As Stevie Wonder’s ‘Songs In the Key of Life’ Turns 50, Musicians Reflect on Its Impact: ‘An Actual Gift to Humanity’
Billboard ·
"It's the greatest record ever made in my lifetime," Meshell Ndegeocello tells Billboard of the album.
It’s hard to believe Songs in the Key of Life was Stevie Wonder’s 18th studio album upon its release on Sept. 28, 1976.
However, the epic double LP — which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 the week after it arrived in stores — was almost never made.
In early 1975, Stevie was giving serious consideration to retiring from music at the age of 25 after a successful run of albums — Where I’m Coming From (1971), Music of My Mind (1972), Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973) and Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974) — had placed him in an upper echelon of artistry eons away from his earlier work as child star “Little” Stevie Wonder. According to author Zeth Lundy in his book 33 ⅓ about the album, Wonder’s plan was to relocate to Ghana on a humanitarian mission to assist children with disabilities, announcing the decision at a press conference in Los Angeles, citing his disillusionment of the United States and the music industry in general. There was even a farewell concert in the works to send Stevie off in grand fashion.
Motown Records owner Berry Gordy, however, wasn’t about to see his brightest star walk away from his career. In a Hail Mary effort to keep him stateside, Gordy offered Stevie a deal he couldn’t refuse: a contract for seven albums over seven years for a reported $37 million with full creative control going strictly to Wonder, according to Lundy’s book. At the time, it was said to be the biggest deal in music history.
What followed was a journey through Black life stretched across two records and one 7-inch, weaving together a tapestry of funk, jazz, soul, classical and fusion. About 130 people were involved in its creation, including such fellow visionaries as Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Minnie Riperton, Dorothy Ashby, Greg Phillinganes, Bobbi Humphrey and Michael Sembello.
“I came up with the title Songs in the Key of Life ,” Wonder said in an archival clip featured on the Classic Albums DVD on Songs . “To me, that was a challenge to create an album relating to life, acknowledging it’s impossible to cover all of what life is about … I wanted it to be a representation of how and what I was feeling at that time.”
Propelled by such hits as “Isn’t She Lovely,” “I Wish” (No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 ), “Another Star” (No. 32), “As” and “Sir Duke,” Songs In the Key of Life remained perched on the top spot of the Billboard 200 for 14 weeks. It also won four Grammys in 1977, including album of the year and best pop vocal performance, male. The album eventually became certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005, the same year it was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.
As Wonder prepares to embark on a national tour to perform Songs In the Key of Life in its entirety for its 50th anniversary, Billboard spoke with numerous artists from all over the proverbial radio dial to share their thoughts on the album and its impact on their lives. Here’s what they had to say: