Stevie Wonder signed with Motown at eleven, scored his first hit at thirteen, and spent the next decade watching the label control his money, his songs, and his schedule. When he turned twenty-one, he renegotiated his contract for unprecedented creative freedom and then released Talking Book, Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life, and a string of albums that changed popular music forever.

This episode traces Wonder from his childhood in Saginaw, Michigan through his years as Little Stevie Wonder, his contract renegotiation, and the astonishing creative run of the 1970s that made him one of the most important musicians alive.

• He signed with Motown Records at age eleven and had his first number-one hit at thirteen with “Fingertips”
• He renegotiated his Motown contract at twenty-one, gaining full creative control and ownership of his publishing
• Songs in the Key of Life is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums in the history of popular music
• He won twenty-five Grammy Awards, more than any other solo male artist at the time of his peak