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Songs in the Key of Life by ReleasedSeptember 28, 1976Recorded1974–76: Crystal Sound, Hollywood; ; ;, , , , Length85:21Stevie Wonder chronology
(1974)Songs in the Key of Life
(1976)
(1977) from Songs in the Key of Life ""
Released: December 1976 ""
Released: March 1977 ""
Released: August 1977 ""
Released: October 1977

Songs in the Key of Life is the eighteenth album by American recording artist , released on September 28, 1976, by . It was the culmination of his "classic period" albums. The album was recorded primarily at Crystal Sound studio in , with some sessions recorded at the  in Hollywood, the  in , and  in . Final mixing was performed at Crystal Sound.

An ambitious  with a four-song bonus , Songs in the Key of Life became among the best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums of Wonder's career. In 2005, it was ranked number 57 on  magazine's list of . In the same year it was preserved into the  by the , which called it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Background

By 1976, Stevie Wonder had become one of the most popular figures in R&B and pop music, not only in the U.S., but worldwide. Within a short space of time, the albums ,  and  were all back-to-back top five successes, with the latter two winning , in 1974 and 1975, respectively. By the end of 1975, Wonder became serious about quitting the music industry and emigrating to  to work with handicapped children. He had expressed his anger with the way that the U.S. government was running the country. A farewell concert was being considered as the best way to bring down the curtain on his career. Wonder changed his decision, when he signed a new contract with Motown on August 5, 1975, thinking he was better off making the most of his career. At the time, rivals such as  and  were also interested in him. The contract was laid out as a seven-year, seven LP, $37 million deal and gave him full artistic control, making this the largest deal made with a recording star up to that point. Almost at the beginning Wonder took a year off from the music market, with a project for a double album to be released in 1976.

There was huge anticipation for the new album which was initially scheduled for release around October 1975. It was delayed on short notice when Wonder felt that further remixing was essential. According to Wonder, the marketing campaign at Motown decided to take advantage of the delay by producing "We're almost finished" T-shirts. Work on the new album continued into early 1976. A name was finally chosen for the album: Songs in the Key of Life. The title would represent the formula of a complex "key of life" and the proposals for indefinite success. The album was released on September 28, 1976 after a two-year wait as a double LP album with a four-track seven-inch EP titled A Something's Extra ("Saturn", "Ebony Eyes", "All Day Sucker" and "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)") and a 24-page lyric and credit booklet.

Recording Wonder used an  RE20 microphone (pictured) to record his voice for upbeat songs such as "". A variety of microphones were used for other songs.

The working title was Let's See Life the Way It Is. Wonder recorded the great majority of the album at Crystal Sounds in Hollywood, with Gary Olazabal as engineer, and studio owner John Fischbach as engineer. Some material was recorded at the Record Plant in Hollywood and the Record Plant in Sausalito. During a period when Crystal Sounds had a prior obligation to record another artist, Wonder and Fischbach traveled to the Hit Factory in New York City to work for about six weeks but only used one basic track. As a perfectionist, Wonder spent long hours in the studio for almost every track he recorded. He was "not eating or sleeping, while everyone around him struggled to keep up." According to himself, "If my flow is goin', I keep on until I peak."

A total of 130 people worked on the album, but Wonder's preeminence during the album was evident. Among the people present during the sessions, there were legendary figures of R&B, soul and jazz music –  played Fender Rhodes on "As",  played electric guitar on "Another Star", and  and  added backing vocals on "Ordinary Pain".  was a prominent personality throughout the album, playing guitar on several tracks and also co-writing "Saturn" with Wonder. Some of the most socially conscious songs of the album were actually written by Wonder with other people – these included "Village Ghetto Land" and "Black Man" (co-written with ) and "Have a Talk with God" (co-written by Calvin Hardaway).

Commercial performance

Highly anticipated, the album surpassed all commercial expectations. It debuted at number 1 on the  on October 8, 1976, becoming only the third album in history to achieve that feat and the first by an American artist (after British singer/composer 's albums  and , both in 1975). In , the album achieved the same feat, entering at number one on the  national albums chart on October 16. Songs in the Key of Life spent thirteen consecutive weeks at number one in the U.S., and 11 during 1976. It was the album with the most weeks at number one during the year. In those eleven weeks, Songs in the Key of Life managed to block four other albums from reaching the top – in order, ’s , 's , 's  for  and 's . On January 15, 1977, the album finally dropped to number two behind '  and the following week it fell to number four. On January 29 it returned to the top for a fourteenth and final week. The album then began its final fall. It spent a total of 35 weeks inside the top ten and 80 weeks on the Billboard albums chart. Songs in the Key of Life also saw longevity at number one on the Billboard chart, spending 20 non-consecutive weeks there.

In all, Songs in the Key of Life became the second best-selling album of 1977 in the U.S., only behind 's blockbuster , and was certified as a  by the , for sales of 10 million units in the U.S. alone (each individual record or disc included with an album counts towards RIAA certifications). It was the highest selling R&B/Soul album on the  chart that same year.

Songs in the Key of Life was also the most successful Wonder project in terms of singles. The lead-off, the upbeat "" was released in November 1976, over a month after the album was released. On January 15, 1977, it reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart, where it spent five weeks at the top. Seven days after, it also reached the summit of the , although it spent only one week at number one. The track became an international top 10 single, and also reached number five in the UK. "I Wish" became one of Wonder's standards and remained one of his most sampled songs. The follow-up, the jazzy "", surpassed the commercial success of "I Wish". It was released in March 1977 and also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (spending three weeks at the top starting on May 21) and the R&B chart (for one week, starting on May 28). It also reached number two in the UK, where it was kept off the top spot by the song "" by , who had provided backing vocals on the album.

As sales for the album began to decline during the second half of 1977, the two other singles from Songs in the Key of Life failed to achieve the commercial success of "I Wish" and "Sir Duke". "" was released in August and reached only number 32 on the Hot 100 (number 18 on the R&B chart, and number 29 in the UK) and "" came out two months later, peaking at number 36 on both the Pop and R&B charts. Though not released as a single, "" received wide airplay and became one of Wonder's most popular songs. It was soon released by  as a single in 1977 and became a top 10 hit in the UK.

Critical reception Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingA8/105/54.5/5

At the time of release, reporters and music critics, and everyone who had worked on the album, traveled to , a recording studio in  for a press preview of the album. Everybody received autographed copies of the album and Wonder gave interviews. Critical reception was positive. The album was viewed as a guided tour through a wide range of musical styles and the life and feelings of the artist. It included recollections of childhood, of first love and lost love. It contained songs about faith and love among all peoples and songs about social justice for the poor and downtrodden.

On February 19, 1977, Wonder was nominated for seven , including , an award that he had already won twice, in 1974 and 1975, for Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale. Since 1973, Stevie’s presence at the Grammy ceremonies had been consistent – he attended most of the ceremonies and also used to perform on stage. But in 1976, he did not attend as he was not nominated for any awards (as he had not released any new material during the past year). , who received the Grammy for Album of the Year in that occasion (for ) jokingly thanked Stevie “for not releasing an album” that year. A year after, Wonder was nominated for Songs in the Key of Life in that same category, and was widely favored by many critics to take the award. The other nominees were  by ,  by , Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs, and the other favorite, ’s , which was also a huge critical and commercial success. Wonder was again absent from the ceremony, as he had developed an interest in visiting . In February he traveled to  for two weeks, primarily to explore his musical heritage, as he put it. A satellite hook-up was arranged so that Stevie could be awarded his Grammys from across the sea.  announced the results during the ceremony, and the audience was only able to see Wonder at a phone smiling and giving thanks. The video signal was poor and the audio inaudible.  went on to make a public blunder when he asked the blind-since-birth Wonder, “Stevie, can you see us?” In all, Wonder won four out of seven nominations at the Grammys: , ,  and .

Legacy and influence

Over time, the album became a standard, and it is considered Wonder's signature album. "Of all the albums," he told Q magazine (April 1995 issue), "Songs in the Key of Life I'm most happy about. Just the time, being alive then. To be a father and then… letting go and letting God give me the energy and strength I needed." Songs in the Key of Life is often cited as one of the greatest albums in popular music history. It was voted as the best album of the year in 's annual  critics poll; in 2001 the   named it the seventh greatest album of all time; in 2003, the album was ranked number 56 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Many musicians have also remarked on the quality of the album and its influence on their own work. For example, Elton John said, in his notes for Wonder on the 2003 Rolling Stone's list of "The Immortals – The Greatest Artists of All Time" (in which Wonder was ranked number 15): "Let me put it this way: wherever I go in the world, I always take a copy of Songs in the Key of Life. For me, it's the best album ever made, and I'm always left in awe after I listen to it." In an interview with  magazine,  called Songs in the Key of Life his favorite Stevie Wonder album.  cited the album as his favorite of all time and with  covered "As" for a 1999 hit single. Michael performed "Love's in Need of Love Today" on his  tour in 1988, and released it as a B-side to "". He also performed "Village Ghetto Land" at the  in 1988. He later covered "Pastime Paradise" and "Knocks Me Off My Feet" in his 1991 .

R&B singers in particular have praised the album –  called it the best album ever recorded,  generally names the album as one of her favourites, and  also remarked on the influence of Songs in the Key of Life on her singing. (During the photoshoot for her , as seen on its respective , the album was played throughout the photo sessions, at Houston’s request.) The album’s tracks have provided numerous  for rap and hip-hop artists; for example, "Pastime Paradise", which itself drew on the first eight  and four  of J.S. Bach's ,[] was reworked by  as "". In 1995,  artist  recorded a cover album titled Najee Plays Songs from the Key of Life, which is based entirely on Wonder's album. In 1999,  used "I Wish" as the base for his US number-one single "". The song repeated the main melody of "I Wish" as a riff and some lyrics re-formed.

In April 2008, the album was voted the "Top Album of All Time" by the  Music Playlist Blog, using a formula that combined four parameters – "Album Staying Power Value + Sales Value + Critical Rating Value + Grammy Award Value".

In December 2013, Wonder did a live concert performance of the entire Songs in the Key of Life album at the  in Los Angeles. The event was his 18th annual House Full of Toys Benefit Concert, and featured some of the original singers and musicians from the 1976 double-album as well as several from the contemporary scene.

In November 2014, Wonder began performing the entire album in a  in the U.S. and Canada. The start of the tour coincided with the 38th anniversary of the release of Songs in the Key of Life.

Track listing Original vinyl release Side one "Love's in Need of Love Today" () – 7:06 Stevie Wonder – , ,  , ,   – kalimba "Have a Talk with God" (Calvin Hardaway, Wonder) – 2:42 Stevie Wonder - all instruments synthesizer "Village Ghetto Land" (Gary Byrd, Wonder) – 3:25 Stevie Wonder -   "Contusion" (Wonder) – 3:46  –  Raymond Pounds – drums  –  Ben Bridges –   – keyboard Stevie Wonder – all other instruments Michael Gray, Josie James, Shirley Brewer, Artece May –  "" (Wonder) – 3:52 Raymond Pounds – drums  – bass  – lead guitar Ben Bridges – rhythm guitar Hank Redd –  Raymond Maldonado –  Trevor Laurence –  Steve Madaio – trumpet Stevie Wonder – all other instruments Side two "" (Wonder) – 4:12 Stevie Wonder – vocals, Fender Rhodes,  synthesizer, vocoder, drums Nathan Watts – bass Hank Redd – alto saxophone Trevor Laurence – tenor saxophone Raymond Maldonado – trumpet Steve Madaio – trumpet Renee Hardaway - vocals ("you nasty boy!") "" (Wonder) – 3:36 Stevie Wonder – vocals, acoustic , Fender Rhodes, drums, synth bass "" (Wonder) – 3:27 Stevie Wonder – Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer, percussions Raymond Maldonado,  –  Hare Krishna, West Angeles Church Choir –  "Summer Soft" (Wonder) – 4:14 Ben Bridges – rhythm guitar Ronnie Foster –  Larry "Nastyee" Latimer – percussion Stevie Wonder – vocals, piano, bass synthesizer, drums "Ordinary Pain" (Wonder) – 6:16 Mike Sembello – lead guitar Hank Redd – alto saxophone Stevie Wonder – lead vocals, Fender Rhodes, bass synthesizer, drums , Mary Lee Whitney, ,  – background vocals Shirley Brewer – reply Linda Lawrence, Terri Hendricks, Sundray Tucker, Charity McCrary, Madelaine Jones – reply's background vocals Side three "" (Wonder) – 6:34  – keyboard Stevie Wonder – Fender Rhodes, , bass synthesizer, harmonica, drums "Joy Inside My Tears" (Wonder) – 6:30 Stevie Wonder – lead vocals, background vocals, piano, bass synthesizer, drums  – keyboard Susaye Green – background vocals "" (Byrd/Wonder) – 8:27 Stevie Wonder – Fender Rhodes, bass synthesizer, synthesizer, talk box, drums, percussion Hank Redd – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone Steve Madaio – trumpet George Bohanon –  Glen Ferris – trombone Side four "Ngiculela – Es Una Historia – I Am Singing" (Wonder) – 3:48 Charles Brewer, Shirley Brewer, Renee Hardaway, Nelson Hayes, Marietta Waters, Nathan Watts, John Fischbach, Amale Mathews, Josette Valentino – background percussion Stevie Wonder – vocals, Koto synthesizer, bass synthesizer, drums Zulu translation by Thoko Mdalose Hall, Spanish translation by Raymond Maldonado "If It's Magic" (Wonder) – 3:12  –  Stevie Wonder – vocal, harmonica "" (Wonder) – 7:08 Nathan Watts – bass,   – guitar  – Fender Rhodes, handclaps Greg Brown – drums Stevie Wonder – lead and background vocal, Fender Rhodes Mary Lee Whitney – background vocals Dave Hanson, Yolanda Simon, Josette Valentino – handclaps "" (Wonder) – 8:28 Bobbi Humphrey –   – guitar and background vocals Hank Redd – alto saxophone Raymond Maldonado – trumpet Trevor Laurence – tenor saxophone Steve Madaio – trumpet Nathan Alford, Jr. – percussion Carmello Hungria Garcia –  Stevie Wonder – lead vocal and background vocals, piano, drums Nathan Watts – bass Josie James – background vocals A Something's Extra

The A Something's Extra 7"  was included with the special-edition version of the original LP.

Side one "Saturn" (, Wonder) – 4:54 Mike Sembello – lead guitar Ben Bridges – rhythm guitar Gregory Phillinganes – keyboard Stevie Wonder – all other instruments "Ebony Eyes" (Wonder) – 4:11 Nathan Watts – bass  – saxophone  –  Stevie Wonder – lead vocals, tack piano, , drums Side two "All Day Sucker" (Wonder) – 5:06 Ben Bridges – rhythm guitar Mike Sembello – rhythm guitar W. G. "Snuffy" Walden – lead guitar Stevie Wonder – lead vocals, background vocals, bass synthesizer, Clavinet, drums Carolyn Denis – background vocals "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)" (Wonder) – 3:55 Nathan Watts – bass Stevie Wonder – Fender Rhodes, , drums