7 Bruce Springsteen 7

Springsteen had done on his first two albums, with a
greater emphasis on harmony, especially vocal harmonies
characteristic of the later work of the Beach Boys. In the
lyrics, Springsteen’s knack for particular detail served
him well.
On Feb. 1, 2009, Springsteen and the band were the
featured entertainment at halftime of Super Bowl XLIII;
with an average viewership of 98.7 million, the game was the
most-watched televised sports event in American history.
Many fans and much of the press criticized Springsteen
for commercializing himself this way. But in the aftermath,
it was generally agreed that he had managed to condense
the structure, message, humour, and athleticism of his live
show into the 12 minutes allotted. On the largest popular
culture platform available, Springsteen established that
some rock artists remained determined to sustain their
vitality and creative ambitions all the way to the end.

Stevie Wonder

(b. May 13, 1950, Saginaw, Mich., U.S.)

A

merican singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist,
Stevie Wonder was a child prodigy who developed
into one of the most creative musical figures of the late
20th century.
Blind from birth and raised in inner-city Detroit, he
was a skilled musician by age eight. Renamed Little Stevie
Wonder by Berry Gordy, Jr., the president of Motown
Records—to whom he was introduced by Ronnie White,
a member of the Miracles—Wonder made his recording
debut at age 12. The soulful quality of his high-pitched sing-
ing and the frantic harmonica playing that characterized
his early recordings were evident in his first hit single,
“Fingertips (Part 2),” recorded during a show at Chicago’s