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| Wonder, singing "Blinded By The Light" at last years' Alien Abductions Anonymous |
"It was really cool!" said event organizer Barbara Gershand, who claimed Wonder performed a roughly thirty-minute set, which included several of his greatest hits, as well as a few covers. Most notable, however, was a cover he did of The Police's "Every Breath You Take (I'll Be Watching You)". While many of his original songs garnered applause, The Police cover seemed to strike an entirely different chord with the audience.
"I was blown away," said 20-year-old Kara Smith, who has suffered from Swimmer's Ear every summer for the past sixteen years. "It was so good that it felt like...it almost felt like he was actually watching me," she said. "Almost."
"You just don't see performances like that on a daily basis," said another attendee. "Here's a guy who is blind, who's singing about watching you, and you believe it! You know how hard that is to make people believe a performance like that? Hard! But he did it; he made me believe. He made the whole room believe. It was amazing."
So believable was Wonder's performance, that some audience members are now skeptical of his blindness.
"I think it's all a sham," said Wilson Pickett, who was nursing a double ear infection after swimming in an unchlorinated pool on the Fourth of July. "The guy can obviously see. There's no way he would have delivered such a believable performance if he was actually blind. He'd have no idea what it meant to watch somebody. Had he changed the lyrics to, 'I'll be hearing you', I might have believed him. But not now, no."
Pickett added that he and several individuals had thrown some grapes "and other stuff on the fruit tray" at Wonder, to see if he'd dodge them. But he didn't. "I hit him square in the nose with a piece of cantaloupe!" said Pickett. "And the guy didn't even flinch. He just stood there like a Sphinx. Like 'Washington Crossing the Delaware'! He may not be blind, but I'll tell you what, he's good."
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| "I was about to throw a piece of chicken at him...but I got hungry and ate it instead," commented Pickett |
(For the record, Stevie Wonder was born blind, as a result of retinopathy of prematurity [ROP], an eye condition that affects prematurely born infants.)
When asked why he chose to perform the song, even though there was no reality in him watching anybody, Wonder gladly explained.
"I've always loved that song. Always. I think I love it more than most people because I have no chance of watching anybody. So, I dream of watching somebody, and it's that longing, that desire to watch somebody, that makes the performance so raw, so emotional, and therefore, so believable."
For one benefit-goer, it was this reality of not being able to watch anybody that made the cover even better than the original.
"I mean, Sting's version was great, don't get me wrong. But it was always such a creepy idea. 'Every breath you take, I'll be watching you'? Come on, that's creepy. But when a blind guy sings it, I don't know, it kind of removes the creepiness from it. It's kinda cute actually."
"I'd buy that single on iTunes," she added.
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| "When you drop the soap When your boobies float ...I'll be watching you." |
Sting, and the other members of The Police, declined to comment on the performance.
It is not clear whether Wonder will record the song and release it as a single, seeing as he hasn't released any new music in over fifteen years. But he is considering it.
"Hmmm, I guess we'll see," he said, contemplating the idea. "Well...I won't see!" he added, chuckling. "No, I definitely won't see. Never have, never will. I'm as blind as they come. Trust me."
