August 6, 1973. That’s the date everything almost ended for Stevie Wonder.
He was 23. A literal genius at the absolute peak of his "classic period." His masterpiece album Innervisions had been on shelves for exactly three days. Life was moving fast. Too fast, as it turned out.
While most of the world was busy falling in love with "Higher Ground," Stevie was fighting for his life in a hospital bed in Winston-Salem. The Stevie Wonder auto accident wasn't just a celebrity fender bender; it was a violent, freakish collision that left him in a coma and changed his music forever.
If you've ever wondered why his later work feels so spiritual, or why he has that distinct scar on his forehead, this is the story.
The Crash: A Log, a Rental, and a Flatbed Truck
Stevie wasn't driving. That’s the first thing people usually ask, sometimes with a bit of a mean-spirited joke attached.
His cousin, John Wesley Harris, was behind the wheel of a rented 1973 Mercury Cruiser. They were cruising down Interstate 85, heading from Greenville, South Carolina, toward Durham for a benefit concert. Stevie was in the front passenger seat, likely zoned out. He had his headphones on. He was listening to the tapes of Innervisions, probably critiquing his own genius.
Then, chaos.
They were trailing a flatbed truck—some reports say a logging truck, others say a farm vehicle. The truck driver slammed on his brakes. Harris couldn't stop in time. The Mercury smashed right into the back of the truck.
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It was a nightmare scenario. Because the truck bed was high and the car was low, the impact wasn't bumper-to-bumper. Instead, the bed of the truck (or a loose log, depending on which witness you believe) smashed directly through the windshield. It hit Stevie right in the forehead.
Four Days of Silence
He was out cold. Bloody, bruised, and completely unresponsive.
When the rest of his band arrived on the scene in another car, they found a wreck. Stevie was rushed to Rowan Memorial Hospital. The diagnosis was grim: a severe brain contusion. Basically, his brain was badly bruised.
He fell into a deep coma.
For four days, the music world held its breath. This wasn't like today where you'd get hourly Twitter updates. It was a terrifying information vacuum. His inner circle, including his tour manager and close friend Ira Tucker Jr., stayed by his bedside, terrified that the man who had just redefined soul music was never coming back.
The "Higher Ground" Miracle
Honestly, the way he woke up sounds like something out of a movie, but Tucker has sworn by this story for decades.
Tucker knew that music was Stevie's primary language. On the fourth day, he leaned over the bed and started screaming the lyrics to "Higher Ground" right into Stevie’s ear.
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“I’m so glad that I know more than I knew then...”
At first, nothing. Then, slowly, Stevie’s fingers started tapping. They were moving in time with the rhythm. He wasn't fully awake yet, but the music had reached him where medicine couldn't.
The Aftermath: Losing Two More Senses
Stevie was already blind, of course. But the Stevie Wonder auto accident almost took everything else.
When he finally came around, he realized something was wrong. He couldn't smell anything. He couldn't taste anything. For a man who experienced the world through his remaining senses, this was a devastating blow.
Imagine being one of the greatest artists on earth and suddenly the world goes "flat." No smell of coffee. No taste of a home-cooked meal. He was terrified he’d lost his musical ability, too.
To test it, his team brought a clavinet (the keyboard that gives "Superstition" its funk) into the hospital room. He hesitated. He was scared he wouldn't know how to play anymore. But as soon as his fingers touched the keys, the magic was still there.
The taste and smell eventually returned, mostly. But the psychological impact? That was permanent.
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How the Accident Changed His Music
Before the crash, Stevie was already deep into social commentary. But after? He became a philosopher.
He started seeing the accident as a "second chance" from God. He felt he had been spared for a reason. You can hear it in his next album, Fulfillingness' First Finale. It’s more introspective, a bit darker in places, and deeply spiritual.
- Heightened Urgency: He stopped "waiting" to release music. He felt he was on borrowed time.
- Spiritual Themes: Songs like "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" weren't just gospel tropes; they were coming from a man who had seen the "light" at the end of the tunnel.
- The Scar: He never tried to hide the scar on his forehead. It became a badge of survival.
Takeaways from a Near-Tragedy
The Stevie Wonder auto accident is a reminder of how fragile talent really is. If that truck had stopped an inch further back, or if the car had been a different model, the history of 20th-century music would look completely different.
If you're looking for lessons from this era of Stevie's life:
- Trust the Process: Stevie wrote "Higher Ground" before the accident, yet the lyrics predicted his own struggle for survival. Sometimes your work knows more than you do.
- Resilience Over Limitations: He didn't just recover; he won the Grammy for Album of the Year three times in four years after the crash.
- The Power of Connection: It was a friend’s voice and a familiar melody that pulled him back. Surround yourself with people who know your "song."
Stevie is still with us today, and every time he takes the stage, that 1973 wreck is part of the performance. It’s the moment "Little Stevie" truly became the elder statesman of soul.
To understand Stevie's 1970s discography, start by listening to Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale back-to-back. You can literally hear the transition from a young man confident in his powers to a survivor who understands the weight of his gift. Pay close attention to the percussion in "Contusion"—a track named specifically after the injury that almost took him out.