Stevie Wonder and Dr. Henry Panion, III
Throughout his life, Stevie Wonder has, indeed, lived up to his name. Blind from birth, his amazing path in the often unpredictable music industry led to his long-standing reputation as one of the world's most respected and influential artists-producers-arrangers-composers.
Born Steveland Morris Judkins in 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan, Stevie Wonder's family moved to Detroit--home of the famous Motown label--when he was four. There he became hooked on music and, at age seven, began to learn to play piano. By age nine he had mastered the drums and harmonica. His passion and talent flourished and, at only 11, he was introduced officially to Motown where he was dubbed "Little Stevie Wonder." Within a year he had scored his first top-ten record and, in the same year, his first hit album. The entire country was hooked by the boy's musical genius.
From 1965-1970, Stevie Wonder recorded a string of Motown hits and albums that mixed soul selections with pop standards. Likewise, he began collaborations with other Motown artists, such as Smoky Robinson and the Miracles. The seventies marked an era of greater artistic control for Mr. Wonder over his music. Pioneering the use of the synthesizer, he also broadened his lyrical themes to address racial and spiritual issues.
Disaster struck in 1973 when Stevie Wonder was involved in a near-fatal, head-on automobile accident that left him in a coma. After a miraculous recovery, his Innervisions album led to five Grammy awards the next year. In the 1980s, Mr. Wonder--clearly established as an elder statesman of contemporary music and champion of human rights--campaigned for a national holiday celebrating the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a request granted by President Ronald Reagan and observed for the first time on January 15, 1986, with a concert featuring none other than Stevie Wonder himself.
Stevie Wonder continues to enthrall audiences with his musical artistry and his innovative production style. Wonder has long been recognized as a pioneer and a catalyst to the young but evolving industry of music technology. Recognizing UAB's Music Technology Program as among the finest in the country, combining excellence in traditional musical training with the latest in computer technology and innovation, he has given of his time and talents to create scholarships in his name and to The Stevie Wonder Center for Computing in the Arts. The Center will be part of the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center now under construction and will house UAB's music technology program. It will include interactive classrooms, a recording studio and the most advanced computer and musical equipment. Students, who will compete for Wonder scholarships based on need and talent, will be able to compose, record, mix and package their work -- the kind of technical access and training rarely available outside a professional recording company. Graduates will be able to compete in this marketplace of rapidly changing technology, which includes record producers, song writers, music publishing houses and recording studios.
The nation, indeed the world, has benefited for four decades from Stevie Wonder's commitment to improving the world in which we live, through his art and his commitment to enhance the human condition. Now he has combined his professional passion with his sense of moral responsibility to support the cause of higher education. For his unwavering commitment to the future of our youth, UAB honors Steveland Morris with the title of Doctor of Music.
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