Stevie Wonder is celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of the most celebrated albums of his career by giving fans a new four-song EP featuring previously unreleased recordings from the original sessions for his landmark album, Songs in the Key of Life.
The new release arrives exactly 50 years after Songs in the Key of Life was originally released on September 28, 1976.
The four previously unreleased songs are:
- “It’s Easier”
- “My Life Story of Love”
- “I Can See the Sun in Late December”
- “I’m Into Livin’”
All four tracks were recorded during the original Songs in the Key of Life sessions and were written and produced by Wonder. “My Life Story of Love” features lyrics co-written by former Supremes and Motown singer-songwriter Susaye Greene.
The recordings were recently mixed by John Fischbach and Gary O. Adante, who also worked on the original album.
Wonder personally curated the anniversary release, giving listeners another look inside the creative period that produced classics including “Sir Duke,” “Isn’t She Lovely,” “As” and “Love’s in Need of Love Today.”
In announcing the project, Wonder said the unreleased recordings take him back to the time when the landmark album was being created.
“We’ve lived with Songs in the Key of Life for fifty years, but there’s still more to hear,” Wonder said in the announcement.
He explained that while the four songs ultimately weren’t included on the original album, they were still part of what he was “feeling and discovering” during those sessions.
Originally released Sept. 28, 1976, Songs in the Key of Life went on to become one of Wonder’s defining projects.
The album earned Wonder his third Grammy Award for Album of the Year, was certified Diamond and was later inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
Five decades later, songs from the project continue to be heard across generations, and now fans have four additional recordings from that era to experience for the first time.
In addition to this, Wonder is also launching the Songs in the Key of Life Performances – 50th Anniversary Tour, during which he is scheduled to perform the album in its entirety.
The tour begins October 13 in Birmingham, England, before traveling across Europe with stops including Paris, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Hannover, Cologne, Amsterdam and Dublin.
The U.S. leg begins November 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, followed by performances in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Detroit, before concluding December 19 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
For longtime Stevie Wonder fans, the 50th anniversary offers something rare: new music from one of his most celebrated creative periods, five decades after it was recorded.
