Lula Mae Hardaway (January 11, 1930 – May 31, 2006) was an American songwriter and the mother of
soul musician
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
. She spent her early adult life in
Saginaw,
Michigan, but from 1975 until her death in 2006, lived in Los Angeles, California.
Life
Hardaway co-wrote many of her son's songs during his teenage years, including the hit singles "
I Was Made to Love Her
"I Was Made to Love Her" is a soul music song recorded by American musician Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label in 1967. The song was written by Wonder, his mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, and producer Henry Cosby and included on Wond ...
", "
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours", "You Met Your Match" and "
I Don't Know Why I Love You", co-writing four songs on the 1968 album ''
For Once in My Life''.
For co-writing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered", she was co-nominated for the 1970
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
In 1974, Hardaway was with her then 23-year-old son at the
Hollywood Palladium when he received his
first Grammy, one of several he received that night.
Legacy
Hardaway was the subject of a 2002
authorized biography entitled ''Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder's Mother'' () by Dennis Love and Stacy Brown.
When she died in 2006, she had 20 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A service for her was held at
West Angeles Church of God in Christ
West Angeles Church of God in Christ is a Pentecostal megachurch and a member of the Church of God in Christ denomination. Its main place of worship, the West Angeles Cathedral, is located in the West Adams Historic District of Los Angeles, Califo ...
. There were remarks by Motown founder
Berry Gordy and songs by gospel singer
Yolanda Adams and others.
She is interred at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park in
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...
.
WRNB
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References
External links
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1930 births
2006 deaths
Songwriters from Alabama
People from Eufaula, Alabama
Musicians from Saginaw, Michigan
American women songwriters
Songwriters from Michigan
20th-century American musicians
Stevie Wonder
20th-century American women musicians
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
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