Stevie Wonder has made it clear that retirement isn’t in his plans, insisting he will keep making music as long as he’s breathing, NaijNaira can report.
In a new episode of the Sidetracked podcast hosted by Annie Macmanus and produced by the BBC, the singer sat backstage at Hyde Park where he’ll perform, sharing updates on his creative journey.
The conversation opened with Annie describing the surreal moment, admitting, “We were told just days ago we could interview Stevie Wonder… I’m going to cry!”
He opened their talk with a gentle performance on the Harpejji, a hybrid instrument that blends the piano and guitar. “You are soothing me right now!” Annie said as he played.
Stevie shared that his latest body of work is titled Through the Eyes of Wonder and he’s still actively creating music for it.
“I’ve got a lot of songs I haven’t released yet,” he said, keeping details close. “I’m not going to say to you that, I’m going to let it just be there.”
Speaking on the topic of retirement, he said, “For as long as you breathe, for as long as your heart beats, there’s more for you to do… I’m not gonna stop the gift that keeps pouring through my body.”
He added, “An artist doesn’t stop drawing just because. As long as you can imagine, you’ll be creative. Let your mind work — you don’t have to retire.”
Stevie also broke into an impression of Rod Stewart singing Maggie May, and reminisced about telling Smokey Robinson at age 11, “You can sing bad, you can sing good, but I can sing better.”
He also praised Cynthia Erivo, calling her a “great talent” and spoke on his 1985 Oscars speech dedicated to Nelson Mandela, which resulted in his music being banned in South Africa.
“When you’re in a place where you know something’s wrong, you gotta speak on it,” Stevie said.
He closed with a message aimed at future changemakers: “Make the difference, make the change. Move the world forward, as it is meant to be.”
Article updated 5 hours ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
