Stevie Wonder to tour for first time 20 years

Stevie Wonder smiles as he is interviewed at the ''Songs of Hope IV'' benefit evening at the Esquire House 360 in Beverly Hills, November 1, 2006. Wonder will launch his first U.S. tour in more than 20 years on August 23 in San Diego, the Motown icon said on Thursday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Grammy-winning pop star Stevie Wonder will launch his first U.S. tour in more than 20 years on August 23 in San Diego, the Motown icon said on Thursday.

He announced the details during a hastily convened news conference at a public park in the business district of Century City. To the delight of hundreds of office workers on their lunch break, he played several songs, including "Higher Ground" and "My Cherie Amour."

The "Wonder Summer's Night" tour of 13 cities will end in Boston on September 20, but Wonder said more dates may be added.

Wonder last toured in 1986, according to trade publication Pollstar, although he has performed plenty of one-off dates since then.

The singer/songwriter is slowly emerging from a lengthy period of relative inactivity.

In 2005, he released his first album in 10 years, "A Time to Love." It debuted at No. 5 on the U.S. pop charts and has sold 469,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

He helped promote the album by appearing on an episode of the smash hit television talent contest "American Idol."