name	If You Really Love Me
cover	Swonderreallyloveme.jpg
artist	Stevie Wonder
album	Where I'm Coming From
b-side	"Think of Me As Your Soldier"
released	1971
format	7" single
recorded	1971
genre	R&B;, pop
length	3:00
label	Tamla
writer	Stevie Wonder Syreeta Wright
producer	Stevie Wonder
last single	"We Can Work It Out"(1971)
this single	"If You Really Love Me"(1971)
next single	"Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)"(1972) }}

"If You Really Love Me" is the title of a song written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright. Wonder recorded the song and released his version as a single from his 1971 album ''Where I'm Coming From''. The single proved very successful, peaking in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 (#8), Billboard's R&B; chart (#4), and Billboard's Easy Listening chart (#10). The song was among one of the last to feature Motown's background band The Funk Brothers. After its release, Wonder would leave the Hitsville USA studios to record in New York playing most of the instruments himself. Wonder played Moog bass synthesizer, drums, and piano on "If You Really Love Me" while Wright is featured in the background singing.

Personnel

Lead vocals by Stevie Wonder

Background vocals by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright

Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and Stevie Wonder

Produced by Stevie Wonder

Category:Stevie Wonder songs Category:1971 singles Category:Songs written by Stevie Wonder Category:Songs written by Syreeta Wright

it:If You Really Love Me

Love Me may refer to:

"Love Me" (Leiber/Stoller song), a 1954 song by Leiber and Stoller, made popular by Elvis Presley

"Love Me" (Bee Gees song), a song by the Bee Gees, made popular by Yvonne Elliman in 1976

"Love Me" (Tracie Spencer song), the fifth and final single from Tracie Spencer's second album, ''Make the Difference''

"Love, Me", a 1991 single by Collin Raye

"Love Me" (Eminem song), a song by rapper Eminem

"Love Me", a song by Bow Wow Wow from ''When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going''

"Love Me" (Justin Bieber song), a song by Justin Bieber from his debut album ''My World''

"Love Me" (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), a 2010 song by German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut from her debut album ''My Cassette Player''

''Love Me'' (Lee Jung Hyun album), a 2008 album by K-pop singer Lee Jung-hyun

''Love Me'' (Danson Tang album), a 2007 debut album of Taiwanese Mandopop artist Danson Tang

''Love Me!'', a 1986 Swedish film

"Love Me" (112 song), 1998

fr:Love Me it:Love Me

name	Stevie Wonder
background	solo_singer
birth name	Stevland Hardaway Judkins
alias	Stevland Hardaway Morris, Little Stevie Wonder, Eivets Rednow
born	May 13, 1950Saginaw, Michigan, United States
origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
instrument	Vocals, synthesizer, piano, keyboards, harmonica, clavinet, drums, bass guitar, congas, bongos, melodica, keytar, accordion
genre	Soul, pop, R&B;, funk, jazz
occupation	Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, activist
years active	1961–present
label	Tamla, Motown
website	}}

Stevland Hardaway Morris (previously Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist. Blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records' Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.

Among Wonder's best known works are singles such as "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "I Wish" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Well known albums also include ''Talking Book'', ''Innervisions'' and ''Songs in the Key of Life''. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with Wonder at number five.

Early life

Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1950, the third of six children to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. Owing to his being born six weeks premature, the blood vessels at the back of his eyes had not yet reached the front and their aborted growth caused the retinas to detach. The medical term for this condition is retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP, and while it may have been exacerbated by the oxygen pumped into his incubator, this was not the primary cause of his blindness.

When Stevie Wonder was four, his mother left his father and moved herself and her children to Detroit. She changed her name back to Lula Hardaway and later changed her son's surname to Morris, partly because of relatives. Morris has remained Stevie Wonder's legal name ever since. He began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, drums and bass. During childhood he was active in his church choir.

Discovery and early Motown recordings

Ronnie White of The Miracles gives credit to his brother Gerald White for persistently nagging him to come to his friend's house in 1961 to check out Stevie Wonder. Afterward, White brought Wonder and his mother to Motown Records. Impressed by the young musician, Motown CEO Berry Gordy signed Wonder to Motown's Tamla label with the name Little Stevie Wonder. Before signing, producer Clarence Paul gave Wonder his trademark name after stating "we can't keep calling him the eighth wonder of the world". He then recorded the regional Detroit single, "I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It the Blues", which was released on Tamla in late 1961. Wonder released his first two albums, ''The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie'' and ''Tribute to Uncle Ray'', in 1962, to little success.

Music career

Early success: 1963–1971

By age 13, Wonder had a major hit, "Fingertips (Pt. 2)", a 1963 single taken from a live recording of a Motor Town Revue performance, issued on the album ''Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius''. The song, featuring Wonder on vocals, bongos, and harmonica, and a young Marvin Gaye on drums, was a #1 hit on the U.S. pop and R&B; charts and launched him into the public consciousness.

In 1964, Stevie Wonder made his film debut in ''Muscle Beach Party'' as himself, credited as "Little Stevie Wonder". He returned in the sequel released five months later, ''Bikini Beach''. He performed on-screen in both films, singing "Happy Street," and "Happy Feelin' (Dance and Shout)," respectively.

Dropping the "Little" from his name, Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid-1960s, including "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "With a Child's Heart", and "Blowin' in the Wind", a Bob Dylan cover, co-sung by his mentor, producer Clarence Paul. He also began to work in the Motown songwriting department, composing songs both for himself and his label mates, including "Tears of a Clown", a number one hit performed by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

In 1968 he recorded an album of instrumental soul/jazz tracks, mostly harmonica solos, under the pseudonym (and title) ''Eivets Rednow'', which is "Stevie Wonder" spelled backwards. The album failed to get much attention, and its only single, a cover of "Alfie", only reached number 66 on the U.S. Pop charts and number 11 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts. Nonetheless, he managed to score several hits between 1968 and 1970 such as "I Was Made to Love Her"; "For Once in My Life" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". In September 1970, at the age of 20, Wonder married Syreeta Wright, a songwriter and former Motown secretary. Wright and Wonder co-wrote the songs on the next album, ''Where I'm Coming From'', which did not succeed in the charts. Reaching his twenty-first birthday on May 13, 1971, he allowed his Motown contract to expire.

In 1970, Wonder co-wrote, and played numerous instruments on the hit "It's a Shame" for fellow Motown act The Spinners. His contribution was meant to be a showcase of his talent and thus a weapon in his ongoing negotiations with Gordy about creative autonomy.

Classic period: 1972–1976

Wonder independently recorded two albums, which he used as a bargaining tool while negotiating with Motown. Eventually the label agreed to his demands for full creative control and the rights to his own songs. The 120-page contract was a precedent at Motown and gave Wonder a much higher royalty rate. Wonder returned to Motown in March 1972 with ''Music of My Mind''. Unlike most previous albums on Motown, which usually consisted of a collection of singles, B-sides and covers, ''Music of My Mind'' was a full-length artistic statement with songs flowing together thematically. Wonder's lyrics dealt with social, political, and mystical themes as well as standard romantic ones, while musically Wonder began exploring overdubbing and recording most of the instrumental parts himself. ''Music of My Mind'' marked the beginning of a long collaboration with Tonto's Expanding Head Band (Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil).

Released in late 1972, ''Talking Book'' featured the No. 1 hit "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner clavinet keyboard. The song features a rocking groove that garnered Wonder an additional audience on rock radio stations. ''Talking Book'' also featured "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", which also peaked at No. 1. During the same time as the album's release, Stevie Wonder began touring with the Rolling Stones to alleviate the negative effects from pigeon-holing as a result of being an R&B; artist in America. Between them, the two songs won three Grammy Awards. On an episode of the children's television show ''Sesame Street'' that aired in April 1973, Wonder and his band performed "Superstition", as well as an original song called "Sesame Street Song", which demonstrated his abilities with the "talk box".

''Innervisions'', released in 1973, featured "Higher Ground" (#4 on the pop charts) as well as the trenchant "Living for the City" (#8). Both songs reached No. 1 on the R&B; charts. Popular ballads such as "Golden Lady" and "All in Love Is Fair" were also present, in a mixture of moods that nevertheless held together as a unified whole. ''Innervisions'' generated three more Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album is ranked #23 on ''Rolling Stone Magazine's'' 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Wonder had become the most influential and acclaimed black musician of the early 1970s.

On August 6, 1973, Wonder was in a serious automobile accident while on tour in North Carolina, when a car in which he was riding hit the back of a truck. This left him in a coma for four days and resulted in a partial loss of his sense of smell and a temporary loss of sense of taste. Despite the setback, Wonder re-appeared in concert at Madison Square Garden in March 1974 with a performance that highlighted both up-tempo material and long, building improvisations on mid-tempo songs such as "Living for the City". The album ''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' appeared in July 1974 and set two hits high on the pop charts: the #1 "You Haven't Done Nothin'" and the Top Ten "Boogie On Reggae Woman". The Album of the Year was again one of three Grammys won.

The same year Wonder took part in a Los Angeles jam session which would become known by the bootleg album ''A Toot and a Snore in '74''. He also co-wrote and produced the Syreeta Wright album ''Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta''.

On October 4, 1975, Wonder performed at the historical "Wonder Dream Concert" in Kingston, Jamaica, a benefit for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind.

By 1975, in his 25th year, Stevie Wonder had won two consecutive Grammy Awards: in 1974 for ''Innervisions'' and in 1975 for ''Fulfillingness' First Finale''. In 1975 he featured on the album ''It's My Pleasure'' by Billy Preston, playing harmonica on two tracks.

The double album-with-extra-EP ''Songs in the Key of Life'', was released in September 1976. Sprawling in style, unlimited in ambition, and sometimes lyrically difficult to fathom, the album was hard for some listeners to assimilate, yet is regarded by many as Wonder's crowning achievement and one of the most recognizable and accomplished albums in pop music history. The album became the first of an American artist to debut straight at #1 in the ''Billboard'' charts, where it remained for 14 non-consecutive weeks. Two tracks, became #1 Pop/R&B; hits "I Wish" and "Sir Duke". The baby-celebratory "Isn't She Lovely?" was written about his newborn daughter Aisha, while songs such as "Love's in Need of Love Today" (which years later Wonder would perform at the post-September 11, 2001 ''America: A Tribute to Heroes'' telethon) and "Village Ghetto Land" reflected a far more pensive mood. ''Songs in the Key of Life'' won Album of the Year and two other Grammys. The album ranks 56th on ''Rolling Stone Magazine'''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

After such a concentrated and sustained level of creativity, Wonder stopped recording for three years, releasing only the 3 LP ''Looking Back'', an anthology of his first Motown period. The albums Wonder released during this period were very influential on the music world: the 1983 ''Rolling Stone Record Guide'' said they "pioneered stylistic approaches that helped to determine the shape of pop music for the next decade"; ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time included four of the five albums, with three in the top 90; and in 2005, Kanye West said of his own work, "I'm not trying to compete with what's out there now. I'm really trying to compete with ''Innervisions'' and ''Songs in the Key of Life''. It sounds musically blasphemous to say something like that, but why not set that as your bar?"

Commercial period: 1979–1990

It was in Wonder's next phase that he began to commercially reap the rewards of his legendary classic period. The '80s saw Wonder scoring his biggest hits and reaching an unprecedented level of fame evidenced by increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations, political impact, and television appearances.

When Wonder did return, it was with the soundtrack album ''Journey through the Secret Life of Plants'' (1979), featured in the film ''The Secret Life of Plants''. Mostly instrumental, the album was composed using the Computer Music Melodian, an early sampler. Wonder toured briefly in support of the album, and used a Fairlight CMI sampler on stage. In this year Wonder also wrote and produced the dance hit "Let's Get Serious", performed by Jermaine Jackson and (ranked by ''Billboard'' as the #1 R&B; single of 1980).

''Hotter than July'' (1980) became Wonder's first platinum-selling single album, and its single "Happy Birthday" was a successful vehicle for his campaign to establish Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday. The album also included "Master Blaster (Jammin')", "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It", and the sentimental ballad, "Lately", which was later covered by Jodeci and S Club 7.

In 1982, Wonder released a retrospective of his '70s work with ''Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium'', which included four new songs: the ten-minute funk classic "Do I Do" (which featured Dizzy Gillespie), "That Girl" (one of the year's biggest singles to chart on the R&B; side), "Front Line", a narrative about a soldier in the Vietnam War that Stevie Wonder wrote and sang in the 1st person, and "Ribbon in the Sky", one of his many classic compositions. Wonder also gained a #1 hit that year in collaboration with Paul McCartney in their paean to racial harmony, "Ebony and Ivory".

In 1983, Wonder performed the song "Stay Gold", the theme to Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of S.E. Hinton's novel ''The Outsiders''. Wonder wrote the lyrics.

In 1983, Wonder scheduled an album to be entitled "People Work, Human Play." The album never surfaced and instead 1984 saw the release of Wonder's soundtrack album for ''The Woman in Red''. The lead single, "I Just Called to Say I Love You", was a #1 pop and R&B; hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, where it was placed 13th in the list of best-selling singles in the UK published in 2002. It went on to win an Academy Award for "Best Song" in 1985. The album also featured a guest appearance by Dionne Warwick, singing the duet "It's You" with Stevie and a few songs of her own. The following year's ''In Square Circle'' featured the #1 pop hit "Part-Time Lover". The album also has a Top 10 Hit with "Go Home." It also featured the ballad "Overjoyed" which was originally written for ''Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants'', but didn't make the album. He performed "Overjoyed" on ''Saturday Night Live'' when he was the host. He was also featured in Chaka Khan's cover of Prince's "I Feel For You", alongside Melle Mel, playing his signature harmonica. In roughly the same period he was also featured on harmonica on Eurythmics' single, "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" and Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues".

By 1985, Stevie Wonder was an American icon, the subject of good-humored jokes about blindness and affectionately impersonated by Eddie Murphy on ''Saturday Night Live''. Wonder sometimes joined in the jokes himself such as in ''The Motown Revue'' with Smokey Robinson. He was in a featured duet with Bruce Springsteen on the all-star charity single for African Famine Relief, "We Are the World", and he was part of another charity single the following year (1986), the AIDS-inspired "That's What Friends Are For". He also played the harmonica on the album ''Dreamland Express'' by John Denver in the song "If Ever", a song Wonder co-wrote with Stephanie Andrews. He also wrote the track "I Do Love You" for The Beach Boys' 1985 self-titled album. Stevie Wonder also played the harmonica on a track called "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" from "Showboat" on "The Broadway Album" by Barbra Streisand.

In 1986, Stevie Wonder appeared on ''The Cosby Show'', as himself, in the episode "A Touch of Wonder".

In 1987, Wonder appeared on Michael Jackson's ''Bad'' album on the duet "Just Good Friends". Michael Jackson also sang a duet with him titled "Get It" on Wonder's 1987 album ''Characters''. This was a minor hit single, as were "Skeletons" and "You Will Know". In the fall of 1988, Wonder dueted with Julio Iglesias on the hit single "My Love", which appeared on Iglesias' album ''Non Stop''.

Later career: 1991–2001

thumb|Stevie Wonder at the Grammy Awards of 1990 After 1987's ''Characters'' LP, Wonder continued to release new material, but at a slower pace. He recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee's film ''Jungle Fever'' in 1991. From this album, singles and videos were released for "Gotta Have You" and "These Three Words". The B-side to the "Gotta Have You" single was "Feeding Off The Love Of The Land", which was played during the end credits of the movie ''Jungle Fever'' but was not included on the soundtrack. A piano and vocal version of "Feeding Off The Love Of The Land" was also released on the ''Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal'' compilation. It is rumored that "Feeding Off The Love Of The Land" was originally intended for release on ''Fulfillingness' First Finale Volume Two'', a project that has never been confirmed as completed.

''Conversation Peace'' and the live album ''Natural Wonder'' were also released in the 1990s. The former received its European launch at a high-profile March 1995 press conference in Paris, where Stevie mentioned how the tearing down of The Wall between East and West Berlin and the desire for a united Europe had played a significant part in the inspiration behind the album.

In 1994, Wonder made a guest appearance on the KISS cover album ''KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved'', playing harmonica and supplying background vocals for the song "Deuce", performed by Lenny Kravitz.

In 1996, Stevie Wonder's ''Songs in the Key of Life'' was selected as a documentary subject for the Classic Albums documentary series. This series dedicates 60 minutes to one groundbreaking record per feature. The same year, he performed John Lennon's song "Imagine" in the closing ceremony of the Atlanta Olympic Games. The same year, Wonder performed in a remix of "Seasons of Love" from the Jonathan Larson musical ''Rent''.

In 1997, Wonder collaborated with Babyface for a song about abuse (domestic violence) called "How Come, How Long" which was nominated for an award.

In December 1999, Wonder announced that he was interested in pursuing an intraocular retinal prosthesis to partially restore his sight. That same year, Wonder was featured on harmonica in the Sting song "Brand New Day".

In 2000, Stevie Wonder contributed two new songs to the soundtrack for Spike Lee's ''Bamboozled'' album ("Misrepresented People" and "Some Years Ago").

Current career: 2002–present

In March 2002, Wonder performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City.

On July 2, 2005, Wonder performed in the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia.

Wonder's first new album in ten years, ''A Time to Love'', was released on October 18, 2005, after having been pushed back from first a May, and then a June release. The album was released electronically on September 27, 2005, exclusively on Apple's iTunes Music Store. The first single, "So What the Fuss", was released in April. A second single, "From the Bottom of My Heart" was a hit on adult-contemporary R&B; radio. The album also featured a duet with India.Arie on the title track "A Time to Love".

Wonder performed at the pre-game show for Super Bowl XL in Detroit in early 2006, singing various hit singles (with his four-year-old son on drums) and accompanying Aretha Franklin during "The Star Spangled Banner".

In March 2006, Wonder received new national exposure on the top-rated ''American Idol'' television program. Wonder performed "My Love Is on Fire" (from ''A Time To Love'') live on the show itself. In June 2006, Stevie Wonder made a guest appearance on Busta Rhymes' new album, ''The Big Bang'' on the track "Been through the Storm". He sings the refrain and plays the piano on the Dr. Dre and Sha Money XL produced track. He appeared again on the last track of Snoop Dogg's new album ''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'', "Conversations". The song is a remake of "Have a Talk with God" from ''Songs in the Key of Life''.

In 2006, Wonder staged a duet with Andrea Bocelli on the latter's album ''Amore'', offering harmonica and additional vocals on "Canzoni Stonate". Stevie Wonder also performed at Washington, D.C.'s 2006 "A Capitol Fourth" celebration.

On August 2, 2007, Stevie Wonder announced the A Wonder Summer's Night 13 concert tour—his first U.S. tour in over ten years. This tour was inspired by the recent passing of his mother, as he stated at the conclusion of the tour on December 9 at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

On August 28, 2008, Wonder performed at the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado. Songs included a previously unreleased song, "Fear Can't Put Dreams to Sleep," and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours".

On September 8, 2008, Wonder started the European leg of his Wonder Summer's Night Tour, the first time he had toured Europe in over a decade. His opening show was at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. During the tour, Wonder played eight UK gigs; four at The O2 Arena in London, two in Birmingham and two at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester. Stevie Wonder's other stops in the tour's European leg also found him performing in Holland (Rotterdam), Sweden (Stockholm), Germany (Cologne, Mannheim and Munich), Norway (Hamar), France (Paris), Italy (Milan) and Denmark (Aalborg). Wonder also toured Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane) and New Zealand (Christchurch, Auckland and New Plymouth) in October and November.

By June 2008, Wonder was working on two projects simultaneously: a new album titled ''The Gospel Inspired By Lula'' which will deal with the various spiritual and cultural crises facing the world, and ''Through The Eyes Of Wonder'', an album which Wonder has described as a performance piece that will reflect his experience as a blind man. Wonder was also keeping the door open for a collaboration with Tony Bennett and Quincy Jones concerning a rumored jazz album. If Wonder was to join forces with Bennett, it would not be for the first time; Their rendition of "For Once in My Life" earned them a Grammy for best pop collaboration with vocals in 2006. Wonder's harmonica playing can be heard on the 2009 Grammy-nominated "Never Give You Up" featuring CJ Hilton and Raphael Saadiq.

Wonder performed on January 18, 2009 at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009, Wonder performed the song "Brand New Day" with musician Sting. He performed his new song "All About the Love Again" and, with other musical artists, "Signed, Sealed & Delivered". On February 23, 2009, Wonder became the second recipient of the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for pop music, honored by President Barack Obama at the White House.

On July 7, 2009, Wonder performed "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer" and "They Won't Go When I Go" at the Staples Center for Michael Jackson's memorial service. On October 29, 2009, Wonder performed at the 25th anniversary concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Among performing songs with B.B. King, Wonder performed Michael Jackson's 'The Way You Make Me Feel', during which he became emotionally distraught and was unable to perform until he regained his composure.

On January 22, 2010, Wonder performed Bridge Over Troubled Water for the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief event to help victims of the earthquake in Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010.

On March 6, 2010, Wonder was awarded the Commander of the Arts and Letters by French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand. Wonder had been due to receive this award in 1981, but scheduling problems prevented this from happening. A lifetime achievement award was also given to Wonder on the same day, at France's biggest music awards.

His 2010 tour included a two-hour set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, a stop at London's "Hard Rock Calling" in Hyde Park, and appearances at England's Glastonbury Festival, Rotterdam's North Sea Jazz Festival, and a concert in Bergen, Norway and a concert in Dublin, Ireland at the O2 Arena on June 24.

In February 2011, the Apollo Theater announced that Stevie Wonder will be the next in line for the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame. The theater said that the singer will be inducted into the New York City institution's Hall of Fame in five months.

On June 25, 2011, Wonder performed at the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

Legacy

A prominent figure in popular music during the latter half of the 20th century, Wonder has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and won twenty-two Grammy Awards (the most ever won by a solo artist) as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also won an Academy Award for Best Song, and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame. He has also been awarded the Polar Music Prize. American music magazine Rolling Stone named him the ninth greatest singer of all time. In June 2009 he became the fourth artist to receive the Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award.

He has ten U.S. number-one hits on the pop charts as well as 20 R&B; number one hits, and album sales totaling more than 100 million units. Wonder has recorded several critically acclaimed albums and hit singles, and writes and produces songs for many of his label mates and outside artists as well. Wonder plays the piano, synthesizer, harmonica, congas, drums, bass guitar, bongos, organ, melodica, and clavinet. In his childhood, he was best known for his harmonica work, but today he is better known for his keyboard skills and vocal ability. Wonder was the first Motown artist and second African American musician to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song for his 1984 hit single "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from the movie ''The Woman in Red''.

Classic period

Wonder's "classic period" is generally agreed to consist of the concept albums he created in the early- to mid-1970s, peaking in 1976. Some observers see in 1971's ''Where I'm Coming From'' certain indications of the beginning of the classic period, such as its new funky keyboard style which Wonder used throughout the classic period. Some determine Wonder's first "classic" album to be 1972's ''Music of My Mind'', on which he attained personal control of production, and on which he programmed a series of songs integrated with one another to make a concept album. Others skip over early 1972 and determine the beginning of the classic period to be ''Talking Book'' in late 1972, the album in which Wonder "hit his stride".

Impact

Wonder's songs are renowned for being quite difficult to sing. He has a very developed sense of harmony and uses many extended chords utilizing extensions such as ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, diminished fifths, etc. in his compositions. Many of his melodies make abrupt, unpredictable changes. Many of his vocal melodies are also melismatic, meaning that a syllable is sung over several notes. Some of his best known and most frequently covered songs are played in keys which are more often found in jazz than in pop and rock. For example, "Superstition", "Higher Ground" and "I Wish" are in the key of E flat minor, and feature distinctive riffs in the E flat minor pentatonic scale (i.e. largely on the black notes of the keyboard).

Wonder played a large role in bringing synthesizers to the forefront of popular music. He developed many new textures and sounds never heard before. In 1981, Wonder became the first owner of an E-mu Emulator.

Songs sampled by other musicians

Wonder has recorded with Jon Gibson, a Christian Soul musician, on a remake of his own song, "Have a Talk With God" (from the 1989 album ''Body & Soul''), covered by Gibson in which Wonder plays harmonica. The two men met in the early 1980s through a shared music agent (Bill Wolfer).

Red Hot Chili Peppers covered "Higher Ground" in 1989 on their ''Mother's Milk'' album. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble covered "Superstition" and Wonder made a cameo appearance in the official music video for the song.

De La Soul sampled "Hey Love" in their song "Talkin' Bout Hey Love" on their 1991 album De La Soul Is Dead.

"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" was rendered by English band Incognito in 1992 and John Legend covered this song for the 2005 film, ''Hitch''. George Michael and Mary J. Blige covered "As" in the late 1990s. In 1999, Salome De Bahia made a Brazilian version of "Another Star". Tupac Shakur sampled "That Girl" for his hit song "So Many Tears".

"Pastime Paradise" would become an interpolation for Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" while Will Smith would use "I Wish" as the basis for the theme song to his movie, ''Wild Wild West''. The elements of "Love's In Need of Love Today" were used by 50 Cent in the song "Ryder Music", and Warren G sampled "Village Ghetto Land" for his song "Ghetto Village".

Mary Mary, did a cover of his song, "You Will Know" on their 2002 album, ''Incredible''. Australian soul artist Guy Sebastian recorded a cover of "I Wish" on his ''Beautiful Life'' album. In 2003, Raven-Symoné recorded a cover of "Superstition" for the soundtrack to Disney's ''The Haunted Mansion''. In 2005, Canadian singer Dave Moffatt, from the group The Moffatts, sang the song "Overjoyed" from the ''In Square Circle'' album on ''Canadian Idol''. Clay Aiken performed "Isn't She Lovely?" in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras" of ''Scrubs''.

Personal life

Wonder has been married twice: to Motown singer Syreeta Wright from 1970 until their divorce in 1972; and since 2001, to fashion designer Kai Milla Morris. He has seven children from his two marriages and several relationships.

His daughter Aisha Morris (born on February 2, 1975, with Yolanda Simmons as mother) was the inspiration for his hit single "Isn't She Lovely." Aisha Morris is a singer who has toured with her father and accompanied him on recordings, including his 2005 album, ''A Time 2 Love''. Wonder has two sons with Kai Milla Morris; the older is named Kailand and he occasionally performs as a drummer on stage with his father. The younger son, Mandla Kadjay Carl Stevland Morris, was born May 13, 2005, his father's 55th birthday. In May 2006, Wonder's mother died in Los Angeles, at the age of 76. During his September 8, 2008 UK concert in Birmingham, he spoke of his decision to begin touring again following his loss. "I want to take all the pain that I feel and celebrate and turn it around".

Wonder's Taxi Productions owns Los Angeles radio station KJLH.

Charting discography

Top 40 singles

style="width:28px;" rowspan="2"	Year	Title	Chart positions
! style="vertical-align:top; width:30px;"	! style="vertical-align:top; width:30px;"		! style="vertical-align:top; width:30px;"	! style="vertical-align:top; width:30px;"	! style="vertical-align:top; width:30px;"
	1963	"Fingertips	Fingertips – Pt. 2"
	"Uptight (Everything's Alright)"
"Blowin' in the Wind"
	1967	"I Was Made to Love Her (song)	I Was Made to Love Her"
	"For Once in My Life"
"Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day"
"Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday"
	"Never Had a Dream Come True"
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"
"Heaven Help Us All"
	"We Can Work It Out"
"If You Really Love Me"
	"Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)"
	"You Are the Sunshine of My Life"
"Living for the City"
	"He's Misstra Know It All"
"You Haven't Done Nothin'" (with The Jackson 5)
"Boogie On Reggae Woman"
"Sir Duke"
"Another Star"
	1979	"Send One Your Love"
	"Master Blaster (Jammin')"
"I Ain't Gonna Stand for It"
	"Do I Do"
"Ebony and Ivory" (with Paul McCartney)
"Ribbon in the Sky"
	1984	"I Just Called to Say I Love You"
	"Part-Time Lover"
"That's What Friends Are For" (with Dionne Warwick, Elton John and Gladys Knight)
"Love Light in Flight"
	"Go Home"
"Land of La La"
	1987	"Skeletons (Stevie Wonder song)	Skeletons"
"My Eyes Don't Cry"
"You Will Know"
	1989	"With Each Beat of My Heart"
	1990	"Keep Our Love Alive"
	1992	"These Three Words"
	1995
	"So What the Fuss"
"From the Bottom of My Heart"

U.S. and UK albums

{|class="wikitable" |- ! style="width:28px;" rowspan="2"| Year ! style="width:250px;" rowspan="2"| Album ! colspan="3"| Chart positions |- ! style="vertical-align:top; width:30px;"| US ! style="vertical-align:top; width:30px;"| US R&B; ! style="vertical-align:top; width:30px;"| UK |- |1963 |''Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius'' | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| – | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1966 |''Up-Tight'' | style="text-align:center;"| 33 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1966 |''Down to Earth'' | style="text-align:center;"| 72 | style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1967 |''I Was Made to Love Her'' | style="text-align:center;"| 45 | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1968 |''For Once in My Life'' | style="text-align:center;"| 50 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1969 |''My Cherie Amour'' | style="text-align:center;"| 34 | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 17 |- |1970 |''Signed, Sealed, and Delivered'' | style="text-align:center;"| 25 | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1971 |''Where I'm Coming From'' | style="text-align:center;"| – | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1972 |''Music of My Mind'' | style="text-align:center;"| 21 | style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1972 |''Talking Book'' | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 16 |- |1973 |''Innervisions'' | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 6 |- |1974 |''Fulfillingness' First Finale'' | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 |- |1976 |''Songs in the Key of Life | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 |- |1979 |''Journey through the Secret Life of Plants'' | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 7 |- |1980 |''Hotter than July'' | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 |- |1982 |''Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 8 |- |1984 |''The Woman in Red'' | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 |- |1985 |''In Square Circle'' | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 |- |1987 |''Characters'' | style="text-align:center;"| 17 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 33 |- |1995 |''Conversation Peace'' | style="text-align:center;"| 17 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 8 |- |1996 |''Natural Wonder'' | style="text-align:center;"| – | style="text-align:center;"| 88 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |1996 |''Song Review A Greatest Hits Collection'' | style="text-align:center;"| – | style="text-align:center;"| 100 | style="text-align:center;"| 19 |- |2000 |''At the Close of a Century'' | style="text-align:center;"| – | style="text-align:center;"| 100 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |2002 |''The Definitive Collection'' | style="text-align:center;"| 35 | style="text-align:center;"| 28 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |2004 |''Best Of Stevie Wonder: 20th Century Masters Christmas Collection'' | style="text-align:center;"| – | style="text-align:center;"| 90 | style="text-align:center;"| – |- |2005 |''A Time to Love'' | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 24 |- |2007 |''Number 1's'' | style="text-align:center;"| 171 | style="text-align:center;"| 40 | style="text-align:center;"| 23 |}

Awards and recognition

Grammy Awards

Wonder has received 25 Grammy Awards: including a Lifetime Achievement Award

!Year

|	Award	Title
1973	Grammy Award for Best R&B; Song>Best Rhythm & Blues Song
1973	Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance>Best R&B; Vocal Performance, Male
1973	Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance>Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male
1973	Grammy Award for Album of the Year>Album of the Year
1973	Best Producer*
1974	Best Rhythm & Blues Song
1974	Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance
1974	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
1974	Grammy Award for Album of the Year>Album of the Year
1974	Best Producer*
1976	Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance
1976	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
1976	Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical>Best Producer of the Year*
1976	Album of the Year
1985	Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance
1986	Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal>Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal ''(awarded to Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Wonder)
1995	Best Rhythm & Blues Song
1995	Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance
1996	Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
1998	Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)>Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) ''(awarded to Herbie Hancock, Robert Sadin, and Wonder)
1998	Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance
2002	Grammy Award for Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals>Best R&B; Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ''(awarded to Wonder and Take 6)
2005	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
2005	''(awarded to Beyoncé Knowles>Beyoncé and Wonder)
2006	Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals ''(awarded to Tony Bennett and Wonder)

Between 1965 and 1980, a self-produced artist won an additional Grammy as a producer as well as an artist.

Other awards and recognition

1983: inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. 1984: received an Academy Award for Best Song for "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from the movie ''The Woman in Red''. 1989: inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1996: received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 1999: received the Polar Music Prize and Kennedy Center Honors. 2002: received the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award at UCLA's Spring Sing. The same year, Wonder received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. 2004: received the Billboard Century Award. Also in 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock and Roll Artists of All Time. 2006: was inducted, as one of the first inductees, into the Michigan Walk of Fame. The same year, Wonder received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. 2008: Ranked at number five on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists", making him as the third most successful male artist in the history of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. 2009: Recipient of the second Gershwin Prize For Popular Song. 2009: Recipient of the Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award. This special award underlines a popular artist’s extraordinary contribution to the musical world. The Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award is in bronze. 2009: Named a Messenger of Peace by the United Nations.

See also

Best selling music artists

List of number-one hits (United States)

List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones

List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

References

External links

Official site

Never That Simple: Stevie Wonder—By Robert Christgau

Category:1950 births Category:African American drummers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:African American pianists Category:African American record producers Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:American child singers Category:American composers Category:American funk drummers Category:American funk keyboardists Category:American funk singers Category:American harmonica players Category:American male singers Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American rhythm and blues keyboardists Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul keyboardists Category:American soul singers Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:Blind musicians Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Living people Category:Motown artists Category:Musicians from Detroit, Michigan Category:Musicians from Michigan Category:People from Saginaw, Michigan Category:Rhythm and blues pianists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Soul drummers Category:United Nations Messengers of Peace

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name	Tim Minchin
birth name	Timothy David Minchin
birth date	October 07, 1975
birth place	Northampton, United Kingdom
nationality	British, Australian
active	2002–present
genre	Musical comedy
spouse	Sarah Minchin 2001–present (2 children)
website
britishcomedyawards	}}

Timothy David "Tim" Minchin (born 7 October 1975 in Northampton, UK) is an Australian comedian, actor, and musician.

Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia, Britain and the United States. After growing up in Perth, Western Australia, he attended the University of Western Australia and WAAPA before moving to Melbourne in 2002. His breakout show, "Dark Side", launched him into the public eye, achieving critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Minchin has a background in theatre and has appeared in various stage productions, in addition to some small acting roles on Australian TV. A documentary film about Minchin, ''Rock N Roll Nerd'' (directed by Rhian Skirving), was released theatrically in 2008 and broadcast by ABC1 in 2009.

Personal life

Minchin was born in Northampton, UK, to Australian parents and raised in Perth, Western Australia. He was educated at Christ Church Grammar School and started learning piano at the age of eight, but gave it up after three years because he did not enjoy the discipline. He redeveloped an interest in the instrument after he started writing music with his brother Dan Minchin, a guitarist, but still describes himself as a "hack pianist... a 'more you practise, the better you get' kind of guy". Minchin graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre, and in 1998 completed an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

He currently lives in Crouch End, London, with his wife, Sarah. They have two children, a daughter Violet, who was born 24 November 2006, and a son Caspar, born 3 July 2009. Minchin often refers to his relationships in his songs and stand-up routines.

Musical comedy

Minchin describes his act as a "funny cabaret show" and sees himself primarily as a musician and songwriter as opposed to a comedian; his songs, he says, "just happen to be funny." His reasoning for combining the disciplines of music and comedy was revealed in one interview when he said "I'm a good musician for a comedian and I'm a good comedian for a musician but if I had to do any of them in isolation I dunno."

He draws on his background in theatre for his distinctive onstage appearance and persona. In his performances, he typically goes barefoot with wild hair and heavy eye makeup, which is juxtaposed with a crisp suit and tails, and a grand piano. According to Minchin, he likes going barefoot in his shows because it makes him feel more comfortable. He considers the eye makeup important because while he is playing the piano he is not able to use his arms and relies on his face for expressions and gestures; the eyeliner makes his features more distinguishable for the audience. Much of his look and persona, he says, are about "treading that line between mocking yourself and wanting to be an iconic figure. Mocking the ridiculousness and completely unrealistic dream of being an iconic figure." The eccentric appearance removes Minchin from reality somewhat, allowing him to make outrageous statements onstage "without annoying (most) people."

The shows consist largely of Minchin's comedic songs and poetry, with subjects ranging from social satire to inflatable dolls, sex fetishes, and his own failed rock star ambitions. In between songs, he performs short stand-up routines. Several of his songs deal with religion, a subject with which Minchin—an atheist and a fan of Richard Dawkins—says he is "a bit obsessed." He argues that as one of the most powerful and influential forces in the world, religion should never be off-limits to satirists. He says that his favourite song to perform is "Peace Anthem for Palestine", which reflects his feelings about religious conflict. In October 2010 he was made a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. His comedy also deals with taboos more broadly. A prime example of this is the song "Prejudice" which parodies the power awarded to something as simple as a word.

Early career (1998–2007)

After completing an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music in 1998, Minchin started out composing music for documentaries and theatre. In 2000 he wrote and starred in the musical ''Pop'' at the Blue Room Theatre in Perth. He released a CD titled ''Sit'' with his band Timmy the Dog in 2001, but achieved little success. In 2002, after only one professional acting job, he moved from Perth to Melbourne to pursue work. Minchin struggled initially; he could not get an agent for a year and had been unable to find any acting work. While several record companies gave him positive feedback, they were not sure how his music—a mixture of satirical songs and more serious pop songs—could be marketed. He decided to compile all of his humorous songs into a single live show to "get the comedy stuff off [his] chest" before going back to more serious music.

Minchin says he entered into comedy "naively", having never even attended a live comedy gig before performing one himself. His break-out show, ''Darkside'' (co-produced by Laughing Stock Productions), achieved critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it won the inaugural Festival Directors' Award and attracted the notice of Karen Koren, the manager of the well-known Gilded Balloon venues. Koren backed the show's run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Minchin received the Perrier Comedy Award for Best Newcomer. His 2006 show, ''So Rock'', was nominated for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's top prize, the Barry Award, and in 2007 he was given the award for Best Alternative Comedian at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival.

Live recordings of his 2005 and 2006 shows, ''Darkside'' and ''So Rock'', have been released as CDs. In 2007, he released a DVD entitled ''So Live'', featuring a live recording in the Sydney Opera House Studio with material from both of his previous shows. As this DVD was only released in Australia, he released a DVD in 2008 entitled ''So F**king Rock Live'' in the UK, containing largely the same material as ''So Live.''

''Ready for This?'' (2008–2010)

In August 2008 Minchin debuted his third solo show, ''Ready for This?'', at the Edinburgh Fringe and subsequently took it on tour across the UK. During the Edinburgh run, he contributed to ''The Guardian'' newspaper's podcasts, despite his new show containing a song about a ''Guardian'' critic who once gave his show a negative review.

A recording of this show, recorded live at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London was released as an album for download via iTunes on 20 July 2009. An Australian recording was released on DVD, solely in Australia on 9 September 2009 and a UK release is anticipated in the second half of 2010.

In December 2009, the track "White Wine in the Sun" was released as a downloadable single online. Fans on Minchin's official forum launched a campaign to get this festive track into the UK Christmas charts by purchasing it from various online download retailers. A Facebook group was also launched to support the campaign as well as a drive on Twitter in which celebrities were contacted about the campaign and a succession of e-mails to radio DJs in a bid to get them to play the song. It was later announced that 50% of the December profits from the song would be donated to The National Autistic Society. The bid was ultimately unsuccessful.

It was announced at the end of 2009 that one of Minchin's beat poems, ''Storm'', was to be made into a short animated movie to be released in 2010. A blog was launched to accompany the film-making process and a short trailer was released on 8 January 2010.

He performed ''Ready for This?'' for what he envisages as the final time on 27 February 2010 in Sydney. He did however perform a set at The Big Libel Gig on 14 March 2010 in protest at Britain's libel laws, along with other performers including Dara Ó Briain, Marcus Brigstocke, Shappi Khorsandi, Robin Ince and Ed Byrne. As well as this, he performed at Camp Bestival as part of the Jestival Sessions in July 2010.

Minchin was the subject of the winning entry in the 2010 Archibald Prize, Australia's most important portraiture competition. The winning entry was painted by Sam Leach.

Tim Minchin and His Orchestra (2010–2011)

Minchin embarked on a new arena tour starting with Birmingham on Wednesday 8 December, 2010. This is a departure from the structure of his previous live shows, since his act has been scaled up to be performed with a symphony orchestra. The show now contains both old and new material: he has new songs on the subject of prayer and of rationality, themes which also often appear in his previous work. He has stated that the aim of incorporating the orchestra into his act is to create a comedy show that would not be ruined by being performed in arenas. The show is touring the UK and Australia. It was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall in London for a DVD to be released later in 2011.

On Saturday 13 August 2011 Minchin hosted Prom 40 - the first BBC Comedy Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Television and radio

Tim has made appearances on various British radio and television shows, including the BBC's ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' (four times, once as guest host), BBC Radio 4's ''Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better'' and two specials on BBC Radio 2. He often performs on his TV appearances, such as his spots on ''Friday Night With Jonathan Ross'' in October 2009 and July 2010. He performed a song written especially for the show entitled "Five Poofs And Two Pianos," a parody of the house band for the show who are known as 4 Poofs and a Piano. Minchin also appeared as a special guest on the 2009 edition of ''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'' performing a song written for the show ("It's Like 1984") in reference to a question regarding Google Street View.

A heavily cut-down version of the show released on DVD as ''So F**king Rock Live'' has aired several times on British TV channel E4, first on 23 July 2009. It aired at the turn of 2011, forming E4's New Year's coverage.

Tim has also appeared on the ABC's ''Spicks and Specks'', ''The Sideshow'', and the panel shows ''Good News Week'' (February 2010) and ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' (March 2010) in Australia.

In January 2011, Tim Minchin made his American television debut on TBS's ''Conan'' where he performed "Inflatable You." On 12 May 2011, he performed "If I Didn't Have You" on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and on 7 June 2011 Tim made his second appearance on TBS's ''Conan'' where he performed "Prejudice."

He is currently writing a musical sitcom for BBC Radio 2 entitled ''Strings''. The pilot was broadcast on Saturday 8 May 2010. Tim plays the part of the protagonist in the production as the lead singer of a rock band, named Jonny, who leaves Australia to live in the UK.

Acting and theatre

Minchin's background is in theatre and he has appeared in various stage productions. His most recent dramatic theatrical performance was in the title role for the 2006 Perth Theatre Company production of ''Amadeus'', a fictional play about the downfall of Mozart at the hands of the reigning court composer. His other stage acting roles have included the title role in the 2004 Perth Theatre Company / Hoopla production of ''Hamlet'', and The Writer in the original PTC production of Reg Cribb’s ''The Return''. He has also acted for The Australian Shakespeare Company (''Twelfth Night''), the Black Swan Theatre Company (''Cosi'', ''One Destiny'') and in various other plays, short films and TVC’s. Roles from his days in musical theatre include Don Quixote in ''Man of La Mancha'' and understudying Judas twice (and playing Pontius Pilate) in ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. He has also appeared playing small parts on the ABC telemovie ''Loot'' and on the show ''Comedy Inc.''.

Minchin also plays the role of Tom, in the contemporary family drama ''Two Fists, One Heart'', released 19 March 2009. He also wrote the song ''Drowned'' for the film's soundtrack.

He co-wrote a musical version of Roald Dahl's novel ''Matilda'' – entitled ''Matilda, A Musical'' – with Dennis Kelly and the Royal Shakespeare Company, which is produced by the RSC. It showed at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon running from 9 November 2010 to 30 January 2011 and has been confirmed for an open-ended West End run at the Cambridge Theatre, opening on the 22nd November 2011, with previews from 18th October 2011.

Atheism and skepticism

In an interview with IIG member John Rael, Minchin explains what upsets him most about paranormal beliefs, "special pleading" by people who say vague things that "there is no harm" in it. Minchin states that there is very little harm in something like Reiki but "where do you draw the line", when it comes to needing real evidence if a therapy works or not? He states that he is an atheist as well as a skeptic, and can not understand how someone can call themselves a skeptic and still be religious. "If you apply doubt to anything...the whole religion thing is obviously a fantasy."

Discography

Albums

''Sit'' (with band Timmy the Dog) (2001)

''Darkside'' (2005)

''So Rock'' (2006)

''Ready For This?'' (2009)

''Live at the O2'' (2010)

''Tim Minchin and The Heritage Orchestra'' (2011)

Singles

"Drowned" (2008)

"White Wine In the Sun" (2009)

"The Pope Song" (2010) - As a free download from his website

"The Fence" (2011)

Compilations

''Laugh-a-poolooza'' (featured artist) (2005)

DVD

''So Live'' (2007) Australian DVD

''So F**king Rock Live'' (11 October 2008)

''So F**king Rock Live (Special Edition)'' (5 October 2009)

''Ready For This?'' (29 November 2010)

"Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra." (14 November 2011)

Filmography

Actor

2008 – ''Two Fists, One Heart'' – Tom 2010 – ''The Lost Thing'' – The Boy (Voice)

Awards

; 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Directors' Choice Award for ''Dark Side'' 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Perrier Comedy Award, Best Newcomer 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Groggy Squirrel Critics' Award 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, Best Alternative Act 2009 Helpmann Awards, Best Comedy Performer 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Original Songs 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Artiste 2010 Chortle Awards, Best Music or Variety Act

References

External links

Rock N Roll Nerd – The Tim Minchin Documentary website

YouTube Interview on Australian Sceptics vodcast, The TANK Vodcast, 2007

Tim Minchin's song 'If I Didn't Have You' (Secret Policeman's Ball)

Storm Movie Production Blog

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Australian comedy musicians Category:British comedy musicians Category:Australian stand-up comedians Category:Australian atheists Category:University of Western Australia alumni Category:People educated at Christ Church Grammar School Category:People from Crouch End Category:Australian sceptics Category:British sceptics Category:Atheism activists Category:Australian socialists Category:British socialists

da:Tim Minchin de:Tim Minchin fr:Tim Minchin nl:Tim Minchin no:Tim Minchin pl:Tim Minchin pt:Tim Minchin ru:Минчин, Тим sv:Tim Minchin

name	Steel Panther
background	group_or_band
alias	Danger KittyMetal ShopMetal Skool
origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
genre	Glam metal, heavy metal, hard rock, comedy rock| years_active 2000–present
label	Universal Republic
associated acts	L.A. GunsFight
website	www.steelpantherrocks.com
current members	Michael StarrSatchelLexxi FoxxxStix Zadinia}}

Steel Panther are a glam metal band from Los Angeles, California and are mostly known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated on-stage personas. Formed in 2000, the band has formerly been known as Danger Kitty, Metal Shop and Metal Skool.

The Aldo Nova song "Fantasy" was remade by the band into a faster paced song for the MTV original series ''Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory''. The remake was released on iTunes on December 8, 2009 and their album ''Feel the Steel'' was released in June 2009.

Biography

Metal Skool

The quartet began to gain popularity in the Sunset Strip at the beginning of the new millennium under the name Metal Shop (soon changed into Metal Skool, then into Steel Panther). Their lineup consists of vocalist Ralph Saenz ("Michael Starr"), drummer Darren Leader ("Stix Zadinia"), bassist Travis Haley ("Lexxi Foxxx"), and guitarist Russ Parrish ("Satchel"). The band did weekly shows on Monday nights at the Viper Room, playing covers of 1980s hair metal hits while parodying the bands that made the songs famous. Despite presenting themselves under different stage names, two members of the band were already in other heavy metal acts. Frontman Michael Starr, using his name Ralph Saenz, had been in glam metal band L.A. Guns between 1997 and 1998, publishing the 6 tracks EP Wasted. Before this, Saenz was the frontman of a Van Halen tribute band called Atomic Punks. Guitarist Satchel was part of War & Peace, founded by ex Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson and the band Fight, founded by Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. He was also a member of Atomic Punks together with Saenz. Years before, he played in the band Electric Fence with Racer X members Paul Gilbert and Jeff Martin.

The band, under the name Danger Kitty, published in 2002 the promotional single "Love Rocket". Steel Panther jokingly claims to be a glam metal band which had failed to gain mainstream success during the '80s. This is why their official biography claims they have been active since 1988. Thanks to the use of hair-sprayed looks, leather jackets and zebra spandex and to their experience in the Van Halen tribute band, they finally managed to gain some success. In 2003 Steel Panther published Hole Patrol, their auto-produced debut. The band appeared in a Discover Card advertisement as Danger Kitty and in the sitcom Drew Carey Show as themselves. Also in 2003, their song "Death to All But Metal" was included in a compilation CD called "Hey, That's What I Call Sludge! Vol. 1" put out by the Metal Sludge web site. Their cover of the song "Fantasy" by Aldo Nova was used as the opening musical theme for the MTV program Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. On November 27, 2007 Metal Skool played original songs as well as covers of KISS songs at the Gene Simmons roast, they can be seen in the background of Gene Simmons reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels. That year, they also appeared as themselves on Las Vegas in the episode "The High Price of Gas".

Steel Panther

In April 2008 the band decided to change their name from Metal Skool to Steel Panther, making a new debut at The Rockin' Saddle Club in Redlands, California. In May 2008, the band signed a contract with Republic Records (owned by record label Universal Records) announcing plans for a new studio album. The first single, an updated version of "Death to All but Metal", first appeared on iTunes on 27 January 2009, whereas the album, entitled ''Feel the Steel'' and produced by Jay Ruston, was published on 9 June, during the same year. A promotional video, directed by actor Dean Cameron, was shot for the song "Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)".

Thanks to their increased popularity their live performances began to be attended by a growing number of fans. Some celebrities also appeared on stage during their concerts, including Criss Angel, Kenny Loggins, Paul Stanley, Kip Winger, Corey Taylor, David Draiman, Hal Sparks, David Bryan, Tony Romo, Dane Cook, Chris Jericho, Corey Feldman, Evan Seinfeld, Tera Patrick, Sully Erna, Drew Carey, Mike Starr, Chad Kroeger, Ryan Cabrera, Jerry Cantrell, Justin Hawkins, Kelly Clarkson, Phil Anselmo, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tom Morello, P!nk, Scott Ian, Justin Parks, M Shadows and Avril Lavigne in February 2009. Steel Panther succeeded in becoming one of the most popular cover bands in California, winning the contest of "Best Tribute Band in the Universe". After a several month run at the House of Blues Sunset Strip, Steel Panther returned to its weekly Monday night shows at the new-managed Sunset Live Presents Key Club Hollywood.

According to a recent interview with RockSource360, the band is currently recording songs for their next album. They performed their new song "Critter" at the UK Ozzfest 2010 and have posted footage of rehearsals in the studio for a new song, under the working title of "If You Really, Really, Really Love Me." In December 2010 their website offered a free download of their new Christmas song "Sexy Santa". In January 2011 Michael Starr confirmed the songs, "Tigerwoods", "Tongue Punch in the Fart Box", "Summertime", "I Like Drugs", "Supersonic Sex Machine", "Do You Wanna Do Me" and "17 Girls In A Row" for the new album in 2011.

Lexxi Foxxx mentioned that guests on the new Steel Panther record would be Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Gene Simmons (KISS), Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), and Scott Ian (Anthrax).

In July, 2011, Steel Panther wrote on their Facebook page "IT'S CUMMING! ROCKTOBER 18TH!" which implies that the new album will be released on October 18, 2011.

On the Steel Panther app, Michael Starr wrote that the new album will be called "Balls Out". On 22nd August They Released The Single Off ''Balls Out'' Titled ''If You Really Really Love Me''

On August 27, 2011, Freddie Wong released a YouTube video homage to the Crossfire board game which featured Steel Panther covering the Crossfire theme.

Members

Michael Starr (Ralph Saenz) - lead vocals, acoustic guitars

Satchel (Russ Parrish) - rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars, backing vocals

Lexxi Foxxx (Travis Haley) - bass, backing vocals

Stix Zadinia (Darren Leader) - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chartpositions
		! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"
2003		* Release date: 2003	* Label: self-released	—	—	—
2009		* Release date: October 6, 2009	* Label: Universal Records	98	42	3
2011		* Release date: October 18, 2011	* Label: Universal Records	—	—	—

Singles

! Year	! Single	! Album
2002
2003
			If You Really Really Love Me (Balls Out)

Videography

''Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) - The Video'' (2005) - Home DVD featuring the music-video for ''Fat Girl'' and behind-the-scenes footage.

Behind The Music: Steel Panther (2009) - iTunes Podcast Featuring a fake 'Behind The Music' story for Steel Panther. (Features Stars Like Matt Sorum, Kat Von-D, Jani Lane, and Dave Navarro)

Music videos

''Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)'' (2005)

''Death to All but Metal'' (2009)

''Community Property'' (2009)

References

External links

http://www.bringmetalback.com/ - Steel Panther's Fansite

Category:Glam metal musical groups Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California Category:Musical groups established in 2000 Category:Heavy metal musical groups from California Category:Comedy rock

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