Isn’t he Wonderful?
Stevie, that is

Kids Stuff
By William Feldman

Welcome to Kids Stuff. Today’s column includes a phenomenon that just left Philly — Stevie Wonder.
I was afforded a great opportunity by singer Stevie Wonder’s management team to review Stevie’s A Wonder Autumn Night concert when he performed at the Wachovia Center one night earlier this month. Stevie who is now 57, performed from 8:10 to about 10:50 p.m. with no opening act or breaks. Unfortunately, due to standardized school tests that I had to take the next day, I could only stay for half of the concert.
Stevie Wonder, a composer and singer, was born blind. He is living proof that being born with a disability does not have to stop you from making your dreams come true.
I read he has been in the music industry for about 43 years or so. Another program mentioned after a 12-year hiatus from touring, Stevie’s successful summer tour, A Wonder Summer’s Night, received great reviews throughout the country as it toured 13 cities in 30 days. Stevie has been honored with 25 Grammy Awards including the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, received an Academy Award for I Just Called To Say I Love You, from The Woman In Red, and he has amassed an astounding 49 Top 40 singles, 32 No. 1 singles and worldwide sales of more than 100 million units.
A news release stated the "impetus of the tour remains Wonder’s dedication to his beloved late mother Lula Mae Hardaway. After his mother’s passing last year, Wonder curtailed much of his schedule, but a single performance in Hawaii this year invoked Lula Mae’s spirit and rekindled Stevie’s passion for performance."
Stevie was explaining to the audience he wanted to do a tour real soon. He was told "next year" by his agent Creative Artists Agency. Stevie really wanted to tour in a few weeks. His agent said impossible. Guess what? The impossible happened and he performed in Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center. He then stated that he wanted to tour around the country to thank all of his fans for supporting his music, songs and other important causes.
The concert commenced with Aisha Morris, Stevie’s daughter, escorting him, hand in hand, out on stage to a sold-out crowd. His stage presence consisted of three singers and an eight-piece band.
The band: Nathan Watts, bass; Christopher Johnson, drums; Munyungo Jackson, percussion; Fausto Cuevas, percussion; Morris O’Connor, guitar; Errol Cooney, guitar; Roman Johnson, keyboards; Victoria Theodore, keyboards; and Stanley Randolph, drums (selected dates). Vocals included: Keith John, Kimberly Brewer and Aisha Morris.
The age of the crowd varied from teenagers to young 40s to mostly middle-aged and then some older. The crowd was literally charged with energy as they clapped, sang and danced to the music, which was allowed.
For the first song of the night, Stevie and his daughter sat down behind the piano and sang as a duet Love’s in Need of Love Today. Later the audience was treated, to name a few songs, to Living for the City, Visions in my Mind. How cool, he changed his vocals with a synthesizer and you could make out the statement, "I love Philadelphia," as well as a few of the songs: Ain’t No Stopping Us Now and We Are Family, which led him right into singing High Ground. A few songs later Stevie had major audience-participation as he gave lyrics and instruction to the men versus the women in the audience on his song, A Ribbon in the Sky, followed by Overjoyed.
The bottom line: Watching Stevie perform is like watching a one-man band: piano, electric keyboard, harmonica and singing. Hopefully I will be able to come back to my readers in the near future with an interview with Stevie. ••
Columnist William Feldman can be contacted by e-mail at wmkidscolumn@aol.com