Post by ClassicSoul on May 28, 2006 23:33:48 GMT -5
Walk honors Michigan's own
Daniels, Wonder among inductees
May 28, 2006
BY KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LANSING -- Motown legend Stevie Wonder wowed a crowd this week, singing several of his trademark songs as he was honored along with other Michigan notables in the first group inducted into the Michigan Walk of Fame.
Bronze plaques honoring the inductees' accomplishments will be placed in downtown Lansing sidewalks this summer, much like Hollywood's famous sidewalk stars honoring entertainers. Each 18-by-30-inch plaque will feature a star containing the inductee's name and a description of each one's accomplishments.
"To be honored by the part of the world that you come from, the state you grew up in ... it's pretty amazing," Wonder told those gathered at the Michigan Historical Center for the ceremony. "It's a blessing, and I'm very thankful and very honored."
Inductees Helen Thomas, the journalist whose White House coverage spanned more than half a century, and actor Jeff Daniels, who said his career proves that success isn't limited to those from the East or West coast, spoke at a news conference.
"People from the Midwest who don't graduate from Central Michigan University, like me, can make it," he said. "It all depends on how good you are and how hard you work."
Thomas spoke about the great education she got at Detroit's public schools and Wayne State University before she embarked on a career covering every president since John F. Kennedy.
Wonder, a Saginaw native who grew up in Detroit, talked about how he first started composing "My Cherie Amour" while he was at the School for the Blind in Lansing, then began singing the song as the audience applauded.
He relished reminiscing about his Michigan roots. He talked about a time he got in trouble with his mother for tracking dog manure into the house, and another when he paid some friends a dime to guide him to where he could hear people jamming on a street several blocks away, even though his mother had forbidden him to cross the street.
The people he met on that corner eventually led him to the musicians who helped him at Motown Records, he said.
The other living inductees -- former President Ford and baseball broadcaster Ernie Harwell -- couldn't make the ceremony, although others attended on their behalf.
The Michigan Walk of Fame is a joint project of the Michigan Historical Museum, the Lansing Principal Shopping District and the city or Lansing, with funding from individual and corporate sponsorships.
LINK
Daniels, Wonder among inductees
May 28, 2006
BY KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LANSING -- Motown legend Stevie Wonder wowed a crowd this week, singing several of his trademark songs as he was honored along with other Michigan notables in the first group inducted into the Michigan Walk of Fame.
Bronze plaques honoring the inductees' accomplishments will be placed in downtown Lansing sidewalks this summer, much like Hollywood's famous sidewalk stars honoring entertainers. Each 18-by-30-inch plaque will feature a star containing the inductee's name and a description of each one's accomplishments.
"To be honored by the part of the world that you come from, the state you grew up in ... it's pretty amazing," Wonder told those gathered at the Michigan Historical Center for the ceremony. "It's a blessing, and I'm very thankful and very honored."
Inductees Helen Thomas, the journalist whose White House coverage spanned more than half a century, and actor Jeff Daniels, who said his career proves that success isn't limited to those from the East or West coast, spoke at a news conference.
"People from the Midwest who don't graduate from Central Michigan University, like me, can make it," he said. "It all depends on how good you are and how hard you work."
Thomas spoke about the great education she got at Detroit's public schools and Wayne State University before she embarked on a career covering every president since John F. Kennedy.
Wonder, a Saginaw native who grew up in Detroit, talked about how he first started composing "My Cherie Amour" while he was at the School for the Blind in Lansing, then began singing the song as the audience applauded.
He relished reminiscing about his Michigan roots. He talked about a time he got in trouble with his mother for tracking dog manure into the house, and another when he paid some friends a dime to guide him to where he could hear people jamming on a street several blocks away, even though his mother had forbidden him to cross the street.
The people he met on that corner eventually led him to the musicians who helped him at Motown Records, he said.
The other living inductees -- former President Ford and baseball broadcaster Ernie Harwell -- couldn't make the ceremony, although others attended on their behalf.
The Michigan Walk of Fame is a joint project of the Michigan Historical Museum, the Lansing Principal Shopping District and the city or Lansing, with funding from individual and corporate sponsorships.
LINK
:holla: Congratulations yet again Mr Wonder!!! 
).
