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Stevie Wonder, Lula Mae Hardaway, Chuck Berry, Little Richard at the 1974 GRAMMYs

Stevie Wonder with his mom, Lula Mae Hardaway, and others at the 1974 GRAMMYs

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GRAMMY Rewind: Stevie Wonder Shares His First GRAMMY Win With His Mom

In the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, rock 'n' roll icons Chuck Berry and Little Richard present Wonder—and his beaming mother—with the GRAMMY for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Superstition"

GRAMMYs/Jul 10, 2020 - 09:11 pm

In the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, GRAMMY.com takes a journey back to the 1974 GRAMMY Awards when a then-23-year-old Stevie Wonder took home his first four GRAMMY wins for music for his classic albums Talking Book (1972) and Innervisions (1973).

The soulful musical legend had already earned six GRAMMY nominations during four prior shows, beginning at the 1967 GRAMMYs for his 1965 hit, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)." Just seven years later, he'd take home his first of many golden gramophones.

In March 1974, rock 'n' roll icons Chuck Berry and Little Richard presented Wonder—and his beaming mother—with his first-ever GRAMMY, winning the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male category for "Superstition," an iconic track from Talking Book.

Immediately before Berry and Richard jokingly fought over the microphone to announce the "Higher Ground" singer's name, the two dynamic forces of rock performed a high-powered medley of their music on the GRAMMY stage. Wonder, rocking a perfect afro puff and an embroidered earth-toned shirt-and-pants set, brought up his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, who looked glamourous in a magenta gown and big feather boa.

"First of all, I'd like for you all, please, not to give this to me, but to my mother," Wonder announced, as Berry handed the golden gramophone to Hardaway. "My mother is going to accept the award for me. I am so very happy; you don't even know how happy I am," he said with a huge smile.

"I would like to thank you all for making this the sunshine of my life tonight," a radiant Hardaway said, nodding to her son's song, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," which would also win a GRAMMY that evening.

Read: More Innervisions: Stevie Wonder On Music, Politics & Love

The groovy "Superstition," released in October 1972 on Tamla/Motown as the lead single to Wonder's 15th studio album, Talking Book, won for Best Rhythm & Blues Song that night. "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," the album's second and only additional single, won for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. 

Later in the night, Wonder's next album, Innervisions, released in August 1973, less than a year after Talking Book, would win the prestigious Album Of The Year gramophone, rounding out an epic run at the 1974 GRAMMYs.

His next two (also classic!) albums, Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs In The Key Of Life (1976), would also win the Album Of The Year award, at the 17th GRAMMY Awards and 19th GRAMMY Awards, respectively, along with three additional wins each year.

To date, Wonder has earned 25 GRAMMYs, in addition to his six recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. He received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 and was named MusiCares Person Of The Year in 1999, among many other career accolades.

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Genia Press Play Hero
Genia (right) performs for Press Play.

Photo: Courtesy of Genia

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Press Play: Watch Genia Narrate The Pain Of Heartbreak In This Raw Performance Of "Dear Life"

R&B singer Genia offers an acoustic rendition of "Dear Life," one of the singles from her forthcoming mixtape, '4 AM In The Ville,' out April 19 via Def Jam.

GRAMMYs/Apr 9, 2024 - 05:00 pm

On "Dear Life," R&B singer Genia pens a farewell letter to her lover — while simultaneously reflecting on how the intense saga crumbled her.

"I can't take anymore/ Put my pride aside, thought you could save me," she cries in the first verse. "These days, I don't know what I need/ You destroy me from the inside out/ If I go off the deep end/ You'll be sure not to bring me back."

In this episode of Press Play, watch Genia deliver a stripped-down performance of the vulnerable track alongside her guitarist.

The California native released "Dear Life" on Nov. 10, via Def Jam Recordings. She has also dropped three more singles — "Like That," "Know!," and "Let Me Wander" — leading up to her sophomore mixtape, 4 AM In The Ville, on April 19. 4 AM is a sequel to her debut, 4 PM In The Ville; both projects are inspired by Genia's experience of growing up in Victorville, California.

""[The songs] explore the different stages of grief in a relationship," she revealed in an interview with Urban Magazine. "The second tape is really me touching on falling in love, betrayal, anger, and rape."

Watch the video above to hear Genia's acoustic performance of "Dear Life," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play.

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Martha Reeves performs and talks at the Grammy Museum
Martha Reeves bursts into song during a discussion at the GRAMMY Museum.

Photo courtesy of the Recording Academy™️/photo by Sarah Morris, Getty Images© 2024.

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Martha Reeves Takes L.A.: The "Queen Of Motown" Shares Memories Of Smokey Robinson, Her Solo Career & Finally Receiving A Hollywood Star

During "A Conversation With Martha Reeves" at the GRAMMY Museum, the Motown legend sang, laughed and got emotional as she strolled down memory lane — and over to the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, where she recently received a star.

GRAMMYs/Apr 8, 2024 - 01:22 pm

Motown legend Martha Reeves had quite a day.

On March 27, the 82-year-old singer finally got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Flanked by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Berry Gordy, Reeves donned a pearl and gold strapless gown with a show-stopping hat for the celebration. That evening, Reeves was the star of a conversation at the GRAMMY Museum in downtown Los Angeles.

Reeves was definitely riding high that night. "I’m gonna try to calm down. I’ve been excited all day," Reeves told moderator Gail Mitchell, longtime Billboard Executive Director of R&B and Hip-Hop. 

Born in Alabama but raised in the Motor City, Martha Reeves was the lead singer of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The Motown girl group is responsible for 1960s and 1970s classics such as "Dancing in the Street," "My Baby Loves Me," "Jimmy Mack," "Nowhere to Run," "(Love is Like a ) Heatwave," and "Bless You." Following her time at Motown, Reeves went on to have a solo career and was even an elected councilwoman in Detroit. The GRAMMY-nominated artist was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. 

Throughout the evening, the Motown diva — now in a lavish purple and silver top — had the audience at the Museum's Clive Davis Theater singing along to her classics, laughing as she strolled down Motown memory lane, and even tearing up as she got personal.  She even teased that she might have a new album in store.

Read on for five things we learned from Martha Reeves' free-flowing, laugh-filled conversation at the GRAMMY Museum. 

She Had To Fight To Get Her Hollywood Star 

Reeves crossed paths with many legendary names over the course of her career. But one of the first people she shouted out wasn’t a star, but her manager Chris Roe. "He’s brought me a long way in just a couple of years." Reeves said of the industry veteran. During the Q&A segment of her conversation, Reeves even brought Roe on stage. 

Her gratitude makes sense for a number of reasons. Reeves was first nominated for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021 but the process stagnated, Roe said, because of representation that wasn’t truly in Motown singer’s corner. Reeves' management at the time, Roe noted, was treating the soul icon like a shiny trophy rather than an active musician.

The two first met when Roe was in Detroit on business; a year later Roe went all in to raise money and make her Walk of Fame star dream a reality. Onstage at the Museum, Reeves recalled walking down Hollywood Boulevard with her son in the 1970s (Reeves moved to L.A. for a time when Motown relocated to Southern California), reading the names of the stars. Her young son said Reeves should have her own marker, and his poignant memory was finally brought to fruition.

Martha Reeves Credits Berry Gordy And Motown For Having "A Vision"

"How did Berry Gordy manage to get all of those people in one place? It was like corralling in a Western," Reeves said of Motown's incredible roster of talent in the '60s. 

She added that, never in her wildest dreams, did she think she would soar so high alongside musical geniuses like Smokey Robinson and songwriting/production team Holland-Dozier-Holland (who arranged songs for the likes of the Four Tops and the Supremes during a piping-hot run during the mid-1960s). 

Occasionally, instead of answering questions, Reeves would burst into song. "I can’t describe it," Reeves said at one point while describing Motown's musical resonance. "But I can make you feel it." 

Reeves noted that it was tough to think of one particular moment that wasn’t exciting or that paved the way for future success. She calls everything an "adventure or a challenge." 

She did say that her first tour was grueling, consisting of 94 one-nighters and only one motel chain who would allow Black guests.

She Learned A Lot While On Tour With Motown

Reeves went from playfully talking about how "fine" Marvin Gaye was and being around different kinds of artists on cross-country Motortown Revue bus trips, to more serious topics like the integration of Black music during the turbulent 1960s. 

She recalled a particularly harrowing moment when the Revue arrived in Montgomery, Alabama in 1963 when the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, the Miracles, the Temptations, and others were performing for a segregated audience in a horse-training arena with American and Confederate flags. While Smokey Robinson and the Miracles performed "Mickey’s Monkey," men with baseball bats separated the audience — Black on one side, white on the other. 

But Robinson stepped to the microphone and challenged convention. He just wanted to make sure that everyone just had a good time and could dance. "We’ve come a long way. Music is the reason," Reeves told the audience. 

She Remembers Her Solo Work Fondly, Too

After Reeves and the Vandellas disbanded and Reeves left Motown, she released her eponymous debut solo album in 1974 on MCA Records. Producer Richard Perry came in to work on the album with her, resulting in many hits. 

Reeves spoke a lot about one track, "Many Rivers to Cross," which involved 110 takes and a 40-piece choir. "He was that diligent in getting the sound he wanted. [A] very profound producer," Reeves said of Perry. Reeves said she's very proud of "Dixie Highway," an ode to Reeves’s Alabama root. 

Reeves said that her mother and father — who had 11 children — taught her "everything" and that she was a very loved child. In fact, her parents fostered her musical talents from an early age, her mother helping with her singing and her father putting her on his lap as he played guitar. 

Reeves Gave Her Hometown Love, And They Gave It Back

Reeves served as an elected councilwoman in Detroit from 2005 to 2009. "You have to be careful what you ask for," Reeves said with a laugh about her time in politics. She calls the whole experience "an education." 

Because of Reeves’s efforts in local politics, Detroit is home to Berry Gordy Jr. Boulevard, the street on which, fittingly, the Motown Museum is located. 

Some of her fans and friends from Detroit made it all the way to the GRAMMY Museum for the event, donning Martha Reeves shirts and carrying Vandellas records. Several times, Reeves shouted out a friend who is a dance teacher. "I love you so for being here." 

Some of the most moving moments of Martha Reeves' conversation came during the audience Q&A session. One member of the audience recalled meeting Reeves in New York shortly after his mother — a longtime fan of Reeves' — passed away; he shared the comfort his conversation with the singer brought him while grieving. Another attendee said he was a Detroit radio DJ and once received a ride home with Reeves; and yet another member of the audience spoke passionately about seeing the Motown Revue as a young man, and how the event was one of his first experiences in a desegregated scenario. 

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Megan Thee Stallion at the 2021 GRAMMYs
Megan Thee Stallion at the 2021 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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GRAMMY Rewind: Megan Thee Stallion Went From "Savage" To Speechless After Winning Best New Artist In 2021

Relive the moment Megan Thee Stallion won the coveted Best New Artist honor at the 2021 GRAMMYs, where she took home three golden gramophones thanks in part to her chart-topping smash "Savage."

GRAMMYs/Apr 5, 2024 - 05:25 pm

In 2020, Megan Thee Stallion solidified herself as one of rap's most promising new stars, thanks to her hit single "Savage." Not only was it her first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, but the "sassy, moody, nasty" single also helped Megan win three GRAMMYs in 2021.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, revisit the sentimental moment the Houston "Hottie" accepted one of those golden gramophones, for Best New Artist.

"I don't want to cry," Megan Thee Stallion said after a speechless moment at the microphone. Before starting her praises, she gave a round of applause to her fellow nominees in the category, who she called "amazing."

Along with thanking God, she also acknowledged her manager, T. Farris, for "always being with me, being by my side"; her record label, 300 Entertainment, for "always believing in me, sticking by through my craziness"; and her mother, who "always believed I could do it."

Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage" remix with Beyoncé also helped her win Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance that night — marking the first wins in the category by a female lead rapper.

Press play on the video above to watch Megan Thee Stallion's complete acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the 2021 GRAMMY Awards, and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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Beyonce on stage accepting the GRAMMY Award for "Halo" During Her Record-Setting Night In 2010
Beyonce on stage accepting the GRAMMY Award for "Halo" During Her Record-Setting Night In 2010

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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GRAMMY Rewind: Watch Beyoncé Win A GRAMMY For "Halo" During Her Record-Setting Night In 2010

As you dive into Beyoncé's new album, 'COWBOY CARTER,' revisit the moment Queen Bey won a GRAMMY for "Halo," one of six golden gramophones she won in 2010.

GRAMMYs/Mar 29, 2024 - 05:05 pm

Amongst Beyoncé's expansive catalog, "Halo" is easily one of her most iconic songs. Today, the 2009 single is her most-streamed song on Spotify; it was her first video to reach one billion views on YouTube; and it helped her set one of her GRAMMY records in 2010.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch the superstar take the stage to accept Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Halo" in 2010 — the year she became the first female artist to win six GRAMMYs in one night.

"This has been such an amazing night for me, and I'd love to thank the GRAMMYs," she said, admitting she was nervous before taking a deep breath.

Before leaving the stage, Beyoncé took a second to thank two more special groups: "I'd love to thank my family for all of their support, including my husband. I love you. And I'd like to thank all of my fans for their support over the years."

The five other awards Beyoncé took home that night were for the coveted Song Of The Year ("Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)") and four R&B Categories: Best Contemporary R&B Album (I Am... Sasha Fierce), Best R&B Song ("Single Ladies"), Best Female R&B Vocal Performance ("Single Ladies"), and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance (for her cover of Etta James' "At Last"). 

As of 2024, Beyoncé has won the most GRAMMY Awards in history with 32 wins.

Press play on the video above to relive Queen Bey's "Halo" win for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

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