Songs in the Key of Life
Songs in the Key of Life | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 28, 1976 | |||
Recorded | 1974–1976 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 104:29 | |||
Label | Tamla | |||
Producer | Stevie Wonder | |||
Stevie Wonder chronology | ||||
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Singles from Songs in the Key of Life | ||||
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Songs in the Key of Life is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician
By 1974, Wonder was one of the most successful figures in
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. Widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the greatest albums in the history of recorded music, many musicians have remarked on the quality of the album and its influence on their own work; indeed, some notable musicians have named it as the greatest album of all time. 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".
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
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.[16] Work on the new album continued into early 1976. The working title was Let's See Life the Way It Is,[17] 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.[18] The album was released on September 28, 1976, after a two-year wait as a double LP album plus a bonus 7-inch EP titled A Something's Extra (which featured "Saturn", "Ebony Eyes", "All Day Sucker", and "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)"), and included a 24-page lyric and credit booklet.[16][19]
Recording
Wonder recorded the great majority of the album at Crystal Sounds in Hollywood, with Gary Olazabal and studio owner John Fischbach as engineers.[6] 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.[6][20] 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."[15] According to Wonder, "If my flow is goin', I keep on until I peak."[21] 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".[21]
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:
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
The Great Rock Discography | 8/10[citation needed] |
MusicHound R&B | [citation needed] |
Pitchfork | 10/10[24] |
Rolling Stone | [25] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [26] |
At the time of the album's release, reporters and music critics, and everyone who had worked on it, traveled to Long View Farm, a recording studio in Massachusetts, for a press preview. Everybody received autographed copies of the album and Wonder gave interviews. Critical reception was immediately 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.[27] In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll, it was voted as the best album of the year.
From 1973, Wonder's presence at the Grammy Awards ceremonies was consistent – he attended most of the ceremonies and also often performed on stage – but in 1976 he did not attend and was not nominated for any awards, as he had not released any new material during the previous year. When Paul Simon accepted the award for Album of the Year at the 18th Grammy Awards (for Still Crazy After All These Years), he jokingly thanked Stevie for not releasing an album that year,[28] as Wonder had won the award at the two preceding ceremonies (for Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale).[19] When, a year later, Wonder was again nominated in the category for Songs in the Key of Life (which also received six other nominations), the album was seen as the favorite by many critics to take the award. The other nominees were Breezin’ by George Benson, Chicago X by Chicago, Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs, and the other favorite, Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive!, which was also a huge critical and commercial success.
Wonder was again absent from the
Commercial performance
Highly anticipated, the album surpassed all commercial expectations. It debuted at number 1 on the
The album became the second-best selling album of 1977 in the US (behind only Fleetwood Mac's blockbuster Rumours), and was the highest selling R&B/Soul album on the Billboard Year-End chart that same year.[32] It was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005, indicating sales of 5 million copies in the US alone (though a Diamond certification is awarded for sales of 10 million units, the RIAA counts each individual record or disc included with an album as a separate unit).[33]
Songs in the Key of Life was also the most successful of Wonder's albums in terms of singles, the first of which, the upbeat "I Wish", was released in November 1976, more than a month after the album was released. On January 15, 1977, the song reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart, where it spent five weeks. Seven days after, it also reached the summit of the Billboard Hot 100, although it spent only one week at number one. The track became an international top 10 single, and reached number five in the UK. "I Wish" became one of Wonder's standards and remains one of his most sampled songs. The follow-up single, the jazzy "Sir Duke", was released in March 1977 and surpassed the commercial success of "I Wish". It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (where it spent three weeks, starting on May 21) and the R&B chart (for one week, starting on May 28), but it reached number two in the UK, where it was kept from the top spot by the song "Free" by Deniece Williams, who provided backing vocals on Wonder's album.
Released during the second half of 1977, as sales for the album began to decline, the last two singles from Songs in the Key of Life failed to match the success of "I Wish" and "Sir Duke". "Another Star" was released in August and reached number 32 on the Hot 100 (number 18 on the R&B chart, and number 29 in the UK), and "As" came out two months later, peaking at number 36 on both the Pop and R&B charts. Though not released as a single, "Isn't She Lovely" received wide radio airplay and became one of Wonder's most popular songs. David Parton's cover of the song, recorded and released soon after Wonder's album, gave him a top 10 hit in the UK in early 1977.
Legacy and influence
Over time, Songs in the Key of Life became a standard, and it is considered Wonder's signature album, even by Wonder himself: "Of all the albums," he told Q magazine for their 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." It has been cited as one of the greatest albums in popular music history. For example, in 2001, the
Many musicians have remarked on the quality of the album and its influence on their own work. Elton John said, in his notes about Wonder for Rolling Stone's 2003 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."[37] In an interview with Ebony magazine, Michael Jackson called Songs in the Key of Life his favorite Stevie Wonder album. Kanye West, in a 2005 interview with Clash, remarked: "I'm not trying to compete with what's out there now. I'm really trying to compete with Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. It sounds musically blasphemous to say something like that, but why not set that as your bar?"[38] George Michael cited the album as his favorite of all time.[39] He released a live recording of "Love's in Need of Love Today" as a B-side to "Father Figure" in 1987 and performed the song on his Faith tour the next year, performed "Village Ghetto Land" at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute in 1988, covered "Pastime Paradise" and "Knocks Me Off My Feet" on his 1991 Cover to Cover tour, and (with Mary J. Blige) had a hit single in 1999 with a cover of "As".
Many R&B singers have praised the album: Mariah Carey generally names it as one of her favorites, and Whitney Houston remarked on its influence on her singing (at Houston's request, the album was played throughout the photo sessions for her compilation album Whitney: The Greatest Hits, as can be seen on the home video release that accompanied that album). Its importance has also been recognized by heavy metal musicians, with singer Phil Anselmo describing a live performance of Songs in the Key of Life as "a living, breathing miracle".[40]
The album's tracks have provided numerous
In December 2013, Wonder did a live concert performance of the entire album at the
Track listing
Original release
All tracks are written by Stevie Wonder, unless otherwise noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Love's in Need of Love Today" | 7:06 | |
2. | "Have a Talk with God" |
| 2:42 |
3. | "Village Ghetto Land" |
| 3:25 |
4. | "Contusion" (instrumental) | 3:46 | |
5. | "Sir Duke" | 3:52 | |
Total length: | 20:51 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I Wish" | 4:12 |
2. | "Knocks Me Off My Feet" | 3:36 |
3. | "Pastime Paradise" | 3:27 |
4. | "Summer Soft" | 4:14 |
5. | "Ordinary Pain" | 6:16 |
Total length: | 21:45 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " Black Man " |
| 8:27 |
Total length: | 21:31 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Ngiculela – Es Una Historia – I Am Singing" (translation by Thoko Mdalose Hall, Raymond Maldonado) | 3:48 |
2. | "If It's Magic" | 3:12 |
3. | "As" | 7:08 |
4. | "Another Star" | 8:28 |
Total length: | 22:16 |
A Something's Extra EP
Original LP editions included a bonus 7-inch EP, titled "A Something's Extra", containing four bonus tracks. These songs were later included as bonus tracks on CD and streaming versions of the album.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Saturn" |
| 4:54 |
2. | "Ebony Eyes" | 4:11 | |
Total length: | 9:05 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "All Day Sucker" | 5:06 |
2. | "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)" (instrumental) | 3:55 |
Total length: | 9:01 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from Songs in the Key of Life liner notes.
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocals, keyboards, harmonica, drums, percussion, synth bass, arrangement, composer, producer
- Nathan Watts – bass guitar, percussion, handclaps
- Raymond Pounds – drums
- Greg Phillinganes – keyboards
- Michael Sembello – lead guitar
- Ben Bridges – rhythm guitar
- Eddie "Bongo" Brown – timbrophone
- Shirley Brewer – vocals, handclaps, percussion
- Josie James – backing vocals
- Michael Gray – backing vocals
- Artece May – backing vocals, handclaps
- Hank Redd – alto saxophone
- Trevor Lawrence – tenor saxophone
- Raymond Maldonado – trumpet, percussion
- Steve Madaio – trumpet
- Renee Hardaway – backing vocals, percussion
- Bobbye Hall – percussion
- West Angeles Church of God Choir – backing vocals
- Hare Krishna – backing vocals
- Ronnie Foster – organ
- Nastee Latimer – percussion
- Minnie Riperton – backing vocals
- Mary Lee Whitney – backing vocals
- Deniece Williams – backing vocals
- Syreeta Wright – backing vocals
- Lynda Laurence – backing vocals
- Terry Hendricks – backing vocals
- Sundray Tucker – backing vocals
- Charity McCrary – backing vocals
- Linda McCrary – backing vocals
- Madelaine "Gypsie" Jones – backing vocals
- Josette Valentino – handclaps, percussion
- Dave Henson – handclaps
- Brenda Barrett – handclaps
- Colleen Carleton – handclaps
- Carole Cole – handclaps
- Nelson Hayes – handclaps
- Edna Orso – handclaps
- Tucker – handclaps
- Susaye Greene – backing vocals
- George Bohanon – trombone
- Glenn Ferris – trombone
- Al Fann Theatrical Ensemble – verbal replies
- Charles Brewer – percussion
- Nelson Hayes – percussion
- Marietta Waters – percussion
- John Fischbach – percussion
- Amale Mathews – percussion
- Dorothy Ashby – harp
- Greg Brown – drums
- Herbie Hancock – keyboards, handclaps
- Dean Parks – guitar
- Yolanda Simmons – handclaps
- Bobbi Humphrey – flute
- George Benson – guitar, backing vocals
- Nathan Alford, Jr. – percussion
- Carmello Hungria Garcia – timbales
- Jim Horn - saxophone
- Peter "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow – steel guitar
- W. G. Snuffy Walden – lead guitar
- Carolyn Dennis – backing vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[63] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[64] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
France ( SNEP)[65]
|
Gold | 100,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[66] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[67] | Diamond | 5,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
See also
- List of number-one albums of 1976 (U.S.)
- List of number-one albums of 1977 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1976 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1977 (U.S.)
Notes
- ^ "Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life: Ranking the songs". Entertainment Weekly. September 28, 2016.
- ^ 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. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- ISBN 0-8126-9368-X
- ^ Breihan, Tom (September 27, 2019). "The Number Ones: Stevie Wonder's "I Wish"". Stereogum. 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...
- ^ a b c d Buskin, Richard (December 2007). "Classic Tracks: Stevie Wonder 'Pastime Paradise'". Sound on Sound.
- ISBN 978-1-60413-685-2.
- ^ a b c Lundy, Zeth, 331⁄3 Songs in the Key of Life, pp. 14/15.
- ^ Lundy, Zeth (January 17, 2007). "Playing God: Songs in the Key of Life". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
- ^ a b "Songs In The Key Of Life ranked 4th greatest album by Rolling Stone magazine". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". GRAMMY.com. October 18, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ Lundy, 331⁄3 Songs in the Key of Life, p. 119.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "Songs in the Key of Life". Rolling Stone Magazine. Archived from the original on February 7, 2006.
- ^ a b Davis, Sharon Stevie Wonder: Rhythms of Wonder p. 112.
- ^ Lundy, 331⁄3 Songs in the Key of Life, p. 8.
- ^ Lundy, 331⁄3 Songs in the Key of Life, pp. 8/9.
- ^ a b Lundy, 331⁄3 Songs in the Key of Life, p. 16.
- ^ Kirby, Terry (February 7, 2005). "Manhattan's Hit Factory ends production after three decades of legendary music making". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c Runtagh, Jordan (September 2016). "Inside Stevie Wonder's Epic Magnum Opus 'Songs in the Key of Life'". Rolling Stone.
- AllMusic. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 9, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Light, Alan (August 21, 2016). "Review: 'Songs in the Key of Life'". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ Walters, Barry (June 2, 2005). "none". Rolling Stone. New York.
- ISBN 0743201698. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ a b Steviewonder.org.uk
- ^ "Paul Simon Wins Album Of The Year". The Recording Academy Grammy Awards. January 5, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- ^ "Stevie Wonder Wins Album Of The Year". The Grammys. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Top Albums/CDs Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine - RPM Volume 26, No. 3, October 16, 1976. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ Freespace.virgin.net Archived 2009-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1977". Billboard. November 17, 2007. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- RIAA. April 5, 2005. Archived from the originalon December 31, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.
- ^ "The Top 20 Albums of All Time (For Real)". music.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ^ "News". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ "38 Years Later, Stevie Wonder's 'Songs in the Key of Life' Is More Influential Than Ever". Mic. May 13, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "BBC music reviews". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ Fred Pessaro (2016). Phil Anselmo on Superjoint, Trump and Making Things Right, CLRVYNT.com, accessed 21 December 2017
- Billboard.com.
- ^ Grow, Kory (September 10, 2014). "Stevie Wonder to Take 'Songs in the Key of Life' on the Road". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Grow, Kory (January 15, 2015). "Stevie Wonder Adds More 'Songs in the Key of Life' Tour Dates". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "austriancharts.at Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 26, No. 20" (PHP). RPM. February 12, 1976. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life" (ASP). Hung Medien. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Stevie Wonder > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ "Allmusic: Songs in the Key of Life : Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Album Search: Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life" (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of '76". RPM. Vol. 26, no. 14 & 15. January 8, 1977. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1976". Dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1976 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on May 21, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
- ^ a b "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". February 2016. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of '77". RPM. Vol. 28, no. 14. December 31, 1977. Archived from the original on April 5, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1977". Dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. 1977. Archived from the originalon October 24, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1977". billboard.biz. December 31, 1977. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- Cash Box. July 30, 1977. p. 49. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life". Music Canada.
- ^ "French album certifications – Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved November 9, 2021. Select STEVIE WONDER and click OK.
- ^ "British album certifications – Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "American album certifications – Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life". Recording Industry Association of America.
References
- Davis, Sharon. Stevie Wonder: Rhythms of Wonder.
- Lundy, Zeth (2007). Songs in the Key of Life. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781441170125.
- Nathan Brackett; Christian Hoard (2004). ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Colin Larkin (2002). ISBN 1-85227-923-0.
Further reading
- Christgau, Robert (November 8, 1976). "Stevie Wonder Is a Masterpiece". The Village Voice.
- Jumping Jamboree at Time
- Album Review at BBC Music
- Reviews at SuperSeventies
- Audio streams: WBEZ program 'Extensions' broadcast a 3 hour special commemorating the album's 30th anniversary
External links
- Songs in the Key of Life at Discogs (list of releases)