Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally a… Read Full Bio ↴Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder.

Wonder's single "Fingertips" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, at the age of 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s. His "classic period" began in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book, the latter featuring "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. His works Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) all won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, making him the tied-record holder for the most Album of the Year wins, with three. He is also the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases. Wonder began his "commercial period" in the 1980s; he achieved his biggest hits and highest level of fame, had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations (including Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson), political impact, and television appearances. Wonder has continued to remain active in music and political causes.

Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 100 million records worldwide. He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a solo artist) and one Academy Award (Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red). Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday in the U.S. In 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 13, 1950, the third of five children born to Lula Mae Hardaway, and the second of Hardaway's two children with Calvin Judkins. He was born six weeks premature which, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the growth of the eyes is aborted and causes the retinas to detach, so he became blind.

Boogie On Reggae Woman
Stevie Wonder Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I like to see you boogie
Right across the floor
I like to do it to you
Till you holla for more

I like to reggae
But you dance too fast for me
I'd like to make love to you

So you can make me scream

So boogie on reggae woman
What is wrong with me
Boogie on reggae woman
Baby can't you see

I'd like to see both of us
Fall deeply in love
I'd like to see you na
Under the stars above
Yes I would
I'd like to see both of us
Fall deeply in love, yeah
I'd like to see you in the raw
Under the stars above

So boogie on reggae woman
What is wrong with you
Boogie on reggae woman
What you tryin' to do
(Can I play? Can I play?)
(No)

Boogie on reggae woman
What is wrong with me
Boogie on reggae woman
What you tryin' to do

Boogie on reggae woman
Let me do it to you

Boogie on reggae woman
What you tryin' to do

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Stevie Wonder's song Boogie On Reggae Woman are about a man's desire for a woman who he wants to dance with and make love to. The song has a catchy beat and rhythm that makes people want to dance. The man in the song is attracted to the woman's dancing and wants to dance with her himself, but also desires to take things further and make love to her.

The lyrics reflect the sexual energy between two lovers who are unable to resist their attraction to each other. Despite the different dance styles of reggae and boogie, the man wants the woman to dance with him in her reggae style while he does his boogie dance. He also wants to see both of them fall deeply in love and be together under the stars. The song speaks to the passionate desire between two people and their desire to connect on a physical and emotional level.

Line by Line Meaning

I like to see you boogie
I enjoy watching you dance

Right across the floor
Anywhere on the dance floor

I like to do it to you
I want to dance with you

Till you holla for more
Until you want to keep dancing

I like to reggae
I enjoy reggae music

But you dance too fast for me
Your dancing is too quick for me to keep up

I'd like to make love to you
I want to have sex with you

So you can make me scream
So that you can give me pleasure

So boogie on reggae woman
Keep dancing, reggae woman

What is wrong with me
Why do I feel this way?

Baby can't you see
Can't you understand my desire?