He’s already won 25 Grammy Awards and been nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but on November 24, Motown icon Stevie Wonder will join another rarified group.
The musician is set to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the nation’s highest civilian honor, during a ceremony at the White House on the aforementioned date. He joins 18 others, including Dearborn Democrat and U.S. Representative John Dingell, for this award in 2014.
Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw and went blind at an early age; however, he soon became one of popular music’s most revered and influential artists. Wonder released a string of highly lauded albums in the 1970s, including Songs in the Key of Life, Innervisions, and Talking Book. In addition, he was the voice behind such songs as “Superstition,” “Higher Ground,” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours,” which President Barack Obama used in his campaign.
In an official press release the Obama administration noted Wonder, born Stevland Hardaway Judkins, has “created a sound entirely his own, mixing rhythm and blues with genres ranging from rock and roll to reggae… demonstrating his mastery of a range of instruments, styles, and themes.” Wonder is not the first Detroit musician to be honored in this way; Aretha Franklin received the award in 2005. Other Michigan residents who have been given the distinction include Dr. Ben Carson, UAW head Walter Reuther, Rosa Parks, former President Gerald R. Ford and Henry Ford II.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is given out to “individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” Over 500 people have been honored since it was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Stevie Wonder brings his Songs in the Key of Life Performance to the Palace of Auburn Hills on November 20. Buy tickets for the event here.