Music legend Stevie Wonder is receiving an honorary doctorate of humane letters at Fordham University’s 178th Commencement on May 20 on the Rose Hill campus. Wonder will offer the Class of 2023 some words of gratitude.
“It is an honor and a thrill to welcome Stevie Wonder to Fordham,” said Fordham President Tania Tetlow. “His music has charmed us, consoled us, elevated us, and entertained us for more than six decades. He is a shining example of an artist’s ability to stir the soul.”
A child prodigy, Wonder—born Stevland Morris—was signed by Motown Records at age 11, and in 1963, as 12-year-old Little Stevie Wonder, he became the youngest recording artist to achieve a No. 1 single, with “Fingertips, Part 2.” He’s regarded as a musical genius and a pioneer—a master of many instruments and groundbreaking in his use of synthesizers. His songs have topped the charts for decades, bridging the genres of pop, R&B, funk, soul, gospel, and jazz.
To date, Wonder has amassed 49 Top 40 singles, 32 No. 1 singles, and worldwide sales of over 100 million units. He has earned 25 Grammy Awards, the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. His iconic 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life, is archived in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for its cultural, historic, and aesthetic significance.
“Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories,” he once said. “And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.”