People: There are things you should wonder about
Stevie Wonder is fidgeting with his camera phone, embarrassed because he can’t get it to work right.
But wait, it’s not what you think.
Wonder is trying to show a reporter how the device helps him “see” written documents; moments later, the blind superstar reveals how the camera takes photos of text, converts it to audio and reads the words aloud.
But Wonder doesn’t need to rely on technology to amaze: Now on a nationwide tour, all he needs to do is open his mouth and start singing some of his classic hits – “Superstitious,” “I Wish,” “As,” “My Cherie Amour” – and he gets a crowd into a frenzy. Actually, just his appearance on stage is usually enough.
In person, Wonder, 58, comes off more like your friendly uncle than a legendary musical figure: He cracks jokes, tells stories, and opines about politics and world peace.
Q: Before you started touring last fall, your last full-fledged tour was in 1996. Why did you decide to get back on the road?
A: Just having a chance to say thank you to the fans. After I lost my mother in May of 2006 I had said that I wasn’t going to perform for a while. But I got the message (from my mother) to go and spread the message, celebrating some of the feats that we have such as coming together and fighting against apartheid. … We cannot forever think that we will have the blessings that we have without staying on point.
Q: If Obama is elected president, are you angling to perform at the inauguration?
A: I’m just excited. Obviously if I’m invited to be there it’s an honor, but I didn’t do all of that to get a pat on the back. … I’m just excited about it. It’s time for America and the world to grow up and grow into the right now and stop the B.S., and B.S. stands for “breaking the spirit.”
Q: Can you appreciate some of the less conscious – perhaps even a bit ignorant – songs on the radio today?
A: I’m not going to let my kids listen to raw (stuff), but I might a little.
Q: You ever wish you had the freedom back in the day to get a little raw on record?
A: I don’t think I would do something like that, or a song that said certain things, whether it be 30 years ago or right now. I don’t see myself as doing that just because there are other things to saying what you wanna say without saying it like that. That’s private business… I’m not an advocate of giving everything up.
The birthday bunch
Actor Gary Busey is 64. Comedian Richard Lewis is 61. Actor/congressman/radio host Fred Grandy (“The Love Boat”) is 60. Singer Colin Hay (Men At Work) is 55. Actress Maria Conchita Alonso is 51. Actress Sharon Lawrence is 47. Actress Amanda Donohoe is 46. Singer Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls) is 30.