Stevie Wonder Releases ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ Anniversary EP
The four-track release features previously unheard recordings from the landmark album’s original sessions.
Stevie Wonder has marked the 50th anniversary of Songs in the Key of Life with a four-song EP featuring previously unreleased recordings from the album’s sessions. Released September 28, 2026, exactly 50 years after the original album, the EP includes “It’s Easier,” “My Life Story of Love,” “I Can See the Sun In Late December” and “I’m Into Livin’.”
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Wonder personally curated the recordings, which were recently mixed by John Fischbach and Gary O Adante, two of the original album’s recording and mixing engineers. Adante was credited as Gary Olazabal on the 1976 LP. All four songs were written and produced by Wonder, while Susaye Greene co-wrote the lyrics to “My Life Story of Love.” “We’ve lived with Songs in the Key of Life for fifty years, but there’s still more to hear,” Wonder said. “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.””
The recordings also feature musicians associated with Wonder’s work during the period, including Gregory Phillinganes, Michael Sembello, Ben Bridges, Jim Horn, Raymond Pounds and bassist Nathan Watts. Background vocals on “I’m Into Livin’” include performances by Shirley Brewer, Thelma Houston and Deniece Williams. According to the release, the phrase “Fo’FiftyFo’” became an inside joke among Wonder’s circle after Watts exclaimed it at 4:54 a.m. when the final Songs in the Key of Life studio session ended.
Originally released September 28, 1976, Songs in the Key of Life earned Wonder the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, his third win in that category. The Diamond-certified album was later inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry and includes songs such as “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” “Sir Duke,” “Isn’t She Lovely” and “As.” Wonder will also celebrate the album on the Songs in the Key of Life Performances – 50th Anniversary Tour, beginning October 13 in Birmingham, England, before dates across Europe and the United States through December 19 in Los Angeles.
