Songs in the Key of Life

Songs in the Key of Life
Studio album by
Stevie Wonder
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1976 (1976-09-28)
Recorded1974–1976
Studio
Genre
Length85:43
LabelTamla
ProducerStevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder chronology
Fulfillingness' First Finale
(1974) 		Songs in the Key of Life
(1976) 		Looking Back
(1977)
Singles from Songs in the Key of Life
  1. "I Wish"
    Released: December 1976
  2. "Isn't She Lovely"
    Released: February 1977 (non-US single)
  3. "Sir Duke"
    Released: March 1977
  4. "Another Star"
    Released: August 1977
  5. "As"
    Released: October 1977

Songs in the Key of Life is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at Crystal Sound studio in Hollywood, with some sessions recorded at the Record Plant in Hollywood, the Record Plant in Sausalito, and The Hit Factory in New York City; final mixing was conducted at Crystal Sound.[6] The album has been regarded by music journalists as the culmination of Wonder's "classic period" of recording.[7]

By 1974, Wonder was one of the most successful figures in popular music; his previous albums Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, and Fulfillingness' First Finale were all back-to-back critical successes. However, by March 1975, Wonder seriously considered quitting the music industry and emigrating to Ghana to aid children with disabilities. When plans for a farewell concert had already begun, Wonder changed his mind and signed a new contract with Motown on August 5, 1975. This outlined a seven-year, seven-album deal, with full artistic control. This deal included $13 million upfront, a potential bonus of up to $20 million, 20% of the royalties, and ownership of the publishing rights. At the time, it was the biggest recording deal in history.[8]

Songs in the Key of Life was released as a double LP with a four-song bonus EP. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart, becoming only the third album to achieve that feat, and the first by an American artist.[9] Both the lead single "I Wish" and follow-up single "Sir Duke" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album spent thirteen consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the album with the most weeks at number one during the year, and was the second-best-selling album of 1977 in the US. In 2005, the album was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), indicating sales of 5 million units for a double album.

The album won Album of the Year at the 19th Grammy Awards and is the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of Wonder's career. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums in history, and many musicians have remarked on its influence on their own work. It was voted number 89 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums[10] and ranked number 4 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[11] In 2002, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame,[12] and in 2005 it was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, which deemed it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

  1. ^ "Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life: Ranking the songs". Entertainment Weekly. September 28, 2016. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Hanson, Natalie (September 28, 2018). "On This Day: "Songs in the Key of Life" a milestone for Stevie Wonder, soul music". The Orion. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  3. ^ Grimstad, Paul (September 4, 2007). "What is Avant-Pop?". Brooklyn Rail. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  4. ^ Martin, Bill (1998), Listening to the Future: The Time of Progressive Rock, Chicago: Open Court, p. 41, ISBN 0-8126-9368-X
  5. ^ Breihan, Tom (September 27, 2019). "The Number Ones: Stevie Wonder's "I Wish"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023. Wonder is deeply in his own zone [on Songs in the Key of Life], crafting these rich and textured soul-jazz meditations...
  6. ^ Buskin, Richard (December 2007). "Classic Tracks: Stevie Wonder 'Pastime Paradise'". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  7. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music (4 ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 447–448. ISBN 0-87930-627-0.
    Cramer, Alfred William (2009). Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century. Vol. 5. Salem Press. p. 1645. ISBN 978-1-58765-517-3.
    Brown, Jeremy K. (2010). Stevie Wonder: Musician. Black Americans of Achievement. Infobase Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-60413-685-2.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lundy pp. 14/15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Lundy, Zeth (January 17, 2007). "Playing God: Songs in the Key of Life". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  10. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 71. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  11. ^ "Songs In The Key Of Life ranked 4th greatest album by Rolling Stone magazine". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". GRAMMY.com. October 18, 2010. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2019.