Is Stevie Wonder blind? Little known facts about the singer-songwriter

Is Stevie Wonder blind? Little known facts about the singer-songwriter

The human body is known to compensate for vision loss by strengthening its sense of hearing, smell, and touch. With that, the visually impaired tend to perform their activities normally, which shocks many. This is the case for Stevie Wonder. The big question has always been, is Stevie Wonder blind? Get the little known facts about the singer-songwriter here!

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Stevie Wonder can see
He is famous as the most creative musical performer of the 20th century. Photo: @Hardaway
Source: Instagram

Stevie Wonder is a celebrated American singer and songwriter. He is famous as the most creative musical performer of the 20th century, following his impressive and successful music career that has spanned decades. Is Stevie Wonder blind? This article has Stevie Wonder's blindness reason and more.

Early life and bio

What is Stevie Wonder's real name? Stevie was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950. Therefore, Stevie Wonder's age is 71 years. He was brought up in Saginaw, Michigan, the USA, by his parents, Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway.

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Music career

Stevie Wonder can see
Blind from birth, his heightened awareness of sound helped him create vibrant, colourful music teeming with life and ambition. Photo: @Hardaway
Source: Instagram

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From a young age, he always had an interest in musical instruments. At 11, Wonder did his composition, Lonely Boy. Following his impressive performance, he was signed to Motown's Tamla label and given the name Little Steve Wonder. A child prodigy, he was 13 when his song Fingertips made the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1970, he combined efforts with his wife Syreeta, and they worked on his next album, Where I'm Coming From. Again, the album was a great hit.

In March 1972, he released his album Music of My Mind. After that, he released the Talking Book album, which had hits such as Superstition and You Are the Sunshine of My Life.

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During the 1980s, he reached the peak of his fame by releasing albums such as Hotter Than July and Steve Wonder's Original Musiquarium.

How did Stevie Wonder go blind?

For years, conspiracy theorists have floated the bizarre rumour that the legendary musician Stevie Wonder can see. However, such speculation is entirely absurd. But, there is more to the story of Stevie Wonder's eyes.

The renowned musician was born six weeks early. Thus, he was put in an incubator to give his organs more time to develop. Unfortunately, he received too much oxygen while there, which resulted in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye disorder caused by abnormal blood vessels throughout the retina.

Was Stevie Wonder born blind? Stevie was not born blind. But the damage done to eyes during his stay in the incubator was permanent. Follow him on Instagram @steviewonderlegacy and get Stevie Wonder's no sunglasses pictures and much more.

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Stevie Wonder can see
He was born six weeks premature, which caused retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which in turn caused vision loss. Photo: @Hardaway
Source: Instagram

Deemed a child prodigy and with 22 Grammys to his name, Stevie Wonder is one of the most influential musicians alive, and his legacy is nothing short of legendary. Wonder is often credited as a musical pioneer, and his synthesisers had a massive influence on R&B as a genre.

He has also served as inspiration for artists from all different genres. Although blinded at a young age, Wonder never let that stop him and found comfort and expression through music.

Awards & achievements

  • 1983: Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
  • 1984: Won an Academy Award for Best Song for I Just Called to Say I Love You from the movie The Woman in Red.
  • 1989: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • 1996: Received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • 1999: Awarded the Polar Music Prize and Kennedy Center Honors.
  • 2002: Honored with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
  • 2004: Honored with the Billboard Century Award.
  • 2006: Received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. He was inducted into the Michigan Walk of Fame the same year.
  • 2009: Named the United Nations Messenger of Peace.
  • 2014: Became a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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Stevie Wonder's discography

Stevie Wonder can see
Stevie was not born blind, but the damage done to his eyes is permanent. Photo: @Hardaway
Source: Instagram
  • 1962: The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie
  • 1962: Tribute to Uncle Ray
  • 1963: With a Song in My Hear
  • 1964: Stevie at the Beach
  • 1966: Up-Tight
  • 1966: Down to Earth
  • 1967: I Was Made to Love Her
  • 1967: Someday at Christmas
  • 1968: For Once in My Life
  • 1969: My Cherie Amour
  • 1970: Signed, Sealed & Delivered
  • 1971: Where I'm Coming From
  • 1972: Music of My Mind
  • 1972: Talking Book
  • 1973: Innervisions
  • 1984: The Woman in Red
  • 1985: In Square Circle
  • 1987: Characters
  • 1991: Jungle Fever
  • 1995: Conversation Peace
  • 2005: A Time to Love

Is Stevie Wonder blind? With the above info, you have everything you need to know. Many people doubt the same, but the human body is known to compensate for vision loss by strengthening its sense of hearing, smell, and touch. So, perhaps, he is more perceptive in ways that people with sight can comprehend.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Bennett Yates avatar

Bennett Yates (Lifestyle writer) Bennett Yates is a content creator with over five years of working experience in journalism and copywriting. He graduated from the University of Nairobi (2017) with a Bachelor's in Information Technology. In 2023, Bennett finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques. He started working for Briefly in 2019. You can reach him via email at bennetyates@gmail.com.