Songs in the Key of Life (4) is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. It was released in September 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. The double album has been regarded by music journalists as the culmination of Wonder’s “classic period” of recording. The album 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.
By 1974, Wonder was one of the most successful figures in popular music; Wonder’s previous albums were all back-to-back critical successes. However, by the end of 1975, Wonder seriously considered quitting the music industry and planned to emigrate to Ghana to work with disabled children. Plans for a farewell concert had begun, but Wonder subsequently changed his mind and signed a new contract with Motown in August 1975. This outlined a seven-year, seven-album, $37 million deal with full artistic control. 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 becoming only the third album to achieve that feat and the first by an American artist at the time. Both the lead single “I Wish” and follow-up single “Sir Duke” reached number one on the Billboard. Songs in the Key of Life spent thirteen consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the album with the most weeks at number one during the year. It was the second best-selling album of 1977 in the US. In 2005, Songs in the Key of Life was certified Diamond by the RIAA.
At the time of release, reporters and music critics, and everyone who had worked on the album, travelled to Long View Farm, a recording studio in Massachusetts for a press preview of the album. 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. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said, “in themselves the words are much funnier and validated by the wit, pace, and variety of the music, they come close to redeeming the whole genre.”
Songs in the Key of Life won Album of the Year at the 19th Grammy Awards. It is the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of Wonder’s career. Widely regarded as Wonder’s 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 ranked number 4 on Rolling Stone’s list of The Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2002, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2005, Songs in the Key of Life was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, which deemed it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
