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Songs in the Key of Life
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Songs in the Key of Life
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. The album has been regarded by music journalists as the culmination of Wonder's "classic period" of recording which began in 1972 with Music of My Mind.
By 1974, Wonder was one of the most successful figures in popular music; his previous albums Music of My Mind, Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973), and Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) 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.
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 200 chart, becoming only the third album to achieve that feat, and the first by an American artist. 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 now widely regarded as one of the greatest albums in the history of popular music, 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 and ranked number 4 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2002, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2005 it was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, which deemed it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
By 1976, Stevie Wonder had become one of the most popular figures in R&B and pop music, not only in the United States, but worldwide. Within a short space of time, the albums Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale were all back-to-back-to-back top five successes, with the latter two winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1974 and 1975, respectively. In 1975, Wonder became serious about quitting the music industry and emigrating to Ghana to work with handicapped children. He had expressed his anger with the way 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 mind and signed a new contract with Motown on August 5, 1975, thinking he was better off making the most of his career. At the time, rival labels such as Arista and Epic were also interested in him. The contract was laid out as a seven-year, seven LP, $37 million deal ($216,210,884 in 2024 dollars) and gave Wonder full artistic control, making this the largest deal made with a recording star up to that point. Shortly after signing the contract, Wonder took a year off from music.
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 him, Motown's marketing campaign decided to take advantage of the delay by producing "We're almost finished" T-shirts. Work on the new album continued into early 1976. The working title was Let's See Life the Way It Is, before Wonder settled on Songs in the Key of Life. The title would represent the formula of a complex "key of life" and the proposals for indefinite success. After a two-year wait, the album was released on September 28, 1976, as a double LP plus a bonus 7-inch EP titled A Something's Extra (featuring "Saturn", "Ebony Eyes", "All Day Sucker", and "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)"), and a 24-page lyric and credit booklet.
Wonder recorded the great majority of the album at Crystal Sounds in Hollywood, with Gary Olazabal and studio owner John Fischbach as engineers. 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, the production team traveled to the Hit Factory in New York City to work for about six weeks, but only used one basic track from those sessions. 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 Wonder, "If my flow is goin', I keep on until I peak." Bassist Nathan Watts remembered getting home at 3 am after very long hours in the studio, only to have Wonder phone to request him return immediately to help with "I Wish".
A total of 130 people worked on the album, but Wonder's preeminence remains evident. Among the musicians who contributed were some legendary figures of R&B, soul, and jazz music: Herbie Hancock played Fender Rhodes on "As", George Benson played electric guitar on "Another Star", and Minnie Riperton and Deniece Williams added backing vocals on "Ordinary Pain". Michael Sembello is a prominent personality throughout the album, playing guitar on several tracks and also co-writing "Saturn" with Wonder. While Wonder wrote most of the songs on the album himself, some of the album's most socially-conscious songs had co-writers: Wonder wrote "Village Ghetto Land" and "Black Man" with Gary Byrd, and he wrote "Have a Talk with God" with his brother Calvin Hardaway.
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Songs in the Key of Life
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. The album has been regarded by music journalists as the culmination of Wonder's "classic period" of recording which began in 1972 with Music of My Mind.
By 1974, Wonder was one of the most successful figures in popular music; his previous albums Music of My Mind, Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973), and Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) 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.
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 200 chart, becoming only the third album to achieve that feat, and the first by an American artist. 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 now widely regarded as one of the greatest albums in the history of popular music, 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 and ranked number 4 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2002, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2005 it was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, which deemed it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
By 1976, Stevie Wonder had become one of the most popular figures in R&B and pop music, not only in the United States, but worldwide. Within a short space of time, the albums Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale were all back-to-back-to-back top five successes, with the latter two winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1974 and 1975, respectively. In 1975, Wonder became serious about quitting the music industry and emigrating to Ghana to work with handicapped children. He had expressed his anger with the way 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 mind and signed a new contract with Motown on August 5, 1975, thinking he was better off making the most of his career. At the time, rival labels such as Arista and Epic were also interested in him. The contract was laid out as a seven-year, seven LP, $37 million deal ($216,210,884 in 2024 dollars) and gave Wonder full artistic control, making this the largest deal made with a recording star up to that point. Shortly after signing the contract, Wonder took a year off from music.
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 him, Motown's marketing campaign decided to take advantage of the delay by producing "We're almost finished" T-shirts. Work on the new album continued into early 1976. The working title was Let's See Life the Way It Is, before Wonder settled on Songs in the Key of Life. The title would represent the formula of a complex "key of life" and the proposals for indefinite success. After a two-year wait, the album was released on September 28, 1976, as a double LP plus a bonus 7-inch EP titled A Something's Extra (featuring "Saturn", "Ebony Eyes", "All Day Sucker", and "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)"), and a 24-page lyric and credit booklet.
Wonder recorded the great majority of the album at Crystal Sounds in Hollywood, with Gary Olazabal and studio owner John Fischbach as engineers. 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, the production team traveled to the Hit Factory in New York City to work for about six weeks, but only used one basic track from those sessions. 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 Wonder, "If my flow is goin', I keep on until I peak." Bassist Nathan Watts remembered getting home at 3 am after very long hours in the studio, only to have Wonder phone to request him return immediately to help with "I Wish".
A total of 130 people worked on the album, but Wonder's preeminence remains evident. Among the musicians who contributed were some legendary figures of R&B, soul, and jazz music: Herbie Hancock played Fender Rhodes on "As", George Benson played electric guitar on "Another Star", and Minnie Riperton and Deniece Williams added backing vocals on "Ordinary Pain". Michael Sembello is a prominent personality throughout the album, playing guitar on several tracks and also co-writing "Saturn" with Wonder. While Wonder wrote most of the songs on the album himself, some of the album's most socially-conscious songs had co-writers: Wonder wrote "Village Ghetto Land" and "Black Man" with Gary Byrd, and he wrote "Have a Talk with God" with his brother Calvin Hardaway.