Stevie Wonder Concerts Setlist

Stevland Hardaway Morris, better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer and songwriter. He was born on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. Wonder was blind from his birth. He started singing in the church choir at age 4. He also learned to play a whole slew of instruments early on, namely the piano, harmonica, and drums. With his friend, he formed a duo they called “Stevie and John”, and frequently performed on the street for change.

At age 11, Wonder performed his own original song “Little Lonely Boy” to Ronnie White from the popular R&B group “The Miracles''. He was so impressed that he took the young child to the offices of the Motown record label, arranging an audition to the CEO directly. Wonder was signed immediately. He was given private music tutoring and was placed under the mentorship of producer Clarence Paul. He gave his protégé the new stage name “Little Stevie Wonder”, as in he’s the new wonder kid in music.

They released two full albums within two months. They first recorded one containing mostly covers of Ray Charles songs titled “Tribute to Uncle Ray”; but they first released one they actually recorded later. “The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie” came out in September 1962, a record featuring Wonder’s original compositions. Interestingly, he does not sing on this record, but performs the drums, keyboard, and harmonica. Also in 1962, he started doing live Stevie Wonder concert shows across America, as part of the label’s “Motortown Revue” packaged concert tours, featuring artists like Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye.

Wonder’s first hit single came out only a week after his 13th birthday. He recorded “Fingertips” live before an audience at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois. It ended up topping the Billboard Singles charts in both the pop and R&B categories. As a result, his previously released live Stevie Wonder concert album, “Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius”, also shot to the top of the charts. He dropped the “Little” from his stage name, and went on to release a whole string of #1 hits in the upcoming years, hits like “Uptight (Everything's Alright)” (1965), and “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1966), a cover of Bob Dylan’s 1962 song by the same title.

Stevie Wonder has released a total of 23 full studio albums during his long career, 3 of which reached #1 on the famous Billboard 200 chart. The best selling record of his is “Songs in the Key of Life” from September 1976, which sold 5.6 million copies worldwide. Meanwhile, the latest new Stevie Wonder album came out back in October 2005, with the title “A Time to Love”.

The biggest hits in the Stevie Wonder setlist to date are “Superstition” (1972), “As” (1976), “Sir Duke” (also 1976), and “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (1984). His influence on many genres, pop, R&B, soul, and funk, is indelible. He has won 25 Grammy Awards, more than any solo artist ever. He’s also one of the best selling musical artists of all time, with over 100 million records sold. In 2014, Wonder was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.