Today is the 50th anniversary of the release of Stevie Wonder’s landmark, Grammy winning “Songs in the Key of Life.”
To celebrate the occasion, Stevie has released four demos that didn’t make the final album.
As it was, “Songs” was so long that Stevie had to include a 45rpm single with the double album! That’s how we got “Saturn,” one of his best songs ever. (This was before CDs.)
The four new old songs are a real treat, a gift from Stevie before he heads out on tour. Listen to that voice! And the songs are, of course, little gems.
From the press release: Personally curated by Stevie, the recordings were recently mixed for this EP by the album’s original recording and mixing engineers, John Fischbach and Gary O Adante. Adante was credited on the original LP as Gary Olazabal.
At 4:54 a.m., as the final studio session for “Songs in the Key of Life” came to a close, Nathan Watts, Stevie’s longtime bassist, exclaimed, “Fo’FiftyFo’!” From then on, the phrase signaled the end of a session and became an inside joke for anyone in Stevie’s circle. Now, that hour marks a new beginning as four previously unreleased recordings reach the world, connecting the album’s creation with its next chapter.
“We’ve lived with Songs in the Key of Life for fifty years, but there’s still more to hear,” says Wonder. “We didn’t add these songs to the album, but they were part of what I was feeling and discovering as we made it. They bring me back to that time in my life, and now they get to become part of yours.”
Happy anniversary, Stevie! Thanks for all the incredible music.
