Happy 59th Birthday Stevie!!

Thembi Ford 13 May 2009 7 Comments

Five Reasons I Love Stevie Wonder

1. His music and influence has changed the world socially and politically through such songs as “Happy Birthday,” in support of Martin Luther King Day. That song also pretty much replaced the original version in my house growing up, by the way.

2. He’s an amazing performer and always bring something special to the stage. This clip from the 1985 Motown special is my favorite of his since I know it by heart from childhood and have never been lucky enough to see him live.

3. He looks a lot like my dad and always has, except for the blindness part. Since my father is one of my personal heroes I’ve always known that Stevie was on to something.

4. Some of his music got me through really emotional times. “Overjoyed,” got me through heartache, “All I Do,” makes me happy when I’m lonely and traveling, and “Blame It On The Sun,” which may be my favorite, makes me tear up every time I hear it and I can’t put my finger on why. Ever since I first discovered Stevie’s music I keep one or two of his albums around, unopened, so that I can experience new music by him just in case I need that special something new.

5. During the “We Are One” concert celebrating Obama’s inauguration, I had to notice that Barack and Michelle made sure that Malia and Sasha stood up for Stevie’s performance in a way that the likes of Shakira just didn’t merit. Stevie’s 1986 guest appearance on The Cosby Show remains the best black sitcom special celebrity guest star turn of all time because in the episode Huxtables of all ages, from Claire to Theo to Rudy, were equally hype about meeting and singing with this legend. His music brings black families together like church. Watch the music and hypeness unfold in this clip:

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading ...

7 Comments »

Malcolm said:

Excellent post! If someone ever said to me that they don’t like one single Stevie song, I’d have to seriously question whether they know anything about music.

# 13 May 2009 at 7:49 pm

pjazzypar said:

Hey Thembi,Stevie is the best. Malcolm know I take issue with “I Just Called to Say I Love You” because of the great, incredible, music in the Stevie Wonder catalog, this is probably the most popular song and it should not be. I digress, great tribute to Steveland.

# 15 May 2009 at 10:14 am

tracy said:

I absolutely love Stevie. These 3 words and All is Fair in Love are two of my most favorite songs. Last April I took my daughter to see him in concert, she never sat down. LOL…Thank you so much!

# 16 May 2009 at 1:29 pm

blackink said:

Great post. And an even better line: “His music brings black families together like church.”

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at family gatherings or picnics when a Stevie song comes on over the stereo, and everyone – even some of us youngsters – know all the words.

As for my favorite, I think “Superwoman” might be the one. Just a beautiful song.

# 17 May 2009 at 2:43 pm

jazzfan360 said:

“All’s Fair in Love” is pretty friggin awesome. That’s a towering song…the lyrics are just cut straight through. …But then there’s “Superstition,” which gave us like the NASTIEST thirty seconds in all of funk. …But then there’s “Part-Time Lover,” which is just a real damn fine jam. …But then there’s “Golden Lady,” which is just so, so beautiful. …But then there’s “Fingertips,” which captures raw, unvarnished, incubating brilliance like lightning in a bottle. …But then there’s……oh hell.

# 22 May 2009 at 2:25 am

Dara said:

And “I Never Dreamed You Leave in Summer” always makes me think of Powetic Justice and burning the ends of braids and eating popcorn with hot sauce.

# 22 May 2009 at 10:47 am

Dara said:

thats…Poetic.

although, poWETic would be a fly name for some hair gel, wouldnt it?

# 22 May 2009 at 10:48 am

So what do you think? Please be respectful to other readers!

Thembi All Up And Through These Internets!

What Would Thembi Do? on Facebook

Find More Thembi at…

The Tribe Has Spoken!

Julia Mitchell commented on Monday Afternoon Bonbon osteoporosis is very common among the elderly, calcium and magnesium supplements help a lot in osteoporosis.~'.
Finlay Richardson commented on “What The Eff?” Wednesday: Who Is Corey Johnson aka Musicorey? i always thought that there is some sort of built in mind power in everyone of us.;`;
Aida commented on Michael Jackson and The Five Stages of Grief: Depression I am extremely sad as time goes by. At first I was sort of numb - I was the same when my father was killed - but as time passes, the loss becomes even more apparent to me. Can't exactly put it into words. If I'm being honest - and I know many will not
lilkunta commented on Why We Can’t Have Nothin’: “Freaknik The Musical” and How I Learned to Wear Sensible Shoes QUOTE : " When it comes to the events themselves, I’ll never be convinced of the value of any event where sexuality is at the forefront, especially sexual behaviors that so closely mirror the “slave sexuality” where women put themselves on display, rile up the men, and are then pursued or assaulted because of
Samuel Hernandez commented on Why We Can’t Have Nothin’: “Freaknik The Musical” and How I Learned to Wear Sensible Shoes i watched Everybody Hates Chris and sometimes i find the lead actor a bit distracting.";-
ShonQuayShah commented on Obscure Black C-Lister Redux: Bumper Robinson my trivia powers are working overtime! he was the voice of Funzi in this great production: Tell me Who I am http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Me-Who-Am-Journey/dp/B00000IC5X if you have children under 10, they will LOVE this!!! also, he played the role of "Husband" very well in the PBS version of "The Old Settler" Co-starring with Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen. This is a must see!
ShonQuayShah commented on “What The Eff?” Wednesday: The World’s Worst ok, Thembi...i am thru with you, you hear me? DONE. DEAD. OVAH. banola bar? that made me pee in my pants just a bit. i could not take the drive to the eastside in that next vid. could not make it past 35 seconds for Nawhoooey whatever his name is. the Spirit of Truth, while he is a great
DJStylus commented on “What The Eff?” Wednesday: Ripples, Rolls, and Rebellion Beata's really not so bad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13qUbuABPbU

THROWBACK POST!!

Police Sketches of Black Dudes

By Thembi Ford on September 26, 2007

Police sketch artist drawings of black people are notoriously poor and rarely look like anyone in particular. I’m convinced that when asked to describe the suspect, witnesses just describe the last black male they saw, even if they last saw a black male on television. So I did a little Thembi-style experiment by going online and digging up dozens of sketches of black suspects to see just who the strong arm of the law is looking for.

Posted in Not Racist Cuz It's True., Our Shame, What the Eff?, Yipes! | 21 Responses

Booking Information

To request radio, television, or panel appearances contact Marc Holley at marcholley@whatwouldthembido.com

Questions or Comments

E-mail Thembi at thembi@whatwouldthembido.com

Disclaimer

It should go without saying, but the opinions expressed here belong to the author and the author alone, and are not necessarily shared with any other guest author on this site or any group or organization of which I may be a member. This site contains copy written material whose use may or may not have been authorized by its legal owner but is intended to facilitate commentary, conversation, and sassiness, constituting fair use as outlined by copyright law. I don't have much money so please don't sue a sister. WWTD work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Most Commented

Most Viewed

Michael Jackson and The Five Stages of Grief: Bargaining - 69,838 views
Michael Jackson and The Five Stages of Grief: Denial - 21,339 views
Camel Towing - 20,915 views
Black Hair Talk: White Girls With Black Haircuts - 17,910 views
Good Hair Gone Bad: Devante Swing - 10,121 views