Stevie Wonder Leads Global Soul

Frank Fitzpatrick 07/26/2011

I could go on and on about Stevie Wonder. Growing up in Detroit, he was a key part of the soundtrack throughout my life. I have seen him in concert over a half dozen times and listened to many of his records on replay, always moved and inspired in my heart and soul.

This past weekend, 40 years after Marvin Gaye released the legendary “What’s Goin On” record, Stevie headlined a concert at the Hollywood Bowl called Global Soul. There may have been a several reigning Kings of Soul in the past 50 years: Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke…to name a few. But Stevie stood tall as the living and vital household name that could wear that thrown, if he chose to. Stevie is far too humble to stake that claim on his own.

The sold out Bowl audience needed no prodding, however. They gave The Man a standing ovation just for walking on stage. Stevie, after offering prayers and acknowledgement of those suffering in Norway and Somalia, spent the first 20 minutes of his set reminiscing about his childhood and first memories of music and all the amazing artists that inspired him as a young boy. He defined Soul Music, which he wanted to declassify from being referred to as belonging to artists of any one race, as music that the artist created from and truly felt in the depths of his/her heart. He even played and sang several of his old favorites. The one thing I really love about seeing Stevie Wonder on or off stage is his boy-like charm and the immense joy he exudes when he gets to perform.

The three-hour plus concert, under the music direction of Rickey Minor, featured several artists leading up to Stevie’s performance. The most notable of which were Nigeria’s Bombino, the Soul Seekers, Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones and the captivating newcomer Janelle Monae. Still, it is hard to hold a candle up to Stevie Wonder, even when he is singing covers in tribute to his favorite artists. His generous heart, unmatchable voice and songwriting, and joyful and exceedingly humanitarian consciousness are contagious and universally inspiring to all souls. His concern for music education was even embraced as he brought out YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles – the program started by Gustavo Dudamel) to close with an ensemble version of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”