Stevie Wonder released his landmark album “Songs in the Key of Life” in 1976.
The album arrived on September 28, 1976, through Motown’s Tamla label. It was Wonder’s eighteenth studio album and became the culmination of an extraordinary creative period that had already produced Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, and Fulfillingness’ First Finale.
Although often described as a double album, the original package also included the bonus EP A Something’s Extra, making the release an unusually expansive statement. Wonder wrote, produced, and arranged much of the music, blending soul, R&B, jazz, pop, funk, and orchestral sounds. The album’s singles included “I Wish” and “Sir Duke,” while “Isn’t She Lovely” became one of its best-known songs despite not being released as a standard single.
A common mix-up is confusing the album’s release year with its recording period: sessions took place from 1974 to 1976, but the finished album was released in 1976.