Songs in the Key of Life

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Songs in the Key of Life
Studio album by Stevie Wonder
Released	September 28, 1976
Recorded	1975-1976; The Hit Factory, Wonderland Studios
Genre	R&B
Length	104:53
Label	Motown
Producer(s)	Stevie Wonder
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Stevie Wonder chronology
Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974)	Songs in the Key of Life (1976)	Journey through the Secret Life of Plants (1979)

Songs in the Key of Life is a landmark album by Stevie Wonder, released on September 28, 1976 (see 1976 in music), and is widely known and confirmed as Wonder's magnum opus. It was the last of five consecutive albums widely hailed as his "classic period", along with Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, and Fulfillingness' First Finale. A highly ambitious and experimental double LP, Songs in the Key of Life became the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of his career, even earning a rare 5-star rating from Rolling Stone Magazine.

Songs in the Key of Life won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal and Album of the Year. The album also topped Billboard's Pop Albums and Black Albums charts. It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics poll.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 56 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Similarly, in 1998 Q magazine readers voted Songs in the Key of Life the 88th greatest album of all time; in 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 7; in 2005 voters on the United Kingdom's Channel 4's poll placed it 74th.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Disc one 1.2 Disc two 1.3 A Something's Extra Bonus 2 Personnel 3 Cover Versions 4 Charting singles 5 Influence 6 External links

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Disc one

1. "Love's in Need of Love Today" (Wonder) – 7:05
2. "Have a Talk with God" (Hardaway/Wonder) – 2:42
3. "Village Ghetto Land" (Byrd/Wonder) – 3:25
4. "Contusion" (Wonder) – 3:45
5. "Sir Duke" (Wonder) – 3:54
6. "I Wish" (Wonder) – 4:12
7. "Knocks Me Off My Feet" (Wonder) – 3:36
8. "Pastime Paradise" (Wonder) – 3:27
9. "Summer Soft" (Wonder) – 4:14
10. "Ordinary Pain" (Wonder) – 6:23

[edit] Disc two

1. "Isn't She Lovely" (Wonder) – 6:34
2. "Joy Inside My Tears" (Wonder) – 6:29
3. "Black Man" (Byrd/Wonder) – 8:29
4. "Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing" (Wonder) – 3:48
5. "If It's Magic" (Wonder) – 3:12
6. "As" (Wonder) – 7:08
7. "Another Star" (Wonder) – 8:28

[edit] A Something's Extra Bonus

1. "Saturn" (Sembello/Wonder) – 4:53
2. "Ebony Eyes" (Wonder) – 4:08
3. "All Day Sucker" (Wonder) – 5:05
4. "Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)" (Wonder) – 3:56

The A Something's Extra Bonus 7" EP was included with the special edition version of the original LP. These tracks are also on most CD versions of the album, either split between both discs, or appended to the end of the second disc.

[edit] Personnel

• Stevie Wonder - Harmonica, Arranger, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals
• Michael Sembello - Guitar
• Sneaky Pete Kleinow - Pedal Steel
• George Benson - Guitar, Vocals
• Ronnie Foster - Organ
• Herbie Hancock - Keyboards, Handclapping
• Dean Parks - Guitar
• Greg Phillinganes - Keyboards
• W.G. "Snuffy" Walden - Guitar
• Nathan Watts - Bass, Vocals, Handclapping
• Greg Brown - Drums
• Raymond Lee Pounds - Drums
• Hank Redd - Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)
• George Bohannon - Trombone
• Ben Bridges - Guitar, Sitar
• Dorothy Ashby - Harp
• Bobbi Humphrey - Flute
• Howard Buzzy Feiten - Guitar
• Steve Madaio - Trumpet
• Trevor Lawrence - Sax (Tenor)
• Glen Ferris - Trombone
• Jim Horn - Saxophone
• Deniece Williams - Vocals
• Minnie Riperton - Vocals
• Gary Byrd - Vocals
• Michael Wycoff - Vocals
• Larry Scott - Sound Effects
• Carol Cole - Percussion
• Bobbye Hall - Percussion
• Jay Boy Adams - Vocals
• Nathan Alford, Jr. - Percussion
• Henry America - Vocals
• Linda America - Vocals
• Baradras - Vocals
• Brenda Barnett - Vocals
• Khalif Bobatoon - Vocals
• Starshemah Bobatoon - Vocals
• Sudana Bobatoon - Vocals
• Charles Brewer - Percussion, Programming, Vocals
• Shirley Brewer - Percussion, Vocals, Speaking Part
• Berry Briges - Vocals
• Cecilia Brown - Vocals
• Eddie "Bongo" Brown - Percussion
• Jean Brown - Vocals
• Rodney Brown - Vocals
• Colleen Carleton - Percussion, Vocals
• Addie Cox - Vocals
• Agnideva Dasa - Vocals
• Duryodhana Guru Dasa - Vocals
• Jayasacinandana Dasa - Vocals
• Jitamrtyi Dasa - Vocals
• Vedavyasa Dasa - Vocals
• Cinmayi Dasi - Vocals
• Yogamaya Dasi - Vocals
• Carolyn Dennis - Vocals
• Bhakta Eddie - Vocals
• Doe Rani Edwards - Vocals
• Jacqueline F. English - Vocals
• Ethel Enoex - Vocals
• Al Jocko Fann - Vocals
• Barbara Fann - Vocals
• Melani Fann - Vocals
• Shelley Fann - Vocals
• Tracy Fann - Vocals
• John Fischbach - Percussion, Programming, Vocals, Engineer
• Susie Fuzzell - Vocals
• Carmelo Garcia - Percussion, Timbales
• Anthony Givens - Vocals
• Audrey Givens - Vocals
• Derrick Givens - Vocals
• Mildred Givens - Vocals
• Michael Lee Gray - Vocals
• Mimi Green - Vocals
• Susaye Greene Brown - Vocals
• Bhakta Gregory - Vocals
• Renee Hardaway - Percussion, Vocals
• John Harris - Sound Effects
• Jeania Harris - Vocals
• John Harris - Programming
• Troy Harris - Vocals
• Nelson Hayes - Percussion, Sound Effects, Vocals
• Terry Hendricks - Vocals
• H. David Henson - Assistant Engineer
• Don Hunter - Programming, Sound Effects
• Adrian Janes - Vocals
• Josie James - Vocals
• Calvin Johnson - Vocals
• Carol Johnson - Vocals
• Patricia Johnson - Vocals
• Madelaine Jones - Vocals
• Bhakta Kevin - Vocals
• Phillip Kimble - Vocals
• James Lambert - Vocals
• Linda Lawrence - Vocals,
• Irma Leslie - Vocals
• Kim Lewis - Vocals
• Carl Lockhart - Vocals
• Gail Lockhart - Vocals
• Raymond Maldonado - Percussion, Trumpet
• Carolyn Massenburg - Vocals
• Artice May - Vocals
• Charity McCrary - Vocals
• Linda McCrary-Campbell - Vocals
• Lonnie Morgan - Vocals
• Kim Nixon - Vocals
• Lisa Nixon - Vocals
• Larri Nuckens - Vocals
• Larry Latimer - Percussion, Vocals
• Amale Mathews - Percussion, Vocals
• Edna Orso - Percussion, Vocals
• Marietta Waters - Percussion, Vocals
• Josette Valentino - Percussion, Vocals, Handclapping
• Gwen Perry - Vocals
• Gregory Rudd - Vocals
• Rukmini - Vocals
• Yolanda Simmons - Vocals, Handclapping
• Keith Slaughter - Vocals
• Rosona Starks - Vocals
• Dennis Swindell - Vocals
• Sundray Tucker - Vocals
• Gary Veney - Vocals
• Sheryl Walker - Vocals
• Mary Lee Whitney - Vocals
• Syreeta Wright - Vocals
• Michael Gray - Vocals
• Susaye Greene - Vocals
• William Moore - Vocals
• Fountain Jones - Programming

[edit] Cover Versions

• "Love's In Need of Love Today" - Later recorded by Dave Hollister in 2002; also by Joan Osborne on the cover album How Sweet It Is.
• "Have A Talk With God" - Sampled by Snoop Dogg for his 2006 song "Conversations", which featured a re-recorded vocal by Stevie Wonder himself.
• "Contusion" - Later chopped up and melded with other jazz samples for the Venetian Snares song "Banana Seat Girl" (2002).
• "I Wish" - Later recorded, with different lyrics, by Will Smith as the theme song for the film Wild Wild West.
• "Isn't She Lovely" - a UK Top Ten hit for David Parton in 1977.
• "Pastime Paradise" - Later recorded, with different lyrics, as "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio in 1995, parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "Amish Paradise" in 1996. Sampled again as the basis of "Curtain Falls" by the boy-band Blue on 2004. In 1999, the song was covered by the Finnish humppa band Elakelaiset as "Paratiisihumppa".
• "Knocks Me Off My Feet" - Later recorded by Luther Vandross in 1996 and then by Donnell Jones in 1996.
• "Village Ghetto Land" - Covered by George Michael. Later sampled on Warren G's "Ghetto Village", off his 2001 album "Return of the Regulator"; in this version, the melody is slightly accelerated and the song is retrofitted with Warren's signature brand of G-Funk.
• "As" - Later recorded by Michael Bolton in 2001, also a successful duet between George Michael and Mary J. Blige in 1998.
• "Another Star" - Later recorded by Caron Wheeler of Soul II Soul in 2002.

[edit] Charting singles

• 1976: Another Star (Club Play Singles) - No. 2
• 1977: Sir Duke (Adult Contemporary) - No. 3
• 1977: I Wish (Adult Contemporary) - No. 23
• 1977: Isn't She Lovely (Adult Contemporary) - No. 23
• 1977: Another Star (Pop Singles) - No. 32
• 1977: I Wish (Pop Singles) - No. 1
• 1977: Sir Duke (Pop Singles) - No. 1
• 1977: Another Star (Black Singles) - No. 18
• 1977: Another Star (Adult Contemporary) - No. 29
• 1977: As (Black Singles) - No. 36
• 1977: I Wish (Black Singles) - No. 1
• 1977: Sir Duke (Black Singles) - No. 1
• 1977: As (Adult Contemporary) - No. 24
• 1978: As (Pop Singles) - No. 36
• 1978: Knocks Me Off My Feet (Pop Singles) - No. 11
• 1978: Knocks Me Off My Feet (Black Singles) - No. 4

[edit] Influence

American singer/songwriter Liz Phair based her 2005 release Somebody's Miracle on this album.

[edit] External links

• [1] Audio streams: WBEZ program 'Extensions' broadcast a 3 hour special commemorating the album's 30th anniversary