 Stevie Wonder: Gets Gershwin Prize for song
Stevie Wonder, who already won a record 26 Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Song, has now been named on Tuesday as the second recipient of the U.S. Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song after singing for nearly five decades about love, joy and injustices in the world.
The Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, said in a statement, "The Gershwin Prize was created to honor an artist whose creative output transcends distinctions between musical styles and idioms, bringing diverse listeners together and fostering mutual understanding and appreciation".
The 58 year old Stevie Wonder will receive the award on February 23, 2009 in Washington, DC. The first Gershwin Prize was awarded in 2007 to Paul Simon.
Stevie Wonder has also agreed to write a piece of music for the Library, joining a group of composers receiving commissions that range from Leonard Bernstein to Paquito D'Rivera.
The Motown icon, Wonder said in a statement, "It's an immense privilege to join such a remarkable roster of musicians and composers. I am touched to receive this honor, and look forward to creating music for the celebration".
Stevie Wonder, who is also known as Stevland Hardaway Morris, was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1950 and became blind shortly afterward. He signed his first recording contract with Motown Records at the age of 12 and released many top-selling hits including "Fingertips" in 1963, "For Once in My Life" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours".
Stevie Wonder's other hit albums are "Talking Book", "Innervisions", "Fulfillingness First Finale" and "Songs in the Key of Life", the last of which included his classic single "Love in Need of Love Today". |
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