Throwback: Happy 74th Birthday, Stevie Wonder!

May is a busy month in music history:

• The 91st anniversary of the birth of the legendary godfather of soul James Brown was on May 3
• The legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter celebrated his 87th birthday on May 4
• The 68th anniversary of the birth of the great soul artist Sharon Jones was on May 4
• The 82nd anniversary of the birth of one of the most beloved singer/songwriters in country, Tammy Wynette was on May 5
• Echo & The Bunnymen‘s Ian McCullouch celebrated his 65th birthday on May 5
• Van Halen co-founder, drummer — and most important Eddie’s brother, Alex Van Halen celebrated his 71st birthday on May 8
• Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan celebrated his 62nd birthday on May 9
• U2‘s Bono celebrated his 64th birthday on May 10
• The Afghan Whigs, The Gutter Twins‘ and The Twilight Singers‘ Greg Dulli celebrated his 59th birthday on May 11
• The great Burt Bacharach was born 96 years ago on May 12

The legendary Stevie Wonder celebrates his 74th birthday today. Wonder’s influence on modern music is towering: Artists across R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk and jazz have all cited him and his work as an influence on their work. He’s also responsible for helping to popularize the use of synthesizers in the 70s — and for being a key figure in the album era. 

So let’s celebrate Stevie’s life and music today. Happy birthday, Stevie! May there be many, many more!