Stevie Wonder and the heartbreaking impact of Prince’s death: “Why him?”
Ever since he first emerged before his teenage years, Stevie Wonder has maintained a position as one of the most widely respected artists in the world.
From the moment he released his debut single, ‘Fingertips, Part 1 and 2’, at just the age of 12, he was dubbed a future star, but this eventually snowballed into something else when his albums and releases became a lot more lavish as he matured as an artist. There’s a lot to be said about how stellar his work was as a teenager, but for him to be able to build upon this and not allow his talent to fizzle out is the mark of something extraordinary.
The strength of his 1970s output alone would be enough to carry him today, but his continued exemplary work in the subsequent decades and his continued presence as a mentor to younger artists have led to his legacy becoming even stronger, and it’s unlikely that his popularity or the level of respect doled out to him will ever begin to wane at this point.
This continued relevance and eternally strong artistic ability have also led to him having had the opportunity to work with some of his fellow big-name stars. Put it this way, if you’re offered the opportunity to work with someone like Wonder, you don’t turn this down because of how much of an honour it is to work with someone as exceptional as him.
However, the respect is mutual, and the reason he’s ended up collaborating with so many high-profile and burgeoning artists over the years is down to the fact that he always speaks highly of his peers. His collaborators and cosigns are always those who he sees some form of an artistic kinship with, and it usually takes greatness to be able to recognise greatness.
Because Wonder is such a pure soul, who tends to only recognise the virtues in others, he’s often used as a mouthpiece for the community when it comes to speaking eloquently about something that has affected not just him, but those around him. As a consequence, when he was invited to speak about the passing of Prince at a 2016 tribute concert to the late artist, he summed up just why his peer and former collaborator was so special and was such a singular force within the music world.
“It was hard to convey a message because I was in so much pain,” he said after his appearance. “Not saying I wasn’t with the others. But we had previously, very recently talked and talked about his future and things that he wanted to do and how inspired he was with the things he wanted to do. It lets you know: Hey, tomorrow’s not promised to anyone. But you say, ‘God, why him?’”
Wonder continued by delivering a philosophical take on existence and how we try to be in control of everything, both good and bad. “We are not the controllers of life,” Wonder added, “And that’s why people need to stop doing that, trying to control life. It was just painful for me. And as much as we say, ‘Well we’ve got his music. We’ve got their art, we got their this, we got their that’ — I would’ve loved to have some more him.”
As hard as Prince’s passing would have been for Wonder to take, as were the deaths of many other artists he has been close to over the years, he isn’t wrong in saying that cherishing the memories you made together or appreciating their work will only help you a certain amount of the way towards recovering from grief. At the end of the day, you’ve lost the irreplaceable source of all these moments of joy, and Prince provided those for Wonder and others in abundance.
