BROOKLYN (WABC) — Few artists can say they helped reshape the sound of music like Stevie Wonder.<\/p>\n
His albums in the early to mid 1970s did more than top charts; they expanded the boundaries of what popular music and artistic freedom could be.<\/p>\n
Now, that creative run returns to the stage in a celebration starting Thursday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.<\/p>\n
“You Are The Sunshine of My Life,” Stevie Wonder’s classic, topped the charts in 1973.<\/p>\n
Inside B.A.M. In Downtown Brooklyn, the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra and other accomplished musicians are busy rehearsing and fine-tuning the ballad ahead of a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.<\/p>\n
“Stevie Wonder is a central pop musical figure, not just as a pop icon but what he brought creatively and intellectually and culturally to popular music across the board,” Darrell McNeill with Black Rock Coalition said.<\/p>\n
The concerts that are spread out over three nights will focus on Stevie Wonder’s so-called “classic period” beginning in 1972 when he was just 21 years old.<\/p>\n
The legendary artist released five albums that changed the course of popular music.<\/p>\n
“It was pretty much the beginnings of the evolution of Stevie Wonder as an entertainer to Stevie Wonder as pure genius,” McNeill said.<\/p>\n
One particular album created during the four-year stretch holds a special place in Troy Germano’s heart.<\/p>\n
“It made us a major player in the U.S. record industry,” Germano said.<\/p>\n
“Songs In the Key of Life” was recorded at The Hit Factory in New York City.<\/p>\n
Troy remembers his dad, Eddie, getting the call from Stevie asking to book the studio for three days, which turned into roughly nine months.<\/p>\n
“We didn’t have many bookings before John Lennon and David Bowie but when people realized Stevie Wonder had worked at our studios for better part of a year, that really changed the whole trajectory of the studio going forward,” Germano said.<\/p>\n
The musical tribute coincides with Stevie Wonder’s 76th birthday.<\/p>\n
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