of my favorites. M. Pierce - 3/22/07

Hey, I love the t-shirt. I have had it on

since I got home from Arizona. You

did a good job. That was a great

song last Friday (Wang Dang Doodle)

- didn't know it but who ever

requested it is someone I

would like to hang with. And then

today we had

The Zombies....that took me back to

8th grade and one of my first boy/girl

parties. They were always held in

someone's basement and the lights

would go off by 9:00.

That song always seem to bring on

lots of smooching. I will

not be naming names.... ;)

Thanks again,

Betsy

This is awesome!!! Thanks for the great site and fabulous music!! WooHoo!! Jen B. - 2/18/07

I could not have picked a better artist. Thanks, Pat M.

Thank you Larry - You have made my day! Betsy K.

Mr. Larry, I really enjoyed Roy Head-Hey Hey. YF

Jim J. - 2/5/07

This always gets my Friday off to a great start! Love it!

Debbie - 1/26/07

Every once in a while my mornings are worth rising for, this has been one of them with Tina Turner.

Thanks Bill S. - 1/19/07

Keep up the good work. JJ - 1/19/07

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2007! I remember at this time in 1969 we were really gettng into Abbey Road! But oh, how I love the sweet soul music of the 60's and 70's as well. Thanks for your work in keeping this music alive. And keep on sending it, Brother! Dennis M. - 12/29/06

Moonchild Diva in Motown - found the site by looking for Billy Stewart! I think you answered my question...who played bass on Billy's recordings? SO THANK YOU for clearing up the mystery! - 12/11/06

Billy Stewart , alright, one of my favorites. Also, Jerry Butler, Major Lance, Willy Tee....

Your friend, Dirk H.

Thanks for Billy Stewart Larry - You have made

my day! Betsy K. - 12/8/07

I look forward to Friday's email. This is great.

Linda L. - 12/8/07

Wow! From your personal E-Mail account. I forward "Its Friday in Athens!!!" on to my friends often. The folks here at work are trying to figure me out. Their 56 year old C.E.O. sits in his office every Friday morning booming out R&B. Though it works for me, its not the type of behavior they expect from someone in my position. BLUES BANKER!

T. Turgeon -

Thanks for Joe T. Luv'd it! Roy Head and the Traits?

Hope you had a good Turkey Day.

T. Turgeon - 11/27/07

I keep waiting for Jackie Wilson and Billy Stewart....I have

decided that like me, you have an

older brother or sister who had you

listening to this music as a kid.

Hope all is well your way.

Betsy K. - 11/25/06

How about a little Joe Tex? T. Turgeon

Thanks, "I LOVE IT! Makes my day! M.N. - 9/29/06

WOW WOW WOW AN OUTSTANDING REVIEW OF THE real STYLE OF MUSIC - Atlanta Cooking - 9/23/06

In my time, this is the most fascinating music I have ever heard. **86 - 8/17/06

Keep up the great and extremely important work. We met I believe at Michael Guthrie's house a few weeks ago at the HVARII Reunion. I am a great lover of our R&B and it's great to see someone who truly cares about it. Ole!

T. Turgeon - 8/2/06

Again, the "It's Friday" series is great - I love it every week and have sent it on to so many folks -

thanks again. Betsy K.

Aretha is my personal favorite so far! Peggy M.

LOVE THIS...I NEED SOMETHNG TO GET ME THROUGH THE DAY !!!! C. Lady - 6/3/07

Great! Perfect! Dance Music I Love It!!! Laine L.

I think you missed your calling as a DJ! Nicki S.

Keep 'em coming!! I really enjoy listening to "my kind of music". Thank you. Mary M.

I like getting your email every Friday, keep it coming!

Carlas A.

DON'T FORGET THE 'QUEEN OF SOUL'........ ARETHA!!!!! YOUR MAKING MY FRIDAYS. RONK

MY FRIENDS REALLY LIKE FRIDAY IN ATHENS! ONE IS SENDING EVERYONE AT THE COURTHOUSE AN EMAIL. Ron H.

THANKS SO MUCH EACH WEEK! Nancy W.

This makes me smile! Ray C.

Great job, keep up the good work. Terry T.

I SAVE UNTIL FRI AFTERNOON, BY 5:00 P.M. I'M REVVVVED!!! RONK - 5/19/06

Thanks for this humanitarian service to get us crunk for district wide planning. Wilson Pickett reminds us to put a “spotlight on Otis Redding y’all”. Yeah,yeah, oh yeah. Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-Faaa! Karl S.

Thanks. What a pleasant surprise to get to work and open this e-mail- glad I started with yours first. Melanie B.

Thanks for the Friday emails Larry!! I really enjoy them.

Kim S.

Thanks for the sound of good music. I really do love my oldies but goodies. E. Luke - 5/19/06

Thanks!!! This is great! Jane B.

Great site! How about some Sam Cooke??? - 5/19/06

Thanks for the music! Steve P.

I love this! Thanks. Dianne M.

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your Friday emails. Thanks for including me! Betsy K.

I appreciate the link – good stuff!

Jon W.

I LIKE IT!!!!!! Thanks and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Barbara S.

THIS IS GREAT!!!!!! Susan R.

So in your spare time you try to cheer up everyone? Thanks, Lori R.

I love these songs. Thanks. Terri S.

Awesome……Thanks for doing this, we all look forward to it every week. I’ve sent it to everyone I know!

Debi D.

I needed this today! Thanks. Susan S.

Good selection for this fabulous

Friday!!!!!

Thanks for the Music this morning. I think I could listen to this all day, if people didn't think I was crazy for MOVING in my chair. Have a great weekend. Joyce G.

This is awesome! Thanks, Debi D.

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About The Artist

Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Morris on May 13, 1950), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, musician, and social activist. Wonder has recorded more than 30 Top 10 hits, won 21 Grammy Awards (a record for a solo artist), also one for lifetime achievement, he has won an Oscar for Best Song and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame.

Blind from infancy, Wonder signed with Motown Records as an adolescent, and continues to perform and record for the label to this day. He has become one of the most successful and well-known artists in the world, with nine U.S. number-one hits to his name and album sales totaling more than 100 million units. Wonder has recorded several critically acclaimed albums and hit singles, and writes and produces songs for many of his labelmates

and outside artists as

well. A multi-

instrumentalist, Wonder plays the drums, congas, bass guitar, organ and most famously the piano, keyboard and harmonica

Stevland Judkins was born prematurely in Saginaw, Michigan.. It is thought that he received excessive oxygen levels in his incubator which led to retinopathy of prematurity. Common among other prematurely born children in the 1940s and 50s, this is considered to be the ultimate cause of his blindness.

Hardaway instructed her other children (there would eventually be five boys and one girl in the home) to treat Stevland the same as any other child, and not to tease or over-assist him because of his blindness. As a result, Stevland had a balanced childhood. The family moved to Detroit, Michigan and Stevland began singing and playing instruments in church at an early age. He in particular took to the piano, congas, and harmonica.

In 1962, at the age of 11, Stevland Morris was introduced to Ronnie White of the popular Motown act The Miracles. White brought Morris and his mother to Motown Records. Impressed by the young musician, Motown CEO Berry Gordy signed Morris to Motown's Tamla label as Little Stevie Wonder.

At the age of 13, Little Stevie Wonder had his first major hit , "Fingertips (Pt. 2)", a 1963 single taken from a live recording of a Motortown Revue performance. The song, featuring Wonder on vocals, congas, and harmonica, and a young Marvin Gaye on drums, was a #1 hit on the US pop charts and launched him into the public consciousness. Dropping the "Little" from his moniker, Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid-1960s, including "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "With a Child's Heart", and "Blowin' in the Wind", a Bob Dylan cover.He also began to work in the Motown songwriting department, composing songs both for himself and his labelmates.

By 1970, Wonder had scored more major hits, including "I Was Made to Love Her", "For Once in My Life", "My Cherie Amour", and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)". Besides being one of the first songs on which Wonder serves as both songwriter and producer, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" is one of the main showcases for his backup group Wonderlove, a trio which included at various times Minnie Riperton, Deniece Williams, Lynda Laurence, and Syreeta Wright, whom Wonder married on September 14, 1970. Wonder and Wright divorced eighteen months later, but they continued to collaborate on musical projects.

Besides Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder was one of the few Motown stars to contest the label's factory-like operation methods: artists, songwriters, and producers were usually kept in specialized collectives with little or no overlap, and artists had no creative control. Wonder argued with Berry Gordy over creative control a number of times. As a compromise, Motown released an album under the name "Eivets Rednow" (Stevie Wonder backwards). Arguments continued and Wonder allowed his Motown contract to expire, leaving the label on his twenty-first birthday in 1971. His final album before his departure was Where I'm Coming From, which Gordy had strongly fought against releasing.

Wonder independently recorded and released two albums, which he used as a bargaining tool while negotiating with Motown. Eventually, the label agreed to his demands for full creative control and the rights to his own songs, and Wonder returned to Motown in March 1972 with Music of My Mind, an album which is considered a classic of the era. Unlike most previous artist LPs on Motown, which usually consisted of a collection of singles, b-sides, and covers, Music of My Mind was an actual LP, a full-length artistic statement, and began a string of five albums released over a period of less than five years, that make up what is generally considered Stevie Wonder's classic period.

October 1972's Talking Book featured the #1 pop and R&B hit "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive examples of the sound of the clavinet. The song, originally intended for rock guitarist Jeff Beck, features a rocking groove that garnered Wonder an additional audience on rock radio stations. That audience was further exposed to Wonder when he opened for The Rolling Stones on their much-heralded 1972 American Tour. Wonder's pop following was not neglected, however, as "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" followed to #1 on the pop charts and has been a staple love song for the decades since. Between them the songs won three Grammy Awards.

Wonder's critical and popular acclaim only increased less than a year later, in August 1973, when Wonder released what is often called his best album, Innervisions. Political considerations were brought into greater focus than ever before, with the driving, percolating "Higher Ground" (#4 on the pop charts) followed by the memorable epic "Living for the City" (#8), which found Wonder more evocatively describing a time and place in American life than he would anywhere else in his career. Popular ballads such as "Golden Lady" and "All in Love is Fair" were also present, in a mixture of moods that nevertheless held together as a unified whole. The album generated three more Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.

On August 6, 1973, just days after the release of Innervisions, Wonder was in a serious automobile accident while on tour, when a log from a truck went through a passenger window and struck him in the head. This left him in a coma for a while and resulted in a permanent loss of his sense of smell.

Despite the setback, Wonder eventually recovered all of his musical facilities, and reappeared in concert at Madison Square Garden in March 1974 in a performance that highlighted both up-tempo material and long, building improvisations on mid-tempo songs such as "Living for the City". The album Fulfillingness' First Finale then appeared in July 1974 with a more personal, introspective outlook, but nevertheless sent two hits high on the pop charts. The Album of the Year was again one of three Grammys won.

On October 5, 1975, Wonder performed the historical Wonder Dream Concert in Kingston, Jamaica, a Jamaican Institute for the Blind benefit concert. Along with Wonder Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, the three original "Wailers", performed together for the last time.

Wonder then focused his attentions on what he intended as his magnum opus, the double album-with-extra-EP Songs in the Key of Life, released in September 1976. Sprawling in style, unlimited in ambition, and sometimes lyrically difficult to fathom, the album was hard for some listeners to fully assimilate. Two tracks fairly jumped out of the radio with energy, however, becoming the #1 hits "I Wish" and "Sir Duke". "Isn't She Lovely" was a future wedding and bat mitzvah fixture, while songs such as "Love's in Need of Love Today" (which years later Wonder would perform at the post-September 11 America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon) and the classical "Village Ghetto Land" reflected a far more pensive mood. "Pastime Paradise" would become an interpolation for Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" (one of the most popular hits of the 1990s). Yet again Wonder was awarded Album of the Year, along with two other Grammys.

Possibly exhausted by this concentrated and sustained level of creativity, Wonder was not heard from again for three years. Nevertheless his output during this stretch had left its mark: the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide said that these albums "pioneered stylistic approaches that helped to determine the shape of pop music for the next decade"; Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time included four of the five, with three in the top 90; while in 2005 Kanye West said of his own work, "I'm not trying to compete with what's out there now. I'm really trying to compete with Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. It sounds musically blasphemous to say something like that, but why not set that as your bar?"

When Wonder did return, it was with a soundtrack album for the never-finished film Journey through the Secret Life of Plants (1979). Mostly instrumental, the album was panned at the time of its release but has come to be regarded by some critics as an unusual classic. Hotter than July (1980) became Wonder's first platinum selling album, and its single "Happy Birthday" was a successful vehicle for his campaign to establish Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday. The album also included "Master Blaster (Jammin')", his tribute to Bob Marley, and the sentimental ballad, "Lately", which was later covered by 1990s R&B act Jodeci.

In 1982, Wonder released a retrospective of his '70s work with Original Musiquarium and included three more hit singles in his catalogue, including the ten-minute funk classic "Do I Do" (which included legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie), "That Girl" (one of the year's biggest singles to chart on the R&B side) and "Ribbon in the Sky", one of his many classic compositions. Wonder also gained a #1 hit that year in collaboration with Paul McCartney in their paean to racial harmony, "Ebony and Ivory".

1984 saw the release of Wonder's soundtrack album for The Woman in Red. The lead single, "I Just Called to Say I Love You", was a #1 pop and R&B hit in both the US and UK, where it was placed 13th in the all-time list of best-selling singles in the UK issued in 2002. It went on to win an Academy Award for "Best Song" in 1985. The following year's In Square Circle featured the #1 pop hit "Part-Time Lover". He was also featured in Chaka Khan's cover of Prince's "I Feel For You", alongside Melle Mel, playing his signature harmonica, which was a huge hit. In roughly the same period he was also featured on harmonica on Eurythmics' single, "There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)."

By 1985 Stevie Wonder was an American icon, the subject of good-humored jokes about blindness and affectionately impersonated by Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live. Thus it was only natural that he was in a featured duet with Bruce Springsteen on the all-star charity single for African famine relief, "We Are the World", and that he was part of another charity single the following year, the AIDS-targeted "That's What Friends Are For".

Also in 1985, Wonder performed "Go Home" off his album In Square Circle, at the Grammy awards ceremony in Los Angeles in the infamous synthesizer jam along with Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones and Herbie Hancock.

After 1987's Characters LP, Wonder continued to release new material, albeit at a slower pace. He recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee's film Jungle Fever in 1991, and released both Conversation Peace and the live album Natural Wonder during the same decade.

Stevie Wonder also performed in a unique remix of Seasons Of Love from the Jonathan Larson musical Rent which can be found on disc two of the cast original Broadway cast recording.

In December 1999, Wonder announced that he was interested in pursuing an intraocular retinal prosthesis to partially restore his sight.

Wonder's first new album in ten years, A Time to Love, was released on October 18, 2005, after having been pushed back from first a May, and then a June release. The album was released electronically on September 27, 2005, exclusively on Apple's iTunes Music Store; see External links below. The first single, "So What the Fuss", was released in April and features Prince on guitar and background vocals from En Vogue. A second single, "From the Bottom of My Heart" is a current hit on adult-contemporary R&B radio. The album also features a duet with India Arie on the title track "A Time to Love".

Wonder performed at the pre-game show for Super Bowl XL in Detroit in early 2006, singing various hit singles (with his four-year-old son on drums) and accompanying Aretha Franklin during "The Star Spangled Banner".

In March 2006, Wonder received new national exposure on the top-rated American Idol television program. Each of 12 contestants were required to sing one of his songs, after having met and received guidance from him. (Some of the contestants idolized Wonder, while others showed little familiarity with his work.) Wonder also performed "My Love Is on Fire" live on the show itself. Most recently, in June 2006, Stevie Wonder made a guest appearance on Busta Rhymes' new album, The Big Bang on the track "Been through the Storm" he sings the refrain and plays the piano on the Dr. Dre and Sha Money XL produced track. It is also rumored that he will appear on Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's new album, Strength and Loyalty.

Stevie Wonder also performed at the Nation's Capital's 2006 "A Capital Fourth" celebration, which was hosted by actor star Jason Alexander

Besides creating his own material, Stevie Wonder has written and produced a number of songs for other artists. Among his most significant compositions or co-compositions are "The Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, "It's a Shame" by The Spinners, " "I Can't Help It" by Michael Jackson, "Tell Me Something Good" by Rufus, " 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers" by Jeff Beck, & Chaka Khan, and "You Are My Heaven" by Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway. He has also collaborated with Quincy Jones, Barbra Streisand, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, B.B. King, The Supremes, The Temptations, Dionne Warwick, Julio Iglesias, and former Musical Youth lead singer Dennis Seaton.

Wonder's success as a socially conscious musical performer was significantly influential to both R&B and pop music. Among the musicians and performers who list Wonder as one of their major influences are Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, George Michael, Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson, Nik Kershaw, Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers), India.Arie, Musiq Soulchild, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Jay Kay, Donell Jones and the members of Jodeci, Maroon 5, the Neptunes, Dru Hill, Babyface, Prince and Beyonce Knowles.

Wonder's songs are renowned for being hard and demanding to sing. There are many 9th, 11th and 13th chords. His melodies make abrupt, unpredictable changes. His songs are melismatic, meaning that a syllable of a word is sung over different notes. Such qualities allow only skilled singers to show the skills. In the American Idol Hollywood Performances, judge Randy Jackson repeatedly stated the difficulty of Wonder's songs.

Wonder has seven children. His last child, Mandla Kadjay Carl Stevland Morris, was born on May 13, 2005, and is the second child of Wonder and his current wife, fashion designer Kai Milla Morris. He is an active supporter of the United States Democratic Party.

Information origin www.wikipedia.com