Wonder

Thursday evening at the White House, Stevie Wonder received the Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize. This is only the second time this prize has been award for excellence in music. For such a prolific artist, Stevie Wonder, is very deserving of this award. Also, it can be said that artists such as Stevie Wonder were the soundtrack of the 2008 presidential election. President Barack Obama was heavily influenced by his music, and President Obama also stated in a joking matter that first lady Michelle Obama kept dating him because of there love for Stevie Wonder's music("You and I" from Talking Book was there first song at there wedding).

Stevie Wonder is one of the most Significant artists in modern music history, on the level of The Beatles, early Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel. Also was influential for many modern artists that could take a full page to list. Throughout the 1970's, Stevie Wonder released five consecutive critically and commercial successful albums, winning Grammy's for album of the year in 1974, 1975 and 1977. At the 1976 Grammy awards, Paul Simon jokingly thanked Stevie Wonder for not releasing an album that year (FYI Paul Simon was the first recipient of the Gershwin Prize in 2007). Given the success Stevie Wonder throughout his music career, three albums come to mind that everyone should listen to.

Talking Book (1972)

The second of the the five albums released in the "classic" era of Stevie Wonder's career, Talking Book was a departure from his original Motown sound. This was a very funky album with heavy synthesizer use, most notably on "superstition" one of the most popular songs on the album. The album also mixed in slower tempo love songs such as "You and I" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Talking book is one of Stevie Wonder most popular do to the number one Success of "Superstition" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Talking book lead to the success of his next album, Innervisions

Innervisions (1973)

First of Wonder's three albums to win the Grammy for Album of the Year. This was a much more of an experimental album compared to Talking book. Stevie Wonder also used a method of recording often employed by Marvin Gaye, in which songs were blended together seamlessly. this method gives Innervisions an organic feel to it. This album is filled with heavy emotions with spirituality in the songs "Innervision", love "Golden Lady", funk "Too High" and "Higher ground". Innervisions was much more "political" with his song "Living in the City", were Stevie Wonder can be heard playing every single instrument on the track. After the success of Innervisions, Stevie Wonder released Fulfillingness' First Finale in 1974, which also won Album of the Year. Steve Wonder never took a real break, but embarked on his most ambitious album to date.

Songs In The Key Of Life (1977)

This is Stevie Wonders opus, the final of the five albums in the "classic" era. Songs In The Key Of Life was an ambitious double album, which was rare at the time. This album sums up the career that, up to that point, for Stevie Wonder. It paints a picture of life, from remembering the days of youth in "I wish", to the negatives of living in the past in "Pastime Paradise". Songs in the Key Of Life is also filled with pop songs such as "Sir Duke" and "Isn't She Lovely" as well as the social and politically charged "Have a Talk with God" and "Black Man". Stevie Wonder not only created great songs in this album, but also brought in new technology and honed his sounds from prior albums to musical perfection. This album brought everything together to create one of the greatest albums of all time. Out of the three albums on this list, Songs In The Key Of Life is my personal favorite.

There are several other Stevie Wonder albums that are great, but these three are the best. To get a full prospective of Stevie Wonder "classic" era, listen to the five albums together. It is also interesting that Stevie Wonder had recorded all of these albums by the age of 27. I can still see Stevie Wonder release another great album, and it is possible that this past year might have rejuvenated him to do so. One can only hope.