Wonder Honoured In France

The Superstition hitmaker was named a Commander of the Arts and Letters in 1981, but he has never officially been allocated the prize due to "scheduling conflicts".

The title was formally bestowed on Wonder at a ceremony in Paris on Saturday (06Mar10).

After he was handed the award by French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, Wonder dedicated the prize to his late mother, saying, "I receive this honour in memory of my mother and in memory of all of those that have made it possible for me to stand here today."

Mitterrand told the singer, "As citizen, administrator and culture minister I just called to say we love you."

Previous winners of the award include Roger Moore, Dennis Hopper and Patti Smith.