Stevie Wonder

[Chazro]

....or as he's known in my house; Stevie The Wonder Man! Did anyone watch the special last night? Amazing! Totally smoked the Grammy show, what a night! Before I watched I had read who some of the performers that were going to be on and honestly, I wasn't feelin' it BUT....the performances were totally bolstered by the SONGS! I literally sat there with this silly grin on my face, at times I'll admit I was getting choked up, those songs....IMO the only other writer of as many modern 'standards' were the Beatles (McCartney, Lennon, & Harrison). Watching him whip the crowd into a frenzy at the end was a thing of wonder(!) to me. I've seen him twice, once he was 2nd billing to the Stones (the '70's Ya-Ya days!) and the 2nd he was top billing (the 80's) and both time he whipped the crowd into the SAME frenzy!, Incredible! For me, it's a telling statement about the state of Popular music these days that Stevie's new music doesn't sell, and by these days I mean the last 20 years! I'd be the 1st to admit his records haven't been as consistently brilliant as in his glory days (his last 'great' record was 'Hotter Than July'). But we're talkin' Stevie Wonder here! Even sub-standard Stevie is so far above the average dreck it's laughable. If any of his 'sub-standard' records were released by some unknown artist, the artist would immediately be hailed as a genius! I own ALL his records and even on his poorest selling albums there's always a handful of gems, as good as anything he's ever done, but none of this music is celebrated as it simply isn't as well known. How incredibly frustrating it must be for him to be an icon that isn't really being listened to anymore. To know his talent is so far beyond the majority of current music makers and yet hasn't released a new record in years. Ya gotta know he's got to have tons of new music written but not released. I loved what Tony Bennett said about Stevie being one of the greatest JAZZ musicians ever, as it's something I've felt for decades!

[Ron Thorne]

Yeah, Chazro, that was a really enjoyable show. I was bummed when Stevie somewhat abruptly shifted gears near the end after getting an amazing groove going on the Fender Rhodes. My, what a fierce band Greg Phillinganes put together for the occasion. Whew!

Stevie deserved a tribute such as that!

[moldyfigg]

We never watch those awards shows but it sounds like we would have dug Little Stevie .

[bluenoter]

We never watch those awards shows but it sounds like we would have dug Little Stevie.

I'm old enough to remember when he was billed as Little Stevie Wonder ("The 12 Year Old Genius"). He was a standout even then.

[Ron Thorne]

Did someone say Little Stevie Wonder? Here he is at age 14!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GfeEUX3KFE

[Ron Thorne]

We never watch those awards shows but it sounds like we would have dug Little Stevie .

Too bad you missed it, Clint. It wasn't an "awards show", it was a Grammy Tribute. Big difference.

[hornplayer]

I didn't know it was on until the next day. That's the problem with not watching mainstream tv, I guess.