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.

Spiritual Walkers
Stevie Wonder Lyrics

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They knock on your door
You laugh in their face
They tell you it's time to pray
They give you a book
And tell you to read
And point to the Judgment Day

People say they live dangerously

Walking places they should not be
But they will walk their lives
With a never ending light
They will walk their lives
'Til they shine the light
Of truth into your life

They sit on a stump
You run from their sight
To not hear the holy word
They sing and they chant
They preach and they speak
In tongues you have never heard

But people say they live dangerously
Walking places they should not be
But they will walk their lives
With a never ending light
They will walk their lives
'Til they shine the light
Of truth into your life

(I wanna know)
Haven't you ever encountered the spiritual walkers?
They just walk the light through the day, through the night
(I wanna know)
Haven't you ever encountered the spiritual walkers?
They just walk the light through the day, through the night
(Walk on)

On corners of streets
And airports or tents
They reach out for you to come in
They have no defense
Except inner sense
And knowing the Almighty Friend

But people say they live dangerously
Walking places they should not be
But they will walk their lives
With a never ending light
They will walk their lives
'Til they shine the light
Of truth into your life
Truth into your life

(I wanna know)
Haven't you ever encountered the spiritual walkers?
They just walk the light through the day, through the night
(I wanna know)
Haven't you ever encountered the spiritual walkers?
They just walk the light through the day, through the night
(I wanna know)
Haven't you ever encountered the spiritual walkers?
They just walk the light through the day, through the night
(I wanna know)
Haven't you ever encountered the spiritual walkers?
They just walk the light through the day, through the night
Through the day, through the night
(I wanna know)
(I wanna know)

Come on, let's shine that light through the day, through the night
(I wanna know)
(I wanna know)
Haven't you ever encountered the spiritual walkers?
They just walk the light through the day, through the night
(I wanna know)
Even though when they knock on your door
You laugh in their face (I wanna know)
You run from their sight
Not to hear the holy word

They have no defense
Except inner sense

Overall Meaning

ever encountered the spiritual walkers?

Stevie Wonder's "Spiritual Walkers" is a song that recognizes and celebrates the work of people who dedicate themselves to spiritual life and spreading the message of God. The opening lyrics point to individuals who knock on people's doors to share their faith and ask them to pray. The reaction of the person being approached is to laugh in their face, showing the resistance or skepticism that they might feel towards such initiatives. The spiritual walkers are unfazed by this resistance and encourage people to read the book and prepare for judgment day. The song goes on to describe the various ways in which these spiritual walkers reach out to others, such as singing and chanting or sitting on stumps, and their unwavering commitment to sharing the truth with anyone who will listen. The song ends with a call to attention and an appeal to the listeners to join in and "shine that light through the day through the night" as well.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Stevie Wonder

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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