Those are the words of Grammy award-winning artiste Stevie Wonder, who is celebrating his birthday today. “I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage, and I never thought of being black as a disadvantage. I am what I am. I love me! And I don’t mean that egotistically – I love that God has allowed me to take whatever it was that I had and to make something out of it.”
He was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on this day in 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan with a condition called retinopathy of prematurity, an eye disorder which got worse when he received too much oxygen in an incubator, making him blind.
But the ‘Little Stevie Wonder’ did not let his situation stop him from achieving his dreams and making a name as one of the pioneers in the music industry.
He began singing and dancing at a young age in his church and by the age of nine, he was already playing the piano, harmonica, and conga drum.
Wonder released his first album titled The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie at the age of 12 and followed it with Tribute To Uncle Ray dedicated to Ray Charles.
The music legend during his 50-plus year career has not only survived car crashes and death threats but has used his music to cause change, both on and off the stage.
To celebrate his birthday, Face2Face Africa shares with you 10 of his greatest hits. Scroll through to check them out in no particular order.
