Born in a sharecropper's shack in Alabama, Lula was the child of an unmarried teenage mother and absent father, according to her book. Her teenage mother left her in the care of a sharecropping aunt and uncle who raised Hardaway as their own. Their deaths threw her world into turmoil and landed her in the hands of a string of relatives. As a teenager, she was sent to Chicago where she married a much older man who abused her and forced her to work as a prostitute. Determined to build a better life for her children, she eventually made her escape to Detroit.
She lived with several relatives before giving birth to three sons by the age of 20. She eventually found work in a factory as many women did after World War II, but was limited by a lack of education and training.
Lula Mae Hardaway is the mother of legendary artist Stevie Wonder. Wonder, whose real name is Stevland Hardaway Judkins Morris, collaborated on several songs with his mother, including his classic hit, Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Hardaway was also the subject of a book entitled, Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway. Although her youngest son, Steveland, was virtually blind from birth, Lula noticed his incredible musical genius. Soon, Motown's Berry Gordy entered the picture with a record contract, and Lula's days of poverty and struggle began to fade into the distance.
When Innervisions won a Grammy award for Album of the Year in 1973, Wonder refused to accept the award unless Lula walked with him to the podium where he proclaimed, "her strength has led us to this place."
P. David Eastburn thanks for sponsoring Lula Hardaway's memorial.
She lived with several relatives before giving birth to three sons by the age of 20. She eventually found work in a factory as many women did after World War II, but was limited by a lack of education and training.
Lula Mae Hardaway is the mother of legendary artist Stevie Wonder. Wonder, whose real name is Stevland Hardaway Judkins Morris, collaborated on several songs with his mother, including his classic hit, Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Hardaway was also the subject of a book entitled, Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway. Although her youngest son, Steveland, was virtually blind from birth, Lula noticed his incredible musical genius. Soon, Motown's Berry Gordy entered the picture with a record contract, and Lula's days of poverty and struggle began to fade into the distance.
When Innervisions won a Grammy award for Album of the Year in 1973, Wonder refused to accept the award unless Lula walked with him to the podium where he proclaimed, "her strength has led us to this place."
P. David Eastburn thanks for sponsoring Lula Hardaway's memorial.
Born in a sharecropper's shack in Alabama, Lula was the child of an unmarried teenage mother and absent father, according to her book. Her teenage mother left her in the care of a sharecropping aunt and uncle who raised Hardaway as their own. Their deaths threw her world into turmoil and landed her in the hands of a string of relatives. As a teenager, she was sent to Chicago where she married a much older man who abused her and forced her to work as a prostitute. Determined to build a better life for her children, she eventually made her escape to Detroit.
She lived with several relatives before giving birth to three sons by the age of 20. She eventually found work in a factory as many women did after World War II, but was limited by a lack of education and training.
Lula Mae Hardaway is the mother of legendary artist Stevie Wonder. Wonder, whose real name is Stevland Hardaway Judkins Morris, collaborated on several songs with his mother, including his classic hit, Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Hardaway was also the subject of a book entitled, Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway. Although her youngest son, Steveland, was virtually blind from birth, Lula noticed his incredible musical genius. Soon, Motown's Berry Gordy entered the picture with a record contract, and Lula's days of poverty and struggle began to fade into the distance.
When Innervisions won a Grammy award for Album of the Year in 1973, Wonder refused to accept the award unless Lula walked with him to the podium where he proclaimed, "her strength has led us to this place."
P. David Eastburn thanks for sponsoring Lula Hardaway's memorial.
She lived with several relatives before giving birth to three sons by the age of 20. She eventually found work in a factory as many women did after World War II, but was limited by a lack of education and training.
Lula Mae Hardaway is the mother of legendary artist Stevie Wonder. Wonder, whose real name is Stevland Hardaway Judkins Morris, collaborated on several songs with his mother, including his classic hit, Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Hardaway was also the subject of a book entitled, Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway. Although her youngest son, Steveland, was virtually blind from birth, Lula noticed his incredible musical genius. Soon, Motown's Berry Gordy entered the picture with a record contract, and Lula's days of poverty and struggle began to fade into the distance.
When Innervisions won a Grammy award for Album of the Year in 1973, Wonder refused to accept the award unless Lula walked with him to the podium where he proclaimed, "her strength has led us to this place."
P. David Eastburn thanks for sponsoring Lula Hardaway's memorial.
