Sir Duke

STEVIE WONDER Released Monumental Double Album ‘SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE’ Today 50 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Significant longplayers from yesteryear

28 September 2026

Soul/funk master STEVIE WONDER, born Stevland Hardaway Morris 76 years ago,
released his monumetal 19th LP SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE, a double one plus
one EP, on 28 September 1976, today 50 years ago.

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 Chart, becoming only
the third album to achieve that feat, and the first by an American artist.

The album’s themes: religious beliefs, love, romance, nostalgia, parenthood,
inequality, music as a language, and racial discrimination. Wonder played, wrote,
and arranged the majority of the album.

Pitchfork: “Songs in the Key of Life” was the culmination of a historic period of creativity
for Stevie Wonder. Its ambition and scope were unprecedented, and he never approached
its caliber or impact again. The album was the culmination of a historic period of creativity,
a concentrated burst of music matched only by a handful of artists (mid-’60s Bob Dylan, early ’70s Rolling Stones, ’80s Prince).”

TUTV: Michael Jackson called himself the King of Pop.
I call Stevie Wonder the King of Soul.

Singles.

– SIR DUKE –

– I WISH –

– ISN’T SHE LOVELY –

ALBUM


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Stevie Story
All Albums

5 Classic Albums Released Today On 28 September In…

Posted on by JL

– 28 September 1976 –

Artist: STEVIE WONDER
The soul legend started his supreme
career in 1961. He’s 75 now.

Album: SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE
His 12th LP, a double one.
#1 in the US, #2 in the UK.

The record was viewed as a guided tour through a wide range of musical styles and the life and feelings of the artist. It included recollections of childhood, of first love and lost love. It contained songs about faith and love among all peoples and songs about social justice for the poor and downtrodden.

SINGLE

ALBUM


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– 28 September 1987 –

Band: PIXIES
1986–1993, 2004–present

Album: COME ON PILGRIM
Their (mini) debut LP.

Spin Magazine said afterward: “The band may sound tentative, but the building
blocks are here. The soft/loud song structures that were the then-future sound of
alternative rock.”

STREAM


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– 28 September 1987 –

Band: THE SMITHS
1982–1987

Album: STRANGEWAYS, HERE WE COME
Their 4th and final one.

AllMusic wrote: “A subtly shaded and skilled album, one boasting a fuller
production than before. It offers a summation of the group’s considerable
strengths.”

SINGLE

ALBUM


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– 28 September 1998 –

Artist: PJ HARVEY
 1988-present.

Album: IS THIS DESIRE?
Her 4th one. No. 17 in the UK.

Q Magazine: “One of the most artfully truncated missives
of bleakness and pain to have emerged since the dawn of CD.”

SINGLE

ALBUM


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– 28 September 2004 –

Artist: BRIAN WILSON
The late Beach Boy virtuoso
passed away last June, aged 82.

Album: SMILE
His 5th solo one.

It features all-new recordings of music that he had originally created
for an unfinished album by The Beach Boys that he abandoned in 1967.

Rolling Stone said: “What elevates the songs into something approaching
a utopian vision is Wilson’s orchestrations: brief bridge melodies, youthful
harmonies and an enthralling profusion of instrumental colors.”

SINGLE

ALBUM


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STEVE WONDER And ROD STEWART Scored Both A No 1 Hit 45 Years Ago Today

Posted on by JL

21 May 2022

Living soul legend Stevie Wonder wrote Sir Duke in tribute to Duke Ellington,
the influential jazz legend who had died in 1974. The lyrics also refer to Count Basie,
Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald.

The song reached the number one spot on the US Singles Chart
45 years ago today, on 21 May 1972.

Turn it up, Sir Stevie…

STEVIE WONDER: Discography

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Tragic tearjerker I Don’t Want To Talk About It was written by Danny Whitten,
who was part of Neil Young‘s band Crazy Horse. He died at the early age of 29
following a drug overdose in 1972.

The cover of Scottish superstar Rod Stewart broke hearts all over the planet.
It topped the UK Singles Chart 45 years ago today, on 21 May 1977.

ROD STEWART: Discography