Librarian of Congress James H. Billington named singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as the recipient of the second Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The award presentation is scheduled to take place on Feb. 23 in the Great Hall of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building.
Wonder burst on the scene in the early 1960s as a musical prodigy. His dance hits and love songs segued over the years into thoughtful commentaries on the joys and injustices in the world.
As an added distinction to this year’s Gershwin Prize, the Library has offered, and Wonder has accepted, a musical commission. He joins a group of eminent composers who have received Library commissions, ranging from Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein to Paquito D’Rivera.
“It’s an immense privilege to join such a remarkable roster of musicians and composers,” Wonder said. “I am touched to receive this honor, and look forward to creating music for the celebration.”
“The Gershwin Prize honors an artist whose creative output transcends distinctions between musical styles and idioms, bringing diverse listeners together, and fostering mutual understanding and appreciation,” said Billington. “Stevie Wonder’s music epitomizes this ideal.”
The prize commemorates George and Ira Gershwin, the legendary American songwriting team whose extensive manuscript collections reside in the Library of Congress. The prize is awarded to musicians whose lifetime contributions in the field of popular song exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins. The first Gershwin Prize was awarded in May 2007 to Paul Simon. (See Information Bulletin, June 2007.)
Born in Saginaw, Mich., in 1950, Wonder became blind shortly after birth. He learned to play the harmonica, piano and drums by age 9. By the time he was 10, his singing and other musical skills were known throughout his neighborhood. When the family moved to Detroit, impressed adults made his talents known to the owners of Motown Records, who gave him a recording contract when he was age 12.
The LP featured his first nationwide hit, “Fingertips.” That recording was followed in just a few more years by “Uptight (Everything’s All Right)” “For Once in My Life,” “My Cherie Amour,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours,” and “If You Really Love Me.”
He undertook the study of classical piano, and later, music theory, and beginning in 1967, he began writing more of his own material. He authored the Smokey Robinson hit “The Tears of a Clown.”
In the early 1970s, Wonder toured with the Rolling Stones and had major hits with the songs “Superstition” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” In the mid-70s, his album “Songs in the Key of Life” topped the charts for 14 weeks. It includes the breakout hits “I Wish,” “Sir Duke,” and “Pastime Paradise;” the latter song was sampled in 1995 within a hit by another artist, Coolio. Wonder’s songs have been sung by many artists including Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Marc Anthony, Mary J. Blige, John Mellencamp, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, just to name a few.
Over the years, Wonder has delivered 32 No. 1 R&B and Pop singles, 49 Top 40 R&B and Pop singles and garnered 25 Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. 1999, Wonder became the youngest honoree of the Kennedy Center Honors. He was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2004 he won the Johnny Mercer Award for a lifetime of outstanding creative work. In 2005, the Library of Congress added Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” to the National Recording Registry, which recognizes recordings that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
In selecting Wonder for the prize, the Librarian turned for advice to leading members of the music and entertainment communities. This year’s advisory committee consisted of Michael Feinstein, Lorne Michaels, Phil Ramone, Paul Simon and Allen Toussaint.
The creators and executive producers of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song are Peter and Bob Kaminsky, Mark Krantz and Cappy McGarr, creators and executive producers of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
