Songs in the Keys of Life (1976)
RELEASE DATE
28 SEPTEMBER 1976
LABEL
TAMLA (MOTOWN)
BILLBOARD 200
#1
UK ALBUMS CHART
#2
CANADIAN RPM ALBUMS CHART
#1
JAPANESE ORICON ALBUMS CHART
#40
PLAYLIST
| SIDE ONE | SIDE THREE | ||||
| 1 | LOVE’S IN NEED OF LOVE TODAY | 11 | ISN’T SHE LOVELY | ||
| 2 | HAVE A TALK WITH GOD | 12 | JOY INSIDE MY TEARS | ||
| 3 | VILLAGE GHETTO LAND | 13 | BLACKMAN | ||
| 4 | CONTUSION | SIDE FOUR | |||
| 5 | SIR DUKE | 14 | NGICULELA – ES UNA HISTORIA – I AM SINGING | ||
| SIDE TWO | 15 | IF IT’S MAGIC | |||
| 6 | I WISH | 16 | AS | ||
| 7 | KNOCKS ME OFF MY FEET | 17 | ANOTHER STAR | ||
| 8 | PASTIME PARADISE | ||||
| 9 | SUMMER SOFT | ||||
| 10 | ORDINARY PAIN |
A SOMETHING'S EXTRA
| SIDE ONE | SIDE TWO | ||||
| 1 | SATURN | 3 | ALL DAY SUCKER | ||
| 2 | EBONY EYES | 4 | EASY GOIN’ EVENING (MY MAMA’S CALL) |
LEAD VOCALS
PRODUCER
STEVIE WONDER
BACKUP VOCALS
SHIRLEY BREWER, MICHAEL GRAY, SUSAY GREENE, RENEE HARDAWAY, TERRY HENDRICKS, JOSIE JAMES, MADELAINE JONES, LYNDA LAURENCE, ARTECE MAY, CHARITY McCRARY, LINDA McCRARY, MINNIE RIPERTON, SUNDRAY TUCKER, WEST LOS ANGELES CHURCH OF GOD CHOIR, DENIECE WILLIAMS, MARY LEE WHITNEY, SYREETA
DRUMS
STEVIE WONDER, GREG BROWN & RAYMOND POUNDS
HANDCLAPS
BRENDA BARRETT, SHIRLEY BREWER, COLLENE CARLETON, CAROLE COLE, NELSON HAYES, HERBIE HANCOCK, DAVE HENSON, ARTECE MAY, EDNA ORSO, YOLANDA SIMMONS, TUCKER, JOSETTE VALENTINO & NATHAN WATTS
HARMONICA
STEVIE WONDER
KEYBOARDS
STEVIE WONDER, HERBIE HANCOCK & GREG PHILLINGANES
PERCUSSION
STEVIE WONDER, NATHAN ALFORD JR. CHARLES BREWER, SHIRLEY BREWER, JOHN FISCHBACH, BOBBYE HALL, NELSON HAYES, NASTEE LATIMER, RAYMOND MALDONADO, AMALE MATHEWS, JOSSETTE VALENTINO, MARIETTA WATERS & NATHAN WATTS
SINGLES
“I WISH”
“ISN’T SHE LOVELY”
“SIR DUKE”
“ANOTHER STAR”
“AS”
TRIVIA
- Songs in the Keys of Life is the only double-studio album in Stevie’s discography. Later on, he dropped Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants” (1979) and Natural Wonder (1995), both of which are also double albums, though the first is a soundtrack and the latter a live project.
- Stevie Wonder was 26 years old when Songs in the Keys of Life came out. However, this project already marked his 18th studio album. Besides being a prolific musician, that reality was also due to the fact that he released his first studio album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie (1962), at the age of 12.
- Stevie Wonder’s 18th studio album was originally slated to come out during the Fall of 1975. Prior to that, the only year in which he did not release at least one album, since he began in 1962, was 1965.
- This album was recorded for the most part in California, at the Record Plant studios in Sausalito and Hollywood though mainly at Crystal Sound, which is also in Hollywood. Crystal Sound is also where the album was mixed. Some recording also took place in the Hit Factory, which is found in New York City.
Crystal Sound Studios, where Songs in the Keys of Life was recorded
- The year prior to the release of this album, Stevie was intent on retiring from the music industry and expatriating to Ghana. However, amidst a bidding war for his services, he ultimately decided to remain stateside and re-sign with Motown Records. He did so in late 1975 for a duration of seven years at $37,000,000 (thirty-seven million dollars). According to Wikipedia, as of 2023 that would be the equivalent of roughly $210,000,000. And back then, it represented the largest recording contarct signed by a musician.
- Songs in the Keys of Life is considered to be Wonder’s signature work. However, as illustrated above, a considerable number of people assisted him on this project – 130 overall, according to Wikipedia.
- Stevie held a release party for this album in Massachusetts, at a studio called Long View Farm.
An image of the A Something’s Extra bonus EP
to the original LP version of Songs in the Keys of Life
- In all, there are 21 songs on this album. The main playlist consists of 17 tracks, beginning with Love’s in Need of Love Today and concluding with Another Star. But the original, LP form of the album came complete with a four-track EP bonus. The EP itself is titled “A Something’s Extra” for “Songs in the Keys of Life”. And that addition begins with Saturn and ends with Easy Goin’ Evening (My Mama’s Call).
- In all, there are two instrumentals on the album – Contusion and Easy Goin’ Evening (My Mama’s Call).
The Recording Academy (i.e. the organization behind the Grammy Awards),
backed by a plethora of musical A-listers, paid tribute to Songs in the Keys of Life
(and Stevie Wonder) in 2015.
Among the awards and accolades this album recevied are:
- …winning two direct Grammys in 1977. Those were in the category of Album of the Year and Best Vocal Performance, Male.
- I Wish, the lead single from the album, also won a Grammy in 1977, taking home the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male trophy.
- Other songs from this project that were nominated for Grammys that year were Contusion (Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Instrumental Composition) and Have a Talk with God (Best Inspirational Performance).
- Stevie himself was also named Producer of the Year at 19th Annual Grammy Awards in 1977. Overall, he was the winningnest musician at the ceremony (as well as receiving the most nominations). However, he did not personally attend, as he was visiting Nigeria at the time. Wonder did participate live via satellite. But given the technology of the time, said appearance was wrought with technical issues.
- Songs in the Keys of Life debuted atop of the Billboard 200. At the time, only two albums had done so beforehand. Those were Elton John‘s 1975 studio albums, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirty Cowboy and subsequently Rock of the Westies.
- Songs in the Keys of Life managed to stay on top of the Billboard 200 for 13 consecutive weeks, beginning in early-October, 1976. It eventually slid down to number 2 in mid-January 1977, being knocked out of the top spot via the success of Hotel California by the Eagles. However, later in the month it did spend one final week at the summit of the Billboard 200.
- The only 1977 album to sell more copies was Rumors by Fleetwood Mac. Songs in the Keys of Life would eventually achieve RIAA platinum certification, as of 2005. Normally, that achievement would indicate that an album has sold 10 million copies (stateside). In actuality, Songs in the Keys of Life had sold 5 million units in the United States up until that point. But since it is a double album, each sale was counted as two.
- In 2003, Rolling Stone placed this project fourth on its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.
- In 2008, Yahoo!Music ranked Songs in the Keys of Life as ‘the Top Album of All Time’.
- An array of musical A-listers – including Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran – tributed this album and Stevie Wonder. That event, which was held in February 2015, was called Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Keys of Life – An All-Star Salute. And as its title suggests, it was sponsored by the Grammy Awards.
A-list musicians who have publicly expressed appreciation Songs in the Keys of Life include:
- Mariah Carey who, according to Wikipedia, “generally names it as one of her favorites”.
- Whitney Houston, who utilized it as background music for the photo sessions associated with her Whitney: The Greatest Hits (2000) project.
- Micheal Jackson, who noted it as being his favorite of all Stevie Wonder albums.
- Elton John, who, in 2004, stated that he ‘always takes a copy wherever he goes in the world’.
- George Michael, who is on record as having cited it as his favorite album.
- Kanye West, who listed it (as well as Innervisions) as defining the “bar” he “set” in terms of the quality of his own albums.
Stevie Wonder has also expressed his feelings on Songs in the Keys of Life on a couple of occasions:
“Of all the albums 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.” –Q Magazine, August 1995
“The album has just inspired me… When I listen to my music, I listen to really see if I still feel the same way. When I listen to Songs in the Key of Life or Talking Book or Innervisions or any of the things I’ve done in the past, I listen to measure how I feel and how I see the world…and it gives me a lot of optimism.” –Rolling Stone, January 2015
Jazz musician Najee covered the entirety of this album on his 1995 project Najee Plays Songs from the Keys of Life.
Stevie Wonder, along with a number of collaborators, covered the entire album for a benefit concert held in 2013. The following year, he embarked on a “Songs in the Keys of Life” tour, across 22 cities in the United States.
SOURCES
“A Crystal Sound Story”. Psyne Co.. 14 June 2023.
“Wikipedia:WikiProject Albums/500”. Wikipedia. Last edited on 3 April 2024.
Robert of the Radish. “The Top 20 Albums of All Time (For Real)”. Yahoo!Music (via the Internet Archive). 28 July 2008.
“Stevie Wonder: All-Star Grammy Salute”. CBS News. 11 February 2015.
Melinda Newman. Stevie Wonder’s All-Star Grammy Tribute: Our 5 Favorite Performances. Rolling Stone. 11 February 2015.
Kory Grow. Stevie Wonder to Take ‘Songs in the Keys of Life’ on the Road. Rolling Stone. 10 September 2014.
Kory Grow. Stevie Wonder Adds More ‘Songs in the Keys of Life’ Tour Dates. Rolling Stone. 16 January 2015.
ALTP. “Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Keys of Life (Full Album)”. YouTube. 2 August 2023.
STEVIE WONDER – SONGS IN THE KEYS OF LIFE (FULL ALBUM) (1976)
STEVIE WONDER – SONGS IN THE KEYS OF LIFE: DOCUMENTARY (2021)