Filed under: Music, News, Theater
Stevie Wonder will be in good company when the Apollo Theater inducts him into its Legends Hall of Fame later this spring.
The Motown Records icon will be honored during the famed venue's annual spring gala, which brings together the best and brightest in business and entertainment to raise funds in support of the non-profit theater's remarkable legacy and its current initiatives for emerging artists and community and educational programs.
Officially billed as The Gala Benefit Concert and Awards Ceremony, this year's star-studded festivities will take place June 13. The event is the Apollo's largest annual fundraiser and all proceeds of the event will benefit the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
"Stevie Wonder is a true Apollo Legend and an American classic, and we look forward to welcoming him home in June and presenting him with the Apollo's highest honor," said Apollo Theater president and CEO Jonelle Procope. "Stevie is irrefutable proof of the Apollo's continuing power as a transformative cultural force in America and around the world."
Wonder, born Stevland Hardway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan in 1950, joins past Apollo Legends Halls inductees, such as Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Patti Labelle, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, and Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who was celebrated last year.
Each Apollo Legends Hall of Fame Inductee is honored with a plaque installed in the Apollo Walk of Fame, installed under the Theater's iconic marquee.
The 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' singer/songwriter first appeared at the Apollo Theater in 1962 when he was 12 years old. At that time, he was called "Little Stevie Wonder," and was already touring as a professional act (and was the only "child act") as part of Berry Gordy's "Motown Revue." Other notable Apollo appearances include the "Save the Apollo Concert" in the 1980s and sold out solo concerts in 2005.