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FREE STEVIE WONDERS SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE PDF Zeth Lundy | 144 pages | 08 Mar 2007 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9780826419262 | English | London, United Kingdom Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic The superstar began to openly discuss quitting the music industry altogether and moving to Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life, where he believed his ancestral lineage could be traced. There, he planned to devote his considerable energy to assisting handicapped children and other humanitarian causes. Brightly colored dashiki tunics replaced his standard Motown-issue mod suits, an outward expression of the changes he felt within. Wonder briefly touched on his fascination with the African nation in a interview with Rolling Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Lifeand soon these abstract notions began to solidify into something more concrete. During a press conference in Los Angeles the following March, he tentatively announced a final concert tour slated for the end of — when his recording contract was set to expire — with all proceeds earmarked for Ghanaian charities. He hardly needed the leverage. Knowing that he stood to lose his most consistent seller to a life of philanthropy — or lucrative Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life from rivals at Epic and Arista Records — the label chief was prepared to move mountains of cash. At the time, it was the biggest deal that had ever been done in the music industry. But I had to do it, because there was no way I was going to lose Stevie. In addition to the financial windfall, the contract also offered Wonder the creative Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life to work anywhere he wanted, with any artist he desired, and veto power over any potential singles. They never had an artist in 13 years. They had single records, they managed to create a name in certain areas, but they never came through with a major, major artist. The contract did Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life lot for Wonder, but Motown had done a lot for him. The imprint was a shining African-American success story. It is vital that people in our business — particularly the black creative community, including artists, writers and producers — make sure that Motown stays emotionally stable, spiritually strong and economically healthy. I believe in him enough to do this. I believe in the gamble. With the technicalities in place, Wonder immersed himself in a new project — his 18th album since The final title came to him in a dream: Songs in the Key of Life. For Wonder, the banner was a personal dare to expand his compositional range. It was a challenge he met head on, working to the point of obsession. More often than not, he could be found in one of those spaces, sometimes for 48 hours at a time, chasing his muse with a rotating crew of engineers and support musicians. He did more songs in those two years I think than he had done before. Though the exact count is unknown, Wonder claims to have recorded several hundred tracks during the Songs in the Key of Life sessions — nearly all of which remain in the vault. Then Wonder called him from the recording studio and casually informed him that he had added another verse. Could he whip up some more lyrics in the next 10 minutes? The band was waiting. We went to the studio and that was where you were. In addition to his loyal crew, Wonder had a secret weapon: a state- of-the-art analogue synthesizer called the Yamaha GX The enormous instrument boasted three keyboards, multi-octave foot pedals, ribbon controller, a galaxy of buttons to recall sounds and modulate pitches, and even a built-in bench. Along with the gargantuan size came a gargantuan cost. Intended as a prototype Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life future consumer synths, only a handful were ever made — let alone sold. Wonder bought two. The GX-1 had much to recommend itself to the multi-instrumentalist. Realistic for the time instrument samples allowed him to single-handedly layer complex orchestral beds. And unlike others synths available in that era, it was polyphonic, which allowed him to play multiple keys at once and create lush backing tracks in a fraction of the time. The devotees were pulled in off the street on in a spur-of-the-moment burst of creativity. Crystal Studios was located in the east side of Hollywood, not far from the local headquarters. The main room was not very live-sounding, but it was very big. The blend of higher consciousness and social consciousness, the eternal and the urgent, gave voice to the dreams swirling inside the young maestro. But it was another vocal cameo that hit closest to home. Wonder became a father on February 5th,when partner Yolanda Simmons gave birth to Aisha Morris. The label had effectively served as a grammar school for the former child star, and the fun afternoon triggered a wave of nostalgia. He hastily scribed new lyrics about those early days, and at 3 a. Her career remained mired in a morass of lawsuits, domestic-assault incidents, poverty, and alcoholism, never to recover. Wonder would have been well acquainted with Ballard. A subtle nod Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life her premature passing would be in line with his mission to write about all aspects of life — even death. So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation. After basic recording was complete, Wonder insisted on endlessly remixing the tracks in an unlimited series of configurations. It became part of the joke of our lives. Wonder took to wearing these T-shirts around Motown headquarters to tease the supremely stressed-out executives who had never waited anywhere near this long for a product. By the fall ofWonder was ready. He had completed a double LP and bonus EP bursting at the seams with musical innovation. Songs in the Key of Life was a groundbreaking blend of funk, soul, pop and jazz, seasoned Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life cutting-edge technology. Amazingly, this bumper crop of forward-looking musical brilliance had its grand debut in the pastoral paradise of Long View Farm in rural North Brookfield, Massachusetts. But that was just the final step in a long journey. Soon they were airborne in a chartered DC-9, well stocked with champagne and appetizers. Once the plane touched down at a small airport in Worcester, Massachusetts, the journalists were loaded onto a fleet of school buses for a short ride to the listening party. Long View Farm was a acre equestrian ground that had recently been renovated to include a world-class studio used by the Rolling Stones, Cat Stevens, Aerosmith and the J. Geils Band, among many others. Guests were treated to hearty meals of roast beef, pie and more champagne while waiting for Wonder to make his entrance. It became the third album in history to debut at Number One, remaining there for 14 weeks. It also earned him four Grammys, which he accepted via satellite while he was visiting Nigeria to explore his musical heritage. To be a father and then letting go and letting God give me the energy and strength I needed. Newswire Powered by. Close the menu. Rolling Stone. Log In. To help keep your account secure, please log-in again. You are no longer onsite at your organization. Please log in. For assistance, contact your corporate administrator. Arrow Created with Sketch. Calendar Created with Sketch. Path Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Plus Created with Sketch. Inside Stevie Wonder's Epic 'Songs in the Key of Life' - Rolling Stone Songs in the Key of Life was Stevie Wonder 's longest, most ambitious collection of songs, a two-LP plus accompanying EP set that -- just as the title promised -- touched on nearly every issue under the sun, and did it all with ambitious even for himwide-ranging arrangements and some of the best performances of Wonder 's career. Hot on its heels comes the torrid fusion jam "Contusion," a big, brassy hit tribute to the recently departed Duke Ellington in "Sir Duke," and another hit, this one a Grammy winner as well the bumping poem to his childhood, "I Wish. Fans of the love album Talking Book can marvel that he sets the bar even higher here, with brilliant material like the tenderly cathartic and gloriously redemptive "Joy Inside My Tears," the two-part, smooth-and-rough "Ordinary Pain," the bitterly ironic "All Day Sucker," or another classic heartbreaker, "Summer Soft. If all this sounds overwhelming, it is; Stevie Wonder had talent to spare during the mid-'70s, and instead of letting the reserve trickle out during the rest of the decade, he let Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life all go with one massive burst. His only Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life record of the '70s was the similarly gargantuan but largely instrumental soundtrack Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. AllMusic relies heavily on JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to use the site fully. Blues Classical Country. Electronic Folk International. Jazz Latin New Age. Aggressive Bittersweet Druggy. Energetic Happy Hypnotic. Romantic Sad Sentimental. Sexy Trippy All Moods. Drinking Hanging Out In Love. Introspection Late Night Partying. Rainy Day Relaxation Road Trip. Romantic Evening Sex All Themes. Features Interviews Lists. Streams Videos All Posts. Release Date September 28, Recording Location Crystal Industries Inc. Track Listing - Disc 1. Love's in Need of Love Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life.