Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder throughout the years

Stevland Hardaway Judkins was born on May 13, 1950. He is better known as Stevie Wonder.

Wonder started recording professionally in the early 1960s, with his first hit, "Fingertips (Pt. 2)", reaching the top of the charts in 1963.

In 1966, he had a hit single with a cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind", an early sign of Wonder's use of his fame and music to spread the word of peace, love, and harmony. It also appeared on his Tamla/Motown LP, Uptight (Everything's Alright).

Dylan invited Wonder to perform at the Houston Astrodome for the second "Night Of The Hurricane", on January 25, 1976.

In the mid-1980s, Dylan and Wonder appeared together on a variety of television programs and videos.

On February 28, 1984, Wonder and Dylan were the first artists of the evening to present an award at that year's Grammy Awards.

The following January, Dylan and Wonder joined dozens of other artists and actors for USA For Africa's "We Are The World" charity single. Wonder coached Dylan with his vocal part. Here's a partial transcript from a 1985 20/20 television piece on Dylan:

Dylan was also one of the unmistakable voices on the "We Are The World" recording for African famine relief. Producer Quincy Jones wanted a sample of Dylan’s unique phrasing, and when there was some question as to exactly what Jones was after, Dylan fan Stevie Wonder sat at a piano to coach Dylan’s reading.

Stevie Wonder in interview clip: So I was basically saying to him, hey, I have a love and respect for you, and more so to just loosen the situation up. Which it did, ‘cos he did an incredible job.

ABC: How did you phrase the line for him?

Stevie Wonder: It’s almost like kind of the minister poet. It’s very unique.

(Followed by clip of Wonder singing at his keyboard and apparently imitating Dylan, in turn followed by clip of Dylan singing his phrase from the USA For Africa record.)

ABC v/o: Dylan supported the cause for African famine relief, but not without a kind of spiritual fatalism about it.

BD: People buying a song and the money going to starving people in Africa is, you know, a worthwhile idea, but I wasn’t so convinced about the message of the song, to tell you the truth. I don’t think people can save themselves, y’know.

Wonder and Dylan were joined by Peter, Paul and Mary at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center Opera House in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 1986, in honor of the first Martin Luther King Day. As separate acts, they each had a hit with "Blowin' In The Wind". Here, they sing it together.

At 1992's Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Celebration Concert (a.k.a. "Bob-Fest")., the original closing song was scheduled to be "Blowin' In The Wind". When Wonder was a late addition to the bill, he decided to sing the song he charted with in 1966. Thegroup finale was changed to "Knockin' On Heaven's Door".

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