Overcome by emotion, music legend Stevie Wonder found himself struggling to contain tears as memories of his late mother overcame him while performing a rare Canadian concert in Toronto Monday.
The pop and soul legend's voice suddenly fell silent and his face was struck with sadness as he played the keyboard introduction to Send One Your Love and made several failed attempts to sing.
The 57-year-old regained himself after a few moments, later telling the audience that just as he was about to sing the 1979 soul single he had been thinking about the times he would give his mother flowers.
The song begins with the line, "Send her your love with a dozen roses."
Wonder's open display of emotion followed more than an hour of signature hits by the celebrated artist, who kicked off the show at the Air Canada Centre by thanking fans for helping him get through a year of grief.
Wonder said the death of his mother Lula Mae Hardaway last year initially kept him from wanting to perform.
But then he heard her spirit tell him to get back on the road and so he launched his first tour in more than a decade.
Wonder, blind since birth, said his mother allowed him to have the freedom of discovery.
"She always told me that blindness doesn't mean you're blind, so you do what you have to do," Wonder said to applause.
"So I thank her for that."
He then thanked the fans for supporting his music.
"You made it possible for me to give my mother a far better life than she would have had," he said.
Wonder, draped in a loose-fitting long-sleeved V-neck shirt and matching pants, kicked things off with Love's in Need of Love Today.
'I love you back'
"I love you back!" he yelled out to fans as shouts of approval came throughout his set.
Alternating between a black Yamaha grand piano and a keyboard synthesizer, Wonder took the audience through more than two hours of signature hits spanning a five-decade career.
Songs included Too High; Living For The City; Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing; Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours; My Cherie Amour; Sir Duke and Superstition.
Wonder infused the song Visions with political overtones, declaring, "War is not the answer, peace is the key."
"We can put our voices together, right now, right here — everyone say this: Stop it! Stop it!" he shouted as the music crescendoed behind him.
"Stop the hate, stop the war."
Lightened the mood
Later, Wonder lightened the mood by pulling the audience into a sing-along of Ribbon In The Sky, egging them on by praising the spunk of his Montreal audience last month.
Wonder was met with a standing ovation as soon as he took the stage, accompanied by two backup singers who led him to a microphone stand and later to the piano and synthesizer.
Wonder's other tour stops had him take the stage with his daughter and backup singer Aisha Morris, but Wonder said Monday that Morris had come down with a chest infection and was unable to perform.
He was supported by two other backup singers and an eight-piece band, including three percussionists, two keyboardists, two guitarists and a bassist.
Wonder next performs in Connecticut and wraps up the tour this weekend in New York at Madison Square Garden.
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