Surprising Facts About Stevie Wonder’s ‘Songs In the Key of Life’ Album, In Honor of Its 50th Anniversary

The time has come to get your coins together because tickets for Stevie Wonder’s 50th-anniversary “Songs in the Key of Life” tour are officially on sale. And honestly, if there’s ever been an album worth celebrating, it’s this one.

Released in 1976, Wonder’s musical masterpiece gave us classics like “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” and “Isn’t She Lovely,” cementing the legendary singer’s place in music history. So before we take a sonically superb walk down memory lane with this album and tour, here are 13 things you may not know about “Songs in the Key of Life.”

The Album Almost Didn’t Happen

While “Songs in the Key of Life” may be a beloved body of work today, it was a project that almost didn’t see the light of day. That’s because Wonder was considering quitting the music industry and instead focusing his efforts on philanthropic causes in Ghana. He even planned and announced a farewell concert in March 1974. Thankfully, he wound up re-signing with Motown and gave us the project we all love today.

Related: Check Out Stevie Wonder’s Eye-Popping Net Worth

It Made Billboard History

Once released, “Songs in the Key of Life” made history on the Billboard 200 chart by becoming the third album to debut at number one and the first album by an American artist to do so. This feat was repeated on the Billboard Pop Album Charts that same year.

Surprising Artists Were Helping Him Behind the Scenes

What’s better than one musical talent? A handful! And that’s exactly the number that lent their abilities to help Wonder bring his sonic vision to life. Some of those artists included: Herbie Hancock on piano (Fender Rhodes, to be exact), George Benson on guitar, and Deniece Williams and Minnie Riperton on background vocals.

The Album Title Came to Him in A Dream

In a 2016 interview, Wonder revealed that it took him a while to come up with a name for the album. Eventually, the name “Songs in the Key of Life” came to him in a dream.

However, the title proved to be more challenging than he thought. Speaking in the “Classic Albums” documentary, Wonder shared: “I challenged myself [to write] as many different things as I could, to cover as many topics as I could, in dealing with the title and representing what it was about. The title would give me a challenge, but equally as important as a challenge, it would give me an opportunity to express my feelings as a songwriter and as an artist.”

There Were Several Hundred Songs Recorded for the Album

According to one of Wonder’s co-engineers on the album, John Fischbach, Wonder recorded countless songs over the two-year period it took to make the album.

“It went on for two years almost every day, many hours and huge amounts of material,” he told Rolling Stone in 2016. “I guess it was really his most prolific time. He did more songs in those two years, I think, than he had done before…Something like 200 songs. Some would be sketched out, some were more finished than others, and we just kept working until he had what he wanted.”

Stevie’s Own Family and Loved Ones Helped on the Album

While Wonder wrote and sang most of the songs on the album, he also had a little help from some of his own family members. According to Rolling Stone, Wonder’s own brother Calvin Hardaway co-wrote “Have a Talk With God.” His sister Renee Hardaway is the one who screams “You nasty boy!” at the end of “I Wish.” Wonder’s ex-wife Syreeta Wright also sings background vocals on “Ordinary Pain.”

“I Wish” Was Inspired By A Motown Picnic

According to Musician magazine, Wonder’s song “I Wish” came to him while hanging out with his Motown crew.

“The day I wrote it was a Saturday, the day of a Motown picnic in the summer of ’76. God, I remember that because I was having this really bad toothache. It was ridiculous,” he said at the time. “I had such a good time at the picnic that I went to Crystal Recording Studio right afterward, and the vibe came right to my mind…running at the picnic, the contests, we all participated. It was a lot of fun …and from that came the ‘I Wish’ vibe.”

“Isn’t She Lovely?” Features Real Baby Recordings

In February 1975, Wonder became a father to his daughter Aisha Morris. He poured his joy about being a new dad into the song “Isn’t She Lovely?” which features baby sounds at the beginning and end.

Although the baby crying at the top of the song isn’t his daughter, Morris does make an audible cameo of sorts at the end as the baby making noises while Wonder bathes her.

Stevie’s Motown Deal Made History

Remember that Motown deal we mentioned earlier that essentially guaranteed that “Songs in the Key of Life” would be coming? Well, that seven-year, seven-album deal was one of the biggest in music at the time and reportedly gave Wonder a $13 million advance, 20 percent royalties, and control of his own publishing.

Looking back on the deal in the “Classics Album” documentary, Motown founder Berry Gordy said: “In those days, $13 million was a lot of money. I’d heard that was an unprecedented deal, the most that had ever been paid. But I had to do it, because there was no way I was going to lose Stevie. I was shaking in my boots!”

The Album Was the Grammy Gift That Kept on Giving

“Songs in the Key of Life” gave Wonder his third Album of the Year Grammy (he also won Producer of the Year). This win was the third Album of the Year win of his career in just four years, an achievement that remains unmatched to this day. The album later entered both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry.

“Pastime Paradise” Inspired A Hip-Hop Hit

In 1995, Coolio famously reworked the album’s song “Pastime Paradise” into his smash hit, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” introducing Wonder’s work to an entirely new generation. This, in turn, also led to Wonder receiving composition credits on the rapper’s biggest song of his career.

“Sir Duke” Wasn’t Just About Duke Ellington

Though Wonder and famed jazz great Duke Ellington never got to collaborate, the singer still wanted to honor him for all he gave to music, as well as other Black artists who helped shape his formative years.

“I knew the title from the beginning, but [I] wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for us. So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation,” Wonder told Rolling Stone in 2016.

Some of the other artists highlighted included: Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald.

“Songs In the Key of Life” Is Stevie’s Proudest Album Accomplishment

Although Wonder has released several bodies of work over his 60-year career, the one piece he’s most proud of is “Songs in the Key of Life.” He said as much in an interview for Q Magazine in April 1995.

“Of all the albums, ‘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,” he explained at the time.