THROUGH THE LENS: Stevie Wonder, Lucinda Williams & Other Photos of the Week

As the music festival season winds down, it’s time to take a look at the individual shows the ND photographers have been catching lately. From Buddy Guy — who’s been paying the Chicago blues for over 60 years — to Iceland’s Laufey, who’s gained a loyal following by adroitly fusing jazz, pop, bossa nova, and even classical music into a fascinating, intoxicating brew. There are, all in all, 45 photos by 16 ND photographers in the gallery below.

But it’s the photos of Stevie Wonder, by Kim Reed, and Lucinda Williams, by C. Elliott, that I want to highlight. Not just because they are legends, but also because both have had a significant impact on my personal growth in roots music. 

Stevie Wonder 

Stevie Wonder began his professional career in 1963 at the age of 13 when Tamla Records, a subsidiary of Motown, released the double-sided single, “Fingertips, Part 1” and “Fingertips, Part 2.” Recorded live as one song, it was spilt for the single release; the latter half went on to be a No. 1 hit on both the pop and R&B charts. 

As we now know, Wonder was not a one-hit wonder. But, that was not not a forgone conclusion. As Wonder matured, so did his artistic visions. Even when he began to produce his own work, Barry Gordy, the owner of Motown, controlled the content of those albums. Gordy, for as much as he gave to the music world in the 1960s, was a business person first: Motown had a formula for success and wanted their roster of artists to stick to it.

However, When Wonder reached the then legal age of 21, he voided his contract so he could record his way. In order to keep Wonder on the label, Gordy agreed to give him total control. Under that deal, Wonder recorded Innervisions (1973) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976), which Rolling Stone listed as the numbers 34 and 4 greatest albums of all time, respectively.

A little known fact is that Marvin Gaye, who would go on to have an illustrious career (his own album What’s Going On is number 1 on that Rolling Stone list), played drums on “Fingertips.” I also received that album the first time I won a give-away record from a radio call-in contest.

Lucinda Williams 

One of my first articles for No Depression was about Lucinda Williams, and the rise of alt country, which drew upon the first time I first saw her, by pure chance, in a bar in Austin in 1986. While by that time my musical journey had migrated to jazz and the downtown New York experimental music scene, it was that 1986 encounter that brought me back into the fold, so to speak. I was hooked from her first words that night: “Sylvia was working as a waitress in Beaumont.” She went on to perform, solo, nearly every song that later wound up on her 1988 Rough Trade.

Elliott’s photos resulted in a flood of memories of the many times I have seen Williams since then, more than any other artist. It was a special performance as Elliott told me the show was centered around her recent book, Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I told You, complete with a side show in the background of photos about family, life experiences, and friends.

The songs also reflected Williams’ musical history. While songs from Car Wheels on a Gravel Road made up the core of the show, Williams also did early songs such as Elizabeth Cotton’s “Freight Train,” as well as later classics including “Ghosts of Highway 20.” But Williams is not slowing down. Her soon-to-be released new album, Volume 7 of her Juke Box series, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, is devoted to songs by The Beatles.

Finally, Elliott also told me that while Williams mostly sat during the performance, her vocals were strong and distinct. It was also a special moment for Elliott, who escorted Williams offstage and hung out with her after the show. 

Click on any of the photos below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.