Welcome to Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder’s 1976 release on Motown Records. This double LP, his 18th release, is the bestselling album in his massive catalog. Wonder had a lot to live up to when working on this collection – he won the Grammy for best album in 1974 and 1975. Still, in late 1975, Wonder considered abandoning the music business and moving to Ghana to work with handicapped children. He got so far as to begin planning a farewell concert when Motown offered him a $37 million, seven-LP contract and he switched gears, planning his epic double album release, Songs in the Key of Life. The album came with a four-track bonus seven-inch EP called A Something’s Extra. Although 130 artists are credited with a hand in the album’s production, Wonder wrote every song (with only a few co-writes). He also plays the lion’s share of instruments. The release initially was scheduled for October of 1975 but the date kept getting pushed back, inspiring Motown Records to make T-shirts that read “We’re almost finished.” Needless to say, the album was (and still is) a huge hit. It debuted at the top of the Billboard Pop Album Charts (only the third album in history to do so) and stayed there for 13 weeks. So thanks for coming. Now just sit back, relax and let us reveal why.

Lineup

• Rhonda Thomas
• Cleveland Jones
• Chantae Cann
• Saunders Sermons