Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder ~ My Sweet Memory

[goclark]

Ms. goclark picked up her phone one afternoon and it was my friend Gloria on the other end.

We were two young ladies that had loads of thrilling times in our close to Hollywood home town -- Los Angeles.

That day, in the mid 70's, “Halle Berry Looking” Gloria called to ask me if I would go with her to meet Stevie Wonder.

I instantly believed she was kidding ~ to my surprise, she was not.

She came to pick me up and soon we arrived at a small recording studio not far from the Sunset Strip.

We entered the studio and there he was ~ my all time favorite singer was being introduced to me!

He walked as if he could see and took us over to a small piano and he started playing "Isn't She Lovely, Isn't She Wonderful"... My feet felt like they had left this earth.

We were mesmerized as we watched him record, not realizing that we were witnessing magical musical moments that people would have given their eye tooth to see.

We met the other musicians and we stayed until they wrapped up the session for the evening. Goclark and Gloria drove home on a cloud.

About two weeks later, Gloria called to tell me that Stevie was giving her a Birthday Party - I laughed until I cried. I thought she was playing but she was not....

Stevie had told her to prepare a list of about 50 friends and he would give her the location address closer to the date.

We made the calls, not telling the guests about the Wonder Part and on her Summer Birthday evening,with Gloria's Boyfriend as our driver, we arrived at a charming Beach House in Malibu.

The stars sprinkled the sky - the scene reminded me of a chapter in Cinderella. We parked the car and our wide eyes saw a wooden dance floor on the beach, a table covered with luscious delicacies, a Combo ready to play the latest hits and fancy dressed waiters preparing to serve us.

We were Dancing With the Stars that night!

That was way before cell phones so we took turns serving as look outs for Stevie.

About an hour into the party, Gloria came over to whisper to me that Stevie had arrived! She had me walk over to the Limo to see him. He was excited like a kid when we described the setting.

He did not get out of the car, he gave Gloria a kiss on the cheek, sang the first four lines of the traditional Happy Birthday Song and using that famous smile, he was gone into the night.

We both stood there in shock because we didn't think that he would leave that way. We thought he would want to meet our friends and maybe sing for all of us.

It was several years later that the memory knocked me off my feet! I finally realized that he must enjoy making people feel terrific. It must be awesome to have enough money to do EXTRA SPECIAL ACTS OF KINDNESS for your family and friends.

One thing for sure ~ he made both of us have a Cinderella Evening that we will never forget.

Happy Birthday to Stevie Wonder!!

Happy Birthday, Happy birthday
Happy Birthday To Ya ~ Happy Birthday!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Wonder

[saltpoint]

1. Happy Birthday Mr. Wonder indeed.

A spectacular talent.

[goclark]

7. So, so special

[malaise]

2. What a lovely post

Wish I was that lucky.
We have a massive Stevie Wonder collection. Even mom fell in love with the Wonder when her first grandson phoned her on her 70th birthday and sang 'I just called to say I love You'. He was twelve at that time.

It's hard to pick my favorite Stevie but I sure remember heading for bed the night before my doctoral oral examination calmly playing 'Tomorrow Robins will Sing'. I had taken the view that robins would be singing the next day no matter what happened at that oral. I even played it in the car the next morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtJf7kjBRLA

Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder.

[goclark]

4. Wow! Thank you for the link

Perfect choice for your extra special day.

I can't stop singing it now.

Awesome video and classic Stevie Wonder!

[malaise]

9. It's one of the great songs to keep you going

In the grand scheme of things we are dots and tomorrow robins will sing. :D

[Fire1]

3. What a wonderful memory! He IS musical genious and

obviously, a wonderful human being.

[goclark]

6. He is WONderful!

[The Damned]

5. Isn't it lovely?

Isn't he wonderful?

[SoCalDem]

8. I saw him in July 1963.. when he was "Little Stevie Wonder"

SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts)
Fri Jun-25-04 12:28 AM

I saw "Little Stevie Wonder" perform onstage for the first time..

( at least in a concert-type performance)..I had never heard of him before and he was about 13 ,I think...He sang Fingertips.. It was July 1963

I was at a club in Miami(Copa City) for teens..The headliners were Little Anthony and the Imperials.. During a break, they brought Little Stevie out to perform...

...........................................
Copa City had been a very famous nightclub and the first to integrate

By the time the 50's ended, the "clubs" started to close.. The Copa was turned into a teen venue.. All the greats played there and recorded there..

We also would all go down to SouthBeach when it was mostly boarded up hotels and restaurants.. Waaaay before it was cool again :)

************************************
http://www.gdnrecords.com/englishcds/believeenglish.htm...

This below is from a Josephone Baker site:

GDN Records proudly presents Josephine Baker in what was to be her last recording. This American born songstress, actress and dancer unable to tolerate the segregational policies of her homeland, left for France at age 19 and spent the rest of her life using her fame combined with the invulnerability that came from being based outside America, to protest injustice wherever she saw it.

Upon her arrival in France, some 76 years ago, she took the country by storm. Her sensuous dances in her performances in "La Revue Negre" at the Champs-Elysé Theater, was something the French had never before seen. The influence of American music and dance, swept her audiences with her precision, risqué stage dress, her abandon, wildness and control, she held nothing back, she danced and sang as though possessed, yet her movements and were exact in their form and rhythm.

During the Second World War, instead of leaving France and enjoying life without risk, she worked for the Free French Government and was awarded the Medal of the Resistance for her work against Fascism. This soon led her to a commitment to the civil rights movement in the United States.

It started when Miami's segregated nightclub, the famed Copa City, began trying to get her to perform. She turned down ten thousand dollars a week because management refused to guarantee an integrated audience. But Josephine had her way, management gave in and she opened at Copa City in January 1951 before its first integrated audience. It became her standard practice, to insist on a nondiscrimination clause in her contract, guaranteeing that Black patrons would be admitted.

No entertainer before her had played to a non-segregated audience in Miami The breaking down of color lines in nightclubs, restaurants, and hotels became Josephine's special focus.

[goclark]

10. What a giant she was in the civil rights struggle

Entertainers have been instrumental in putting the spotlight on injustice ~ there were so many.

What a thrill it must have been to see Little Stevie Wonfer! I would have been dancing in the aisles. :bounce:

[saltpoint]

11. Kick!

[orleans]

12. great story.

he was the opening act for the first concert i ever went to--he opened for the stones (i think it was at the chicago amphitheater)

[political_Dem]

13. I grew up listening to Mr. Wonder, whether it was an album, C. D., or now mp3's.

My parents are longtime fans since the days he released his first record. They have every one of his albums. Growing up, it was such a pleasure to take the records out and listen to them whenever I wanted.

There are a few artists in which their songs have marked important points in my life and Mr. Wonder is one of them.

I wish him a wonderful birthday. He has touched a lot of lives. His music, intricate and filled with a lot of pathos, cannot be duplicated or mimicked by anyone. Mr. Wonder is truly an American original. His first-rate musicianship revolutionized and influenced how music sounds now.

By the way, thank you for the story. It signifies what a beautiful person he is.

[goclark]

14. You really spoke for so many of his fans

His music is magical to me.

As soon as I hear a melody my fingers start snapping.

My Mother is 91 years young and she never really enjoyed listening to music.

All of a sudden, when MJ died and I started playing some of his music, she started dancing!

I couldn't believe it.
Now I play Michael and Stevie for her and she starts dancing and snapping to the beat.

Even though this is May, she still wears a scarf like MJ's that hangs long around her neck -- every time we go out.

Music is medicine for the soul.

[malaise]

15. Great post

:fistbump:

[goclark]

16. Thanks so much, IMO they don't make music like this now

I'm trying to think of a current Recording Star that I rush
to buy on the web.

Some have one or two songs that I like but not the entire album.

We would rush to get his albums, could not wait.

Sad to say, Stevie's new music doesn't move me like his old recordings.

Is it the times?

I guess I'm getting old and want to hold the memories of a younger time. LOL

[political_Dem]

21. Thank you malaise and goclark for your comments. :)

Mr. Wonder is a very special person. No matter whom I've talked to about music, his name constantly comes up as someone who has produce quality and memorable music. He is one of the best when it comes to fighting for humanitarian causes and writing about them in his songs.

Although there have been songs of his that have brought me to tears (such as the ones he sang for the funerals of Luther Vandross and Michael Jackson), the majority of his tunes have brought me a lot of joy--especially when things have gone to an all-time low. That is why I hold Mr. Wonder in high esteem. His music moves mountains while crossing the generations. He's the greatest. :D

[goclark]

22. Yes, he is surely one of the all time greats!

MJ could sing, dance and act.
Did he play an instrument?
He was a humanitarian beyond measure.

However, MJ could SEE.

I wonder how different Stevie Wonder could be as an artist if he was able to see. I just can't imagine Stevie being more wonderful than he already is ~

:loveya:

[saltpoint]

17. It's a great pleasure to kick a thread that involves Stevie Wonder because

it's a pleasure to consider how gifted a soul he really is and how great a lift his music represents for so many of us.

And good lord can that man play a wicked harmonica.

[goclark]

18. Yes, that harmonica is a sweet memory

Love it!

[Karenina]

19. My favorite memory is of being at MSG

It was PACKED and some at the back were noisy. Stevie stopped and said that most had come to hear music and would prefer no distractions. Within 10 seconds you could hear a pin drop.

[goclark]

20. That must have been amazing ~

His hearing is so sharp that it probably was extremely annoying to him.

Glad they got quiet.

If Ms.goclark had been there and they were making noise MSG would have needed to call the police and I would have been in handcuffs. LOL