The Interview: Stevie Wonder – "Songs Stay With You Forever"

Podcast: The Interview, BBC World Service
Date: September 16, 2025
Host: Annie McManus
Guest: Stevie Wonder

Episode Overview

In this special episode, Annie McManus meets Stevie Wonder, one of music’s most iconic and beloved figures, at a central London hotel the night before his Hyde Park concert in July. The conversation spans Wonder’s remarkable life and career, his connection to music, the stories behind his songs, his activism, and his ever-present sense of humor. Wonder reflects on his upbringing, family, and the spiritual dimension of creating music, all while disarming Annie with his warmth and wit.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Life, Family, and Musical Beginnings

• Blind Since Birth and Upbringing

  • Stevie describes being born premature, leading to blindness: "A pre-existing eye condition was exacerbated by Stevie receiving too much oxygen in his incubator, which resulted in him permanently losing his eyesight." [01:46]
  • Despite his blindness, he had a normal childhood and did everything other kids did, such as climbing trees and jumping off roofs:
    • “...they said I was blind. But what did that mean to me? I'd never seen. So, you know, whether it be kids out climbing trees... I want to do that. Come on, you're gonna fall. I'm not gonna fall. Get out there, Steve.” [07:11]
  • A touching story about his mother catching him after a big jump illustrates their close bond and her support. [09:01–09:14]

• Mother’s Influence and Early Music

  • His mom actively encouraged his music, sometimes coming to the basement "to say, try this. Do that. Come on, Steve.” [06:23]
  • Stevie looked at his musical gift as a blessing, but not as something inherently unique—“I just thought it was a blessing that I was given, right? And I thank God for that blessing.” [10:07]
  • Amusing anecdote about telling Smokey Robinson, at age 11, “you can sing bad, you can sing good, but I can sing better.” [10:45]

Songwriting Process and Performing Classics

• The Nature of Songs and Performance

  • Stevie sees songs as living entities: “Songs are like children, you know, they're with you forever. Songs are like, you know, a statement from the spirit of you. The spirit in you." [04:54]
  • Performing older songs feels like “taking breath of a new day.” [05:12]

• How Songs Are Written

  • Melody typically comes first in Stevie’s process, then lyrics and chords:
    • "Usually for me, I write the melody first. My mind I hear." [05:22]
  • Specific example from “Love's in Need”: had the chorus and grew around it. [05:29–06:16]
  • Describes the creation of “Boogie On Reggae Woman,” using the Moog synthesizer, forming a bass sound with Bob Margoleff and Malcolm Cecil, and deliberately slurring the vocal by drinking a beer for effect:
    • “Because I want to have like a slurring kind of sound of a voice. It's not like this disappear. But I like, I like this thing.” [13:09]

• Introduction to the Harpeggi Instrument

  • Wonder brings his harpeggi, demonstrates its sound, and uses it to calm Annie’s nerves:
    • “Annie. Annie. Annie. Don't let me go.” [04:17]
    • Annie: “Oh my gosh, Stevie, I can't tell you how nervous I've been about this interview. You are soothing me right now.” [04:22–04:31]
    • Stevie: “Well, relax yourself... Chill, chill.” [04:31–04:35]

The Spirituality of Music

• Music as a Gift from God

  • Stevie believes the ability to sing was divinely given:
    • “I think that there was a calling for that to be given to us. And it was all about how much we're gonna use it for. For the goodness of what we've been given. It's a gift.” [14:22–14:34]
  • Further, sees God not in human terms, but as spirit:
    • “I believe in the greatness, the goodness of the Creator. And I've never been with the dilemma of seeing God as a man or a woman or blah, blah, blah... I think God is a spirit.” [14:34–15:15]

• Music as Messenger and Teacher

  • Still learns from songs he creates, believes the spirit offers continued lessons if one is worthy:
    • “If you believe, you know, that the spirit gives it to you, then obviously there's more for you to get right if you find yourself worthy by how and what you do.” [15:45]

Activism, Hope, and Social Responsibility

• Fighting for Justice

  • Has always felt a responsibility to speak out against injustice:
    • “You know, when you're in a place where you know something's wrong, you got to speak on it.” [03:12, repeated at 20:38]
  • Speaks about his Oscar acceptance for “I Just Called to Say I Love You”—dedicated to Nelson Mandela and the subsequent banning of his music in South Africa:
    • “I accept this award in honor of Nelson Mandela… And they banned my music and they cut me out.” [18:56]
  • Reflected on his anti-apartheid songs and stance: “And so I joined with all the people in the States and throughout the world… I felt apartheid was wrong… when you're in a place where you know something's wrong, you gotta speak on it.” [19:44–20:38]

• Hope in Troubling Times

  • Expressed disappointment with the state of the world, stating change has not gone far enough:
    • “Do you think enough change has happened? Definitely not.” [21:09]
  • Cautions against regressive movements and emphasizes faith in God and in people’s capacity to “wake up”:
    • “My faith in God and in people. If you look back in history, there's always been a point when people wake up.” [21:34]
  • Calls on people to act for progress and warns: “Move the world forward as it is meant to be.” [22:02]

Legacy and Family

• Music in Family and the Future

  • Shares that his children are musically inclined, especially proud of his son (born the same day), whom he’s mentoring:
    • “My children all are talented. My son, who's born the same day as me, 13th of May, you know, he's got a great voice, and so I'm always working with him…” [23:13]

• Acceptance of Destiny

  • On other possible life paths:
    • Annie: “You could have been anything else except for a musician?”
    • Stevie: “Except Stevie Wonder. I mean, I think that if I was meant to be someone else to do something else, it would have happened. …This is what I know. This is what God has left me to do and be.” [22:43–22:52]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Songs as Children:

  • “Songs are like children, you know, they’re with you forever. Songs are like, you know, a statement from the spirit of you.”
    [04:54] — Stevie Wonder

• On receiving music as a spiritual gift:

  • “I just thought it was a blessing that I was given, right? And I thank God for that blessing.”
    [10:07] — Stevie Wonder

• On activism and speaking truth:

  • “When you’re in a place where you know something’s wrong, you got to speak on it.”
    [03:12, 20:38] — Stevie Wonder

• On God and Creation:

  • “I’ve never been with the dilemma of seeing God as a man or a woman or blah, blah, blah. I don’t even relate to that. I think God is a spirit.”
    [15:15] — Stevie Wonder

• On Social Change:

  • “If you don’t want that, make the difference. Make the change. Move the world forward as it is meant to be.”
    [22:02] — Stevie Wonder

• On his own sense of youth:

  • “I always tell people, I’m three times 25, okay. So I’m still young, love that I’m still a baby to this thing called life.”
    [15:59] — Stevie Wonder

• Disarming the Interviewer:

  • Annie (nervous): “You are soothing me right now.”
  • Stevie: “Well, relax yourself… Chill, chill.”
    [04:22–04:35]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:12]: “You know, when you’re in a place where you know something's wrong, you got to speak on it.”
• [04:17–04:35]: Harpeggi demonstration & Stevie soothes Annie’s nerves.
• [04:54–05:17]: Stevie on performing old songs and their enduring spirit.
• [05:22–06:16]: Discussion of his songwriting process and how melodies come first.
• [10:07]: On perceiving his talent as a blessing.
• [13:09]: Creation story behind “Boogie On Reggae Woman” and laidback creative style.
• [14:22–15:15]: On singing as a divine calling and God as spirit.
• [18:56]: Oscar, Mandela, and being banned in South Africa.
• [19:44–20:38]: His anti-apartheid activism and the importance of speaking out.
• [21:34]: Maintaining hope, faith in God, and belief in people waking up.
• [22:43–23:13]: Legacy, mentoring his children, and satisfaction with his path.

Episode Tone

The interview is characterized by warmth, storytelling, and humor on Stevie’s part and a respectful, occasionally playful curiosity from Annie. Stevie’s openness to joking, even when recalling challenges, creates an engaging and deeply human portrait.

Summary

This episode of "The Interview" provides an intimate, wide-ranging, and uplifting conversation with Stevie Wonder. His reflections on music, family, social activism, spirituality, and legacy offer listeners not just a window into his life, but also timeless wisdom on artistry, purpose, and hope. Anyone—fan or newcomer—will come away moved, amused, and inspired.