Stevie truly is a wonder, but did you know his music has the power to generate profits not only for his record label but also his fans? When a friend of mine saw Mr. Stevland Morris perform in Chicago on September 11, 2007, a fellow audience member came up to him and said, “I’ve been watching you dance this whole time, and I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the energy you’re giving off. Here’s $100.” Boom! He didn’t even have to sleep with the guy! All he had to do was shake some positive vibes out of his moneymaker and suddenly he was one Benjamin richer.
This week’s featured concert took place one week earlier in September of ‘07, when Wonder played at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California, a venue where the hard-luck message of “Living for the City” must’ve really hit home. Wonder was touring for the first time in more than a decade; his most recent album, A Time to Love, was already two years old by the fall of ‘07, so for this two-hours-plus performance he focused on material from the ’70s, when he was at his creative peak. I still think Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974) is sorely underrated and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) is overlong and overrated, but I won’t argue with anyone who wants to praise Innervisions (1973) to the high heavens.
One of Wonder’s backup singers on his 2007 tour was Aisha Morris, his daughter, who made her recording debut as a baby on Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.” In April she turns 34.
