Few albums can genuinely claim to contain an entire universe of music, but Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life comes remarkably close. Released in September 1976, this sprawling double album represents the creative summit of one of popular music's most extraordinary careers. Blending soul, funk, jazz, gospel, pop and Latin rhythms, Wonder created a richly ambitious work that explores love, spirituality, racial injustice, childhood and the human experience with seemingly limitless musical imagination.
 
Arriving at the peak of Wonder's remarkable 1970s creative run, Songs in the Key of Life was an enormous undertaking, featuring an expansive cast of musicians and an astonishing collection of songs. The irresistible funk of I Wish, the jubilant jazz tribute Sir Duke and the infectious Isn't She Lovely sit alongside the haunting social commentary of Village Ghetto Land and Pastime Paradise. Elsewhere, the breathtaking As and Another Star demonstrate Wonder's ability to transform extended compositions into moments of pure musical transcendence.
 
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and earned Wonder the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, his third such victory in four years. Its influence has travelled across generations, shaping countless artists working in soul, R&B, hip-hop and beyond. Fifty years later, Songs in the Key of Life remains a towering achievement: wildly inventive, deeply human and overflowing with melodies that have become part of the fabric of popular music.
 
TRACKS:
LP1:
Love's in Need of Love Today
Have a Talk with God
Village Ghetto Land
Contusion
Sir Duke
I Wish
Knocks Me Off My Feet
Pastime Paradise
Summer Soft
Ordinary Pain
 
LP2:
Isn't She Lovely
Joy Inside My Tears
Black Man
Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing
If It's Magic
As
Another Star
 
7" Vinyl: A Something'S Extra
Saturn
Ebony Eyes
All Day Sucker
Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call)