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Historical event

Stevie Wonder · 1962

Stevie Wonder

Historical music event in the Radio Music History database.

August 16, 1962Release⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Twelve-year-old Little Stevie Wonder released his first single, "I Call It Pretty Music (But The Old People Call It The Blues)", issued by Motown Records. Marvin Gaye played drums on the recording, which reached No. 101 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Related events

  1. Stevie WonderAugust 10, 1963
    Chart⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Thirteen-year-old Little Stevie Wonder began a three-week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Fingertips Part II”. It was the first live recording to reach the top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart since Johnny Standley's 1952 comedy monologue “It's in the Book”. Stevie Wonder also became the youngest singer to reach the top of the US chart.
  2. Stevie WonderAugust 23, 1963
    Chart⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Stevie Wonder became the first artist of the rock era to have both a number-one single (“Fingertips, Pt. 2”) and a number-one album (“The Twelve-Year-Old Genius”) simultaneously, while also being at number one on the R&B chart. “Fingertips” was in its fourth week at the top of the R&B chart.
  3. Stevie WonderAugust 24, 1963
    Chart⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Stevie Wonder became the first artist to simultaneously hold No. 1 on the U.S. album and singles charts in the same week. His album „Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius“ topped the album chart and „Fingertips (Part 2)“ topped the singles chart; it was also the first live recording to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100. „Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius“ was the last album released under the name „Little Stevie Wonder“; on subsequent albums he used only the name Stevie Wonder.
  4. Stevie WonderAugust 27, 1966
    Chart⭐⭐⭐
    Stevie Wonder's version of “Blowin' In The Wind” reached No. 1 on the US R&B chart.
  5. Stevie WonderAugust 3, 1973
    Album⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Tamla Records released Stevie Wonder’s sixteenth studio album, “Innervisions.” The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Soul LPs chart, and later won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
  6. Stevie WonderAugust 6, 1973
    Personal⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Stevie Wonder suffered serious injuries in a car accident when the rented car he was riding in crashed from behind into a small logging truck on I-85 near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a log struck him in the face. He suffered a severe brain contusion, was in a coma for four days, temporarily lost his sense of smell and taste, and returned to the studio within a few weeks.
  7. Stevie WonderAugust 5, 1975
    Business⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Stevie Wonder signed a seven-year, seven-album deal with Tamla/Motown worth a total of $37 million. The contract included a guaranteed $13 million advance, high royalty rates, performance bonuses and extensive artistic control over his music.
  8. Stevie WonderSeptember 1, 1980
    Concert⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Stevie Wonder performed the first of six sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena.
  9. Stevie WonderAugust 31, 1984
    Release⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Stevie Wonder released "I Just Called to Say I Love You" in the United Kingdom.
  10. Stevie WonderAugust 3, 2012
    Personal⭐⭐⭐
    Stevie Wonder filed for divorce from his second wife, Kai Millard Morris, after approximately ten years of marriage; irreconcilable differences were cited as the reason.