"Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision." (Stevie Wonder)

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.

Among the most innovative and independent artists to come out of Motown in the latter half of the 20th century, along with colleagues Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, and Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder was said by many to possess three distinct obstacles to fulfillment in the music industry. First, he was poor, and worse, he was black and blind. Wonder, however, refused to shrink from or acknowledge any of these realities as barriers, asserting that he had not been in any way disadvantaged or limited in his path toward success.

Through a long and prodigious career at Motown and a vast experience of collaborations with great musicians of the era, Stevie Wonder has gone on to prove that his optimistic view toward life and work was correct from the very beginning in a lengthy and extraordinarily productive career. From childhood appearances and record releases to a nonstop regimen of over half a century, he has produced an almost unparalleled catalogue of hits; a long list of exceptional tunes written for fellow musicians, many working within Motown; and a touring legacy that has taken him to locations around the globe where no Motown artist has previously gone.