Reflection On Stevie's Church of Wonder







I almost fell out of my seat when my beau explained that he was taking me to see Stevie Wonder for our anniversary! Here are some reflections from the evening.

Reviews could never do justice in conveying the profoundly moving, lift-up-my-hands, neck hair-raising, practically spiritual experience delivered by the musical prodigy who we call Stevie Wonder. So I want to begin by saying that this is not a review of the last leg of what Rolling Stone has dubbed the "best demonstration of the boundless capability of American music itself." This column is all about praise and accolades for the prophet of peace, equity, love and funk.
Let me testify to the magnitude of the evening that began in a sea of adoring fans, waiting outside of the Charlotte Hornets' Time Warner Cable Arena. People of all generations exchanged their most beloved verses found in Wonder songs. I giggled out loud when the woman next to me cheered as the doors opened, albeit slightly later than expected. She waved her hands in the air and shouted “Hallelujah! I don’t want Stevie to start without me.”
We plowed down the aisles of the packed arena seeking to experience the flagship album from one of the most iconic musical figures in the past 60 years. Wonder’s songs of the “Key in Life” were acclaimed by Elton John and Prince as “the best album ever made.” The late Michael Jackson called the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack his “favorite Stevie Wonder album.”
Wonder began by dedicating “Love’s in Need of Love Today” to the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks. “Part of my heart is very broken because we as artists ... possess a desire to see a better world, to see people coming together. Yet it seems to me that all you people who are sighted are far more blind than me. … My heart is broken about the people in Paris; the nine people shot in church in South Carolina; the kids shot in Chicago.” The band led into the very first song on the 1976 “Key of Life” album. In a tearful moment, the crowd sang along:

"Love's in need of love today
Don't delay
Send yours in right away
Hate's goin' ‘round
Breaking many hearts
Stop it please
Before it's gone too far."

To Paraphrase One of My Favorite Quotes From The Evening

The crowd rocked and swayed through over three and a half hours of music as Stevie played familiar hits including “Isn’t She Lovely,” “Sir Duke” and “Have a Talk with God.” Stevie also shared the stage with glorious members of a local Baptist church choir, strings, a 30-piece orchestra (all local), six backup singers and a six-piece brass section that he referred to as “some of the funkiest horns on the planet.” He went on to transport us to a “higher ground” of human emotion.
One of my favorite aspects about the performance was the way Wonder wooed the crowd into the feeling of an intimate session. Occasionally, a zealous fan, moved with the emotion, could be heard yelling “We love you, Stevie.” He would smile cleverly and then acknowledge him or her with a “What’s up?” With a call-and-response style of collaboration, Stevie got the men from the audience caught up in singing the hook of “Knocks Me off My Feet.” My own beau, a man who refuses to sing even in church, chimed in with Wonder:

"There's sumptin 'bout your love
That makes me weak and
Knocks me off my feet."

Here is Stevie Wondering Performing this Song Life in London

Meanwhile, Stevie inserted homilies ranging from the importance of arts programs in schools to world peace. He also opened the stage for spirited local artists and backup singers to perform songs of their choice. He provided all six backup dancers the opportunity to share a song ranging from Etta James to Fetty Wap. The one he referred to as “the preacher’s daughter” sang “I love the Lord”; cries of “amen” echoed while the artist closed her eyes and bellowed in a way that brought the crowd to its feet. In the end, she took a bow and explained, “I thought I was back at church.” Stevie replied, “Yes, the Church of Wonder.”
The concert was the perfect example of the divine infusion of love in Wonder’s music. Blood vessels are blamed for his eyes not developing sufficiently and his retinas being detached, a medical condition called retinopathy of prematurity. Despite this, Wonder gives credit to God for overcoming the odds and for his musical abilities.

It is said Wonder initially cultivated his love of music at Whitestone Baptist Church and learned to play the piano at age 4, followed by mastering the harmonica, drums and bass that led to a blessed legacy of music. “Many years ago, there were those who said, ‘Well, you have three strikes against you: You’re black, you’re blind and you’re poor.’ But God said to me, ‘I will make you rich in the spirit of inspiration, to inspire others as well as create music to encourage the world to a place of oneness and hope and positivity.’ I believed him and not them.”
Honored with 25 Grammy Awards, an Oscar and a Golden Globe, Wonder is an inductee into the Rock 'n' Roll, Songwriters and NAACP halls of fame, and he was the youngest beneficiary of the Kennedy Center Honors. He has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and is an assigned U.N. Courier of Peace with an exceptional spotlight on persons with disabilities. Forty years later and Wonder still has "IT."

The concert may have marked the final week of live performances in the U.S. before leaving thousands in a state of Wonder. Nevertheless, I am not alone in saying this was the concert of a lifetime, and “Songs in the Key of Life” is now a soundtrack permanently etched on my soul.