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Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder

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Stevie Wonder: Innervisions

Review by Lenny Kaye, Rolling Stone, 27 September 1973

THE GREENING OF MOTOWN continues apace, with performers who once flourished under the company's autocratic guidelines (the Four Tops, Gladys Knight) seeking success elsewhere while ...

Stevie Wonder: Characters

Review by Roy Trakin, Creem, March 1988

THIS IS ALMOST as satisfying a return to form as Sugar Ray Leonard's victory over Marvelous Marvin Hagler and practically as much of an upset. ...

Audio interviews

Stevie Wonder (1995)

Interview by David Nathan, Rock's Backpages audio, 21 March 1995

Mr Wonder talks about why he started to write socially conscious songs: the Vietnam War, inner city unrest and deprivation; being empowered by Marvin Gaye's What's Going On; his relationship with Motown; his new album Conversation Peace — its title, and key songs and on lyrics as poetry.

File format: mp3; file size: 47.8meg, interview length: 49' 47" sound quality: **½

Stevie Wonder (2005)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 26 March 2005

From 'Fingertips' to the 21st Century, and everything in between: his classic albums; Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and Prince; race, religion and blindness; recording and technology then and now... and he sings! he preaches! he does your horoscope!

File format: mp3; file size: 105.1mb, interview length: 1h 49' 31" sound quality: ***

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Stevie Wonder: Tribute to Uncle Ray; The 12-year-old Genius Recorded Live (both Oriole)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 21 September 1963

LITTLE STEVIE Wonder is largely unknown in Britain. The main fact about him is that he's a 12-year-old American blind Negro who has just had ...

Mr. Gordy has a formula for success — 'It is Love'

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 10 October 1964

THE BEATLES have done terrible things to the American record industry. Nobody knows what to record any longer. Should they try to reproduce what is ...

A Warning To The Tamla-Motown Visitors From Their Biggest Fan!

Interview by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 19 March 1965

BRITAIN'S Mr. Tamla-Motown — he's Dave Godin, organiser of the Tamla-Motown Appreciation Society — was walking around warning the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, the ...

America Hits Back With Tamla Motown Attack

Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 March 1965

IN RETALIATION to the British craze sweeping the States, America launches its biggest-ever campaign to bring back the Yanks into the British charts in the ...

Stevie Wonder: Mr Harmonica Man

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

"STEVIE'S GOT A Monster," scream the adverts in American papers. They are referring, of course, to his hit record, 'Uptight (Everything's Alright)' which looks like ...

Stevie Wonder: The In Place, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Stevie Wonder is already a mature performer, and no mean raver. He has a far from diminutive voice, great charm, and a lot of ...

'Uptight' Brings Stevie Back In The Spotlight

Profile by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 29 January 1966

"LITTLE" STEVIE Wonder is no more — now he's just Stevie Wonder. It seems the young blind harmonica player from Michigan is growing up. ...

Stevie Credits Stones For His Hit...

Interview by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 5 February 1966

THOUGH THEY may not know it, the Rolling Stones are getting a large share of the credit for the success of Stevie Wonder's 'Uptight'. It ...

Ray Charles, Little Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, the Byrds, the Marvelettes, the McCoys: Yankee Stadium, the Bronx NY

Live Review by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 16 June 1966

Pop Eye: Soundblast '66 ...

The Beatles, Small Faces et al: New Singles

Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 August 1966

Wonderful new Beatles, and 2 versions of America's 'Napoleon' hit. Very good Small Faces & old Righteous Bros & Ike and Tina. Slower Nancy and ...

Stevie Wonder Advances; No Longer Ray's 'Protege'

Interview by Mike Tuck, KRLA Beat, 22 October 1966

STEVIE WONDER, who plays five different instruments and dances as energetically and rhythmically as he sings, is probably a little more real than most people ...

The Soul Parade

Overview by Maureen O'Grady, Rave, November 1966

RAVE's Maureen O'Grady puts on parade some of the greatest and the latest singers of "soul". The sound the "in" crowd said would happen. ...

Stevie Wonder

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 17 March 1967

I CAUGHT UP with Stevie Wonder who's constantly on the run performing all over the country. A private tutor travels with him so Stevie keeps ...

"John Lennon has soul," says Stevie Wonder...

Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 August 1967

FOR SOME strange reason, Tamla Motown have suddenly started calling Stevie Wonder "The Prophet Of Soul" which seems to be a somewhat corny catch-name for ...

Stevie Wonder: It's Not Such a Drag Being Blind

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 14 October 1967

STEVIE WONDER, here for a tour of Britain, talks to NICK JONES ...

Singles from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Aretha Franklin, Lee Dorsey and Stevie Wonder

Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 October 1967

MARVIN GAYE AND TAMMI TERRELL: 'Your Precious Love'; 'Hold Me Oh My Darling' (Tamla Motown TMG 625). What a beautiful record this is. A medium-pace, ...

The Supremes: Psychedelic Tamla!

Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 18 November 1967

Brian Holland, one of Motown's famous composing team, speaks to Alan Smith, and tells about PSYCHEDELIC TAMLA! ...

'Understanding Is Very Important' — Stevie Wonder

Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 2 December 1967

"I STARTED OUT when I was about nine-and-a-half or ten years old, and my first 'engagement' was on my front porch! My first professional performance ...

Major LP Release from Tamla

Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 January 1968

THE BIG R & B companies have a habit of LP release lists which make mouths watery with anticipation. Of course the omnipresent financial problem ...

Stevie Wonder: Grand Old Music Man — and Just 17

Profile by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 24 May 1968

STEVIE WONDER is 'Uptight'. ...

Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Shorty Long: Forest Hills Stadium, Queens NY

Live Review by Ian Dove, Billboard, 17 August 1968

Motown Acts Draw Near-Capacity Crowd ...

Stevie Wonder, Sam & Dave, Arthur Conley, B.B. King, Big Maybelle: Downing Stadium, Randalls Island, NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 2 September 1968

Top Pop Concert Draws Only 2,000 To Randalls Island ...

Two Sides of the Great Stevie Wonder

Profile by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 8 February 1969

Stevie champions the under dogs; Musically he's only at the beginning ...

STEVIE WONDER explains the latest sound from Tamla... FUNKEDELIC!

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

AT THE AGE of 19, Stevie Wonder is something of a soul business veteran. But after meeting and seeing him in action, it's easy to ...

Stevie Wonder, The Foundations, The Flirtations: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

Stevie's a big star now ...

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: Inglewood Forum, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 9 September 1969

Smokey Robinson Crew Performs in Inglewood ...

Motowners have Racial Problems

Report by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 27 September 1969

SINCE SO many Motown artists are currently in the British charts, I thought I might pass on some things about them that have been circulating ...

Stevie Sees Very Clearly

Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 22 November 1969

IN A WORLD of darkness, sound has obviously become almost Stevie Wonder's chief guide and consolation... so I was hardly surprised to hear this week ...

Invite Me To Britain pleads "homesick" Stevie Wonder, who says he may marry in six months!

Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 2 May 1970

ALAN SMITH talks to Tamla's most consistent solo hitmaker ...

Stevie & Syreeta: A Perfect Marriage Of Musical Ideas

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 17 July 1970

THIS YEAR, 1970, Motown are celebrating their 10th anniversary. During their ten very successful years, Stevie Wonder has been virtually an ever present. ...

Stevie Wonder, Martha & the Vandellas: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 30 January 1971

THE MAGIC Motown formula, an amalgam of glamour, professionalism and good, driving music brought excitement to dark and dreary Finsbury Park last week when the ...

Stevie Wonder: Stevie Freaks Out

Interview by Mark Plummer, Melody Maker, 30 January 1971

LAST TIME Stevie Wonder was in Britain he promised that his next album would be the new-style him, with a deeper musical and lyrical feeling. ...

Stevie: British Audiences Prevented Me From Giving Up Singing

Interview by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 13 February 1971

"IN THE PAST I've occasionally thought about giving up singing," said Stevie Wonder. "But what happened at Hammersmith last week was something I'll never forget. ...

Stevie Wonder: Where I'm Coming From (Tamla Motown STML 11183)

Review by Royston Eldridge, Sounds, 31 July 1971

MOTOWN HAS always had a readily identifiable sound whether the artist be David Ruffin or the Four Tops. Until now, that is. ...

Stevie Wonder: Music Of My Mind (Tamla Motown)

Review by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 4 December 1971

THIS HAS been hailed as Stevie Wonder's final "coming of age", but I think this album is more important and will certainly have more important ...

Soul on Fire

Report by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times Magazine, 1972

STEVIE WONDER crosses the hotel lobby, resting on the elbows of two other people. That he is blind, has been blind from birth, is nonetheless ...

Audiences Will Accept New Things From Me, Says Stevie Wonder

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 22 January 1972

MUSICAL BARRIERS are tumbling down – that's the reckoning of Stevie Wonder, currently on another 20-date European tour. "Audiences used to have a pre-conception of ...

Stevie Wonder: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 22 January 1972

STEVIE WONDER is the first artist to make Motown work for him rather than vice-versa. He has full control over his music and has acquired ...

Stevie Wonder: Stevie's Moog Music...

Profile and Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 22 January 1972

"I never did realise it would take me so long to lose that 'Little' Stevie Wonder tag. There are times when I wish I'd only ...

Stevie Wonder: A Little Too Far Out?

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 4 February 1972

ALL IN ALL, 1971 was not a big year for Stevie Wonder in this country, and his appearances in the chart were, in fact, few ...

Stevie Wonder, Bags Of Chips And Clapton

Report and Interview by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 17 February 1972

NME calls in at all-night recording session ...

John Sinclair: Free John & Yoko

Report by uncredited writer, Dave Marsh, Creem, March 1972

The new Plastic Ono Band comes to Ann Arbor to Free John Sinclair – Starring David Peel, Archie Shepp, Ed Sanders, Stevie Wonder, Commander Cody, ...

Stevie Wonder: Music Of My Mind (Tamla Motown STM A 8002)

Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 13 May 1972

Stevie matures — and he did it all himself ...

Stevie Wonder: Music Of My Mind (Tamla)

Review by Vernon Gibbs, Rock, June 1972

A breakaway from restrictive formulas ...

Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 June 1972

Rolling, Rocking Stones Gather No Moss ...

The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder: Boston Garden, Boston MA

Live Review by Michael Lydon, Fusion, November 1972

THE ROLLING Stones were magnificent in Boston. We arrived at a packed Boston Garden high and hopeful for an evening of visual thrills and musical ...

Syreeta... Lady Wonder

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 5 January 1973

I HONESTLY wonder how many people have listened to Syreeta's first Mowest album, entitled simply Syreeta, and compared it to the last record that this ...

Stevie Wonder: Talking Book (Tamla)

Review by Ian MacDonald, New Musical Express, 13 January 1973

LAST YEAR, Wonder achieved overdue recognition for his first solo album, Music Of My Mind — which was, simply, the most overrated album of '72. ...

Stevie Wonder: Talking Book (Motown)

Review by John Swenson, The Village Voice, 25 January 1973

STEVIE WONDER possesses a unique vision that has enabled him to encompass a wide range of influences without being controlled by any of them. Coming ...

Stevie Wonder: "Hah-the boy is getting MILITANT! You get back to 'Fingertips' now!"

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 10 February 1973

Talking Book is already tipped as one of 73's best albums. Here Chris Welch talks to its creator ...

Stevie Wonder: Man Of Today And Tomorrow

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 February 1973

ONE OF THE most rewarding and exciting aspects of taking any serious interest in any field of music is observing the artistic development and progress ...

Stevie Wonder: Carnegie Hall, New York

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 17 February 1973

GODAMN IT! You would think the President of a record company would know better — especially the President of Motown Records. ...

Stevie Wonder: The New Wonder Ingredient

Interview by Tony Norman, New Musical Express, 17 February 1973

BLACK AND PROUD, MUSIC FROM THE SOUL ...

Stevie Wonder: Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 7 March 1973

THERE ARE innovative artists and there are great entertainers, but for one reason or another the twain seldom seem to meet. Stevie Wonder is remarkably ...

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 August 1973

WHEN APPRAISING an artist of the stature of Stevie Wonder, there seems nothing worse than to hark back to previous triumphs and make comparisons. ...

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions (Tamla)

Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, December 1973

I WASN'T very impressed when Stevie played the songs from Innervisions live at the Newport Jazz Festival in July. When, later that month, his publicists blindfolded members ...

Stevie Wonder: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 12 February 1974

IT'S BEEN said before but it's got to be said again: Stevie Wonder is, firstly, one of the most creative talents in the musical world ...

Stevie Wonder Returns With a Synthesized Howl

Report and Interview by Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, 28 February 1974

LONDON — IT HAD been five months since his auto accident, five months since he had done a complete show onstage, and it was clear ...

Stevie Wonder: Rainbow Theatre, London

Live Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, March 1974

THE RETURN of the magus. Stevie Wonder at the first house at London's Rainbow. Squint and you can see the aura of genius glowing from ...

Stevie Wonder: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 6 April 1974

Night of Wonder ...

Stevie Wonder: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by John Swenson, The Village Voice, 11 April 1974

In synch with the shaman ...

Motown the Uptight

Essay by Richard Williams, Let It Rock, July 1974

We’ve got love a’ go-go nowLet’s not wonder whyLove-a, love a’ go-go nowTomorrow that love may die– Stevie Wonder, 1966 Sing it loud for your ...

Stevie Wonder

Report and Interview by Robin Katz, 19, July 1974

IT IS 1963. Beehive hairdos, and the Beach Boys are the all-American thing. In the shabby end of Brooklyn sits an old theatre called The ...

Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness' First Finale (Motown)

Review by Wayne Robins, The Village Voice, 12 September 1974

What's the storeee, Stevie? ...

Stevie Wonder, The Commodores: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY

Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, Zoo World, 24 October 1974

'S Wonderful! ...

Minnie Riperton: From a whisper to a scream

Profile by Giovanni Dadomo, Record Mirror, 26 October 1974

WHEN A RECORD company brings the release date of an album forward by almost three months it's a sure sign that the artist involved is ...

Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness' First Finale (Tamla T6 332S1); Sly & the Family Stone: Small Talk (Epic PE 32930)

Review by John Swenson, Crawdaddy!, November 1974

Stevie & Sly: Invention and Pretension ...

Stevie Wonder: Further Fulfillingness

Interview by Wayne Robins, Melody Maker, 9 November 1974

STEVIE WONDER had to know: should he, could he, release part two of Fulfillingness' First Finale at the end of November? ...

Stevie Wonder: Forum, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 14 December 1974

Stevie Wonder: painting in rock ...

Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness' First Finale (Motown)

Review by Danny Goldberg, Hit Parader, January 1975

THERE IS more of the 'Sunshine Of My Life' ballad side of Stevie Wonder on this new LP than the rocking 'Living In The City'. ...

Stevie Wonder - Blind, Gifted and Loaded

Report by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 23 August 1975

THERE HAS BEEN an official silence about Stevie Wonder's plans since he publicly announced in March last year that he was to retire in 1976 ...

Hurricane II: Thunder in the Heart of Texas

Report by Joe Nick Patoski, Rolling Stone, 26 February 1976

Carter Benefit at Astrodome ...

Stevie Wonder: The Selling of Stevie

Report by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 2 October 1976

MAYBE I'M just a cynic... but from where I'm standing it appears that, in terms of pushing as much product as humanly possible, the 13 ...

Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life

Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 9 October 1976

RUMOURS THAT the New Musical Express has deliberately pursued a course of hostility towards Stevie Wonder are, of course, utterly without foundation; but (even at ...

Stevie Wonder: Anthology

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 10 December 1977

ON AUGUST 5th, 1975, Stevie Wonder signed an historic contract with Motown. Apart from the little matter of a $13 million guarantee, the deal reputedly ...

Minnie Riperton: How Minnie's cooking tempted Stevie Wonder

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 19 June 1979

2008 introduction: This interview was David's second face-to-face conversation with Minnie; at the time, she was dealing with health challenges – in 1976, she had ...

Stevie Wonder: Hotter Than July

Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 1980

IF THIS ALBUM had been issued between Fulfillingness First Finale and Songs In The Key Of Life I think I'd still have given it four ...

Stevie Wonder: Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (Motown)

Review by Richard C. Walls, Creem, February 1980

LET'S ASSUME that you didn't think that Songs in the Key of Life was a total bust. It was over hyped for sure, overblown in ...

Stevie Wonder: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by David Hancock, Evening News, London, 2 September 1980

Stevie's still casting that black magic ...

Stevie Wonder: Hotter Than July (Motown)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 1 November 1980

Blastin' back. Hello roots, bye bye geraniums ...

Stevie Wonder: Hotter Than July (Tamla)

Review by Tom Vickers, Ampersand, February 1981

THE PAST few years have seen Stevie Wonder bury his soulful fire with overblown pretention (Songs in the Key of Life) or symphonic dross (The ...

Stevie Wonder: Original Musiquarium I

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 1982

FOUR MONTHS late, four sides long, only four tracks new but fortunately containing enough sterling old stuff to make it a realistic proposition (economicswise) comes ...

Stevie Wonder: Original Musiquarium I (Motown)

Review by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 15 May 1982

A WONDER DOWN MEMORY LANE ...

The Superstar: Much More Than The Just The music

Overview by Vernon Gibbs, Billboard, 5 June 1982

IT MAY be one of the most frequently misused of the music industry's accolades, since in a business full of stars there are few genuine ...

Gary Byrd: Crown topper

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 August 1983

TELEPATHY, THAT'S the only way of explaining the relationship between Gary Byrd and his friend Stevie Wonder. ...

Stevie Wonder: Capital Centre, Landover MD

Live Review by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 17 January 1984

Wonder lights up Cap Centre ...

Stevie Wonder Has a Dream

Report and Interview by Carol Cooper, The Face, June 1984

In 1981 Stevie Wonder led the first of three marches in Washington D.C. calling for the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, the black civil ...

Stevie Wonder: London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 2 July 1984

PERHAPS ONE DAY Stevie Wonder will recognize that inviting a British audience to sing along with him does not evoke the kind of ready response ...

Stevie Wonder: The Woman In Red (Motown)

Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 15 September 1984

SO HERE'S a new Stevie Wonder album, but not THE new Stevie Wonder album, the one we've stopped holding our breath for (makes Aswad and ...

Stevie Wonder: Selections From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Woman In Red (Motown)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, January 1985

THE NEW Stevie Wonder album has this problem: It thinks it's a soundtrack. It doesn't get violent about it, true. In fact, except for the ...

USA for Africa: Record could raise millions for hungry

Report by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 14 March 1985

"CHECK YOUR ego at the door." That was the message producer Quincy Jones sent to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Diana Ross ...

USA For Africa: We Are The World (Columbia)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, August 1985

OUCHLESS BAND-AID ...

Stevie Wonder: In Square Circle (Motown)

Review by RJ Smith, Spin, December 1985

THESE THINGS never do fall from the sky, like factor emissions and bird shirt. But if they did (If your mother had skates she'd be ...

Stevie Wonder: Ever Decreasing Circles

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 21 December 1985

Is STEVIE WONDER's giant talent exhausted or just sleeping? GAVIN MARTIN seeks the truth, but finds the man cocooned from the nitty gritty by an ...

Stevie Wonder: In Square Circle

Review by Roy Trakin, Creem, February 1986

IT BUBBLES, it gurgles, it coos. You were maybe expecting ‘Fingertips Part III’? In Square Circle is a seamless piece of synthetic aural gratification that ...

Stevie Wonder: The Timeless World of Wonder

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 10 April 1986

When you've sold 70 million records and persuaded Congress to make your hero's birthday a national holiday, you can afford to keep people waiting, and ...

Stevie Wonder: The Forum, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Rowland, Billboard, 26 July 1986

THIS YEAR marks the 25th anniversary of Stevie Wonder's association with Motown, and this triumphant career retrospective proved a fitting celebration. ...

Stevie Wonder: Pop Music Or Politics, He Sings Out And Speaks Up For His Beliefs

Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 14 August 1986

P.W. BOTHA was on television Tuesday afternoon and Stevie Wonder was steamed Tuesday night. Wonder had been listening to the South African president on a ...

Stevie Wonder: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Simon Witter, New Musical Express, 12 September 1987

I WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER! ...

Stevie Wonder: "Even with the technology today, you have to have a feel for the groove. And that comes from within"

Interview by Michael Goldberg, Rolling Stone, 5 November 1987

TWENTY YEARS ago, when you were only seventeen, you had already had a Number One hit and were well on your way to becoming one ...

Stevie Wonder: Characters

Review by Lloyd Bradley, Q, January 1988

THE SINGLE, 'SKELETONS', made a couple of bold statements: its earthy, chunky bass synth lines proved Stevie Wonder to have recaptured the simple approach to ...

Stevie Wonder: Breaking The Square Circle

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 22 April 1989

Perhaps the most innovative musician of the '70s, STEVIE WONDER has enjoyed mixed fortunes in the '80s, dividing his time between duets with Dionne Warwick ...

Berry Gordy: The Tracks of My Years

Interview by Michael Goldberg, New Musical Express, 18 August 1990

BERRY GORDY, the man who invented the "Sound of Young America", has seen the story of his monumentally influential Motown label told in a succession ...

Motown: Designer label

Report by Lloyd Bradley, The Independent, 9 May 1991

Lloyd Bradley on the changing fortunes of the Motown label ...

Stevie Wonder: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 16 June 1992

WITH NO newly released album to promote, Stevie and band, backed by The Royal Philharmonic string section could afford to wallow in musical nostalgia and ...

Stevie Wonder: CD Reissues

Review by Andy Gill, Q, September 1992

Stevie Wonder reissued: from 12-Year-Old-Genius to I Just Called To Say I Love You. ...

Stevie Wonder: Radio City Music Hall, New York

Live Review by Lloyd Bradley, MOJO, March 1995

WHEN STEVIE WONDER EASES INTO 'YOU AND I', ACCOMPANIED only by his acoustic grand piano, the whole auditorium goes quiet. Not just silent, like nobody's ...

It's Good To Be The King

Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, April 1995

It's been a few years — oh alright then, decades — since "Little" Stevie Wonder was seriously big. But beyond the heavyweight collaborations, the myriad ...

Stevie Wonder: Conversation Peace (Motown)

Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, April 1995

SO UNIQUE, SO ADVENTUROUS WAS Stevie Wonder in his ‘70s heyday that it’s especially upsetting to hear the occasionally hackneyed modern model. Not that we’ve ...

Stevie Wonder: Singing in the Key of Life

Overview by Craig Werner, Goldmine, 8 October 1999

IT WAS THE fall of 1974 and signs of confusion were everywhere. President Richard Nixon had fled from office in disgrace, only to receive a ...

Stevie Wonder: The Electrification Of Soul

Overview by David Stubbs, Uncut, August 2000

"THERE'S NEVER BEEN a time when Stevie Wonder hasn't been relevant," said an associate of Wonder's on Channel 4's recent Top 10 Seventies Soul run-down. ...

Stevie Wonder: The Making of 'Higher Ground'

Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blender, September 2003

Vital statistics ...

Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (Motown, 1976)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, 2004

BERRY GORDY’S former boy genius already had a string of single-album masterpieces under his belt when he put his signature on summer ‘76 with this ...

Last Night A Record Changed My Life: Paddy McAloon on Stevie Wonder's Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants

Interview by Pete Paphides, MOJO, July 2004

PANNED ON ITS RELEASE, STEVIE WONDER'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS MADE PREFAB SPROUT'S PADDY MCALOON A SONGWRITER. ...

Soul Deep: Motown

Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Radio Times, 2005

FOR SOME PEOPLE, the terms "Soul" and "Motown" are almost synonymous. When they think of soul music, timeless sounds and images of the Supremes and ...

The Backpages Interview: Stevie Wonder

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, March 2005

RBP: You're working these long all-night stretches in the studio. How different is it from when you worked in the early '70s? ...

Stevie Wonder (2005) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 26 March 2005

This is a transcript of Barney's audio interview with Stevie. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Stevie Wonder Takes His Time

Profile and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, June 2005

BY THE SMALL HOURS of Saturday morning, L.A.'s Koreatown district is hushed and still. The odd car rattles along Western Avenue, but most of the ...

Stevie Wonder: A Time To Love

Review by Alfred Soto, Stylus, 4 November 2005

LIKE BRYAN FERRY, Stevie Wonder has been worshipping at the altar of love for so long that he's forgotten that Eros likes his faithful to ...

Stevie Wonder: A Time To Love

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, December 2005

Long overdue reminder of what the great man does best ...

Jeff Beck

Interview by Alan Light, MSN.com, April 2010

"EVERY TIME I hear a really attractive chord sequence, I'm on my way again," says Jeff Beck. "I think, what can I do with this?" ...

Mark Ribowsky: Signed, Sealed, and Delivered – The Soulful Journey of Stevie Wonder

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 2 May 2010

His charisma is beyond doubt but, as this valiant life reveals, Stevie Wonder is on a different wavelength from everybody else. ...

Bob Babbitt, 1937-2012

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 18 July 2012

One of the last surviving members of the Funk Brothers, the backbone of Tamla Motown ...

Stevie Wonder: Sound and Vision

Retrospective by David Burke, Classic Pop, October 2017

STEVIE WONDER had reached the summit with the wildly ambitious 1976 double album Songs in the Key of Life. It would become the best-selling and most ...

When Pop Went Political: Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Classic Pop, June 2018

IT WAS A PARTY staged to express solidarity with the world's most famous political prisoner, while concurrently expressing vehement opposition to an overtly racist system ...

see also Tonto's Expanding Head Band

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