​Simply Wonderful(a)|全能视障艺人——史提夫‧汪达(a)

Simply Wonderful　全能视障艺人——史提夫‧汪达

by Rebecca A. Fratzke

With an amazing voice and a 50-year career,this musician was once called the eighth wonder of the world.

凭着迷人的歌喉和 50 年的音乐生涯，史提夫‧汪达这位音乐家曾被誉为世界第八大奇景。

Stevie Wonder is known as one of the most influential singer-songwriters of all time. To the American public, he is a hero who played a major role in making Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a national holiday. He has brought awareness to social issues like AIDS and has been a voice for the blind. You may think that at nearly 60 years of age Wonder wants to slow down. On the contrary, in recent years, he has proven he still has what it takes. His 2008 tour, "A Wonder Summer's Night," sold over 120,000 tickets in the UK alone.

Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1950 to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. At the time, his name was Steveland Hardaway Judkins, and he was the third of six children. Wonder was born six weeks premature, which caused him to be blind. Although living blind was a challenge, Wonder recalls always having a positive attitude toward his future even when he was very young. Whenever Wonder's mother cried about him missing opportunities, he would comfort her by saying that he knew God had a plan for him. It was not long before they would discover what that plan actually was.

Drawn to music at a young age, Wonder was an active member of his church choir and became skilled at playing the piano, drums, harmonica, and bass. At the age of 11, Wonder was introduced to Berry Gordy, founder and owner of Motown Records, and signed a recording contract with his company right away. Within two years, Little Stevie Wonder released his first two albums and was on his way to superstardom.

史提夫‧汪达是史上最具影响力的创作歌手之一。对美国大众来说，他也是促成马丁路德日成为国定假日的重要推手。他唤起大众对于艾滋病等社会议题的认识，同时也致力为盲人发声。你也许以为年届 60 的史提夫‧汪达会想要放慢脚步，但相反地，最近几年来他证明自己依然宝刀未老。他在 2008 年举办巡回演唱会『奇妙夏日夜』，光在英国就卖出超过 12 万张门票。

史提夫‧汪达于 1950 年出生在密执安州的萨奇诺，父亲是凯文‧贾金斯，母亲是露娜‧梅‧哈达威。当时，他原名为史提夫蓝德‧哈达威‧贾金斯，在 6 个小孩中排行老三。由于汪达出生时早产 6 个星期，造成他双眼全盲。虽然失明的人生充满挑战，汪达记得自己年纪虽小却总是对未来抱持正面态度。每当母亲为了他错失机运而泪流不止时，他总是安慰妈妈说，他知道上帝自有安排。而没多久，大家就知道所谓的安排所指为何。

汪达在年幼时就对音乐很有兴趣，他在教会的唱诗班中表现十分活跃，并学会弹钢琴、打鼓、吹口琴和弹贝斯。在 11 岁那年，有人把他介绍给摩城唱片公司的创办人兼老板贝瑞‧戈帝，他立即和唱片公司签下一纸合约。在短短两年内，小史提夫‧汪达发行了两张唱片，迈向成为巨星之路。