Stevie Wonder to Perform Tribute to Dick Clark at 40th Anniversary American Music Awards

Dick Clark productions (dcp) has announced that music icon and eleven-time American Music Award-winner Stevie Wonder will perform a tribute to the legendary Dick Clark on "The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards®." The performance will be introduced by Ryan Seacrest. Stevie Wonder joins previously announced performers including Christina Aguilera, Justin Bieber, Kelly Clarkson, Carly Rae Jepsen, Carrie Underwood, Ke$ha, Linkin Park, Nicki Minaj, No Doubt, P!nk, Pitbull, Psy, Taylor Swift, Usher, The Wanted and Swizz Beatz featuring Chris Brown and Ludacris on this year's show, which will be broadcast live from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT) on ABC.

Dick Clark, who passed away earlier this year, created the "American Music Awards" in 1973 to give the music-loving public an opportunity to recognize their favorite artists and records of the year. Clark had long been an ambassador for rock 'n' roll, helping to make this new youth-oriented music acceptable to adults in the '50s, with his clean-cut looks and high standards for teen-aged behavior on his daily "American Bandstand" show. After its inception, he grew the "American Music Awards" through decades of diverse music to become one of the industry's biggest events.

AMA producer Larry Klein stated, "Without a Dick Clark, our entire current musical repertoire might be classical in nature. Not that there's anything wrong with classical music, but Clark helped Beethoven roll over and tell Tchaikovsky the news. Sunday's tribute to Dick Clark performed by the iconic Stevie Wonder is going to be talked about for years to come."

"I am honored to be a part of the AMAs tribute to Dick Clark. He was a mentor, friend and a wonderful advocate for popular music, helping make it one of the cornerstones of American culture. We miss him dearly," said Ryan Seacrest. "He gave hundreds of stars their national TV debut. So, it's only fitting that one of music's legends, Stevie Wonder, will play at Sunday's tribute. It will be a great show."

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