Isn't he lovely? Stevie Wonder celebrates his 70th birthday
As the legend himself sang in 1980, "Happy Birthday to you," Stevie Wonder! The music icon turns 70 Wednesday.
To mark the occasion, several artists are throwing a #24HoursOfStevie Instagram Live concert.
Questlove, D-Nice, Gilles Peterson, DJ Tara and more are hosting the celebration, which began at midnight, on the 'Stevie Wonder’s Family' account.
Blind from infancy, Wonder, born Stevland Judkins, was a child prodigy who played keyboard, harmonica and drums. At age 11, the Michigan-born signer signed to Motown/Tamla records, and at age 13, after being dubbed "Little Stevie Wonder," he had a chart-topping hit with "Fingertips, Pt. 2."
In 1966, he scored his first hit with a tune he helped compose -- "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" -- which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other major hits he co-wrote during the late 1960s include "I Was Made to Love Her" and "My Cherie Amour."
Wonder reached the pinnacle of his career during the 1970s, when he released a series of commercially successful and critically acclaimed albums.
Among his many hits during the decade were "Superstition," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "Higher Ground," "Living for the City," "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing," "You Haven't Done Nothin'," "Boogie On Reggae Woman," "I Wish" and "Sir Duke."
Wonder's success continued into the 1980s with hits like "Master Blaster (Jammin')" and the No. 1 smashes "Part-Time Lover" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You," the latter of which also won an Academy Award for best original song from the soundtrack to the film "The Woman in Red." He topped the charts with the 1982 Paul McCartney duet "Ebony and Ivory" and the 1985 charity song "That's What Friends Are For," featuring Dionne Warwick, Elton John and Gladys Knight.
Wonder's honors include 25 Grammy Awards, induction into the Rock & Roll and the Songwriters Halls of Fame, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented to him by President Barack Obama.
