Stevie Wonder lost his sight shortly after he was born six weeks premature. He reportedly had a condition called retinopathy of prematurity, which causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina. And it can happen to babies who are born prematurely.
But according to the singer’s longtime friend Lionel Richie, Wonder actually can see.
“I’m going to tell you something: I’ve been spending my whole life with him thinking he can see,” said Richie when he stopped by “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on Wednesday. “Listen, the story I tell is the funniest. I went to his house. He says, ‘Want to hear a new song? I’ve got it in the car. Come on, go with me.’”
“We go out to the car. ‘You sit on the passenger side, I’ll sit on the driver’s side,'” Richie said Wonder told him. “He cranks the car up, he puts the tape in … then starts driving back down the driveway.”
Richie said the sudden move made him scream, but Wonder was just fooling around with him. “Got you, didn’t I?” the “As” singer told him.
After the “American Idol” judge relayed the funny story, he talked about Wonder’s musicianship and said he has to be mindful of what he says around him because he’ll use it in a song.
On an entirely different note, it’s been recently announced that Richie launched his first his-and-hers fragrance collection called “Hello by Lionel Richie.” It’s named after his 1984 single of the same name, which is on his sophomore solo release “Can’t Slow Down.”
“There are many similarities between songwriting and fragrance creation,” said Richie in a press release. “The notes have to work together to tell a story. The creation of my fragrance collection is inspired by my love songs and the stories they tell, and I’m excited to share this passion project with everyone around the world.”
