Fifty years ago, on 28 September 1976, Stevie Wonder finally released the album Motown had been promising for the best part of two years. It was so late that the label had printed "We're almost finished" T-shirts to keep people patient. What came out was Songs In The Key Of Life: two LPs, a bonus 7-inch, a 24-page booklet and 21 songs. These days most people just call it one of the greatest records ever made.
The birthday has put Stevie back in the news. On the anniversary itself he surprise-released four songs that had sat in the vaults since those 1976 sessions. Next week he starts playing the whole album live, and the tour opens here in the UK. So this is our guide to buying Songs In The Key Of Life on vinyl in the UK: what a complete original looks like, the details that separate a good copy from a disappointing one, and the Stevie Wonder records sitting in our Mansfield crates right now.
Why everyone's talking about Songs In The Key Of Life again
- The 50th anniversary EP. On 28 September 2026, Stevie put out Songs In The Key Of Life 50: The EP on streaming services. It has four previously unreleased recordings from the original sessions: It's Easier, My Life Story Of Love, I Can See The Sun In Late December and I'm Into Livin'. It went live at 4:54am Los Angeles time, the hour the last session ended back in 1976. That's when bassist Nathan Watts shouted "Fo'FiftyFo'!", and the band have used it as an in-joke ever since.
- The anniversary tour starts in Birmingham. Stevie is playing all 17 songs from the original double album, in order, every night. The UK and Ireland dates are Utilita Arena Birmingham on 13 October, Dublin's 3Arena on 1 November, The O2 in London on 3 November, Co-op Live in Manchester on 8 November and the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on 11 November. After that the tour moves to the US.
- It's still the benchmark. Elton John once said he takes a copy everywhere he goes and called it "the best album ever made". George Michael named it his favourite album of all time. If you ask a room of musicians, plenty of them will say the same.
The story behind the record
By 1975 Stevie had won the Grammy for Album of the Year twice in a row, for Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale, and he was seriously thinking about quitting music and moving to Ghana. Instead he signed a new seven-year, seven-album deal with Motown on 5 August 1975. It gave him full artistic control and was the biggest recording contract anyone had signed up to then.
He then spent a very long time in the studio. Most of it was recorded at Crystal Sound in Hollywood, with sessions at the Record Plant and about six weeks at the Hit Factory in New York. Around 130 people are credited. Herbie Hancock plays the Fender Rhodes on As, George Benson plays guitar on Another Star, and Minnie Riperton and Deniece Williams sing backing vocals on Ordinary Pain. Nathan Watts remembered getting home at 3am after one marathon session, only for Stevie to ring and ask him to come straight back to work on I Wish.
It was worth the wait. In America it went straight in at number one, only the third album ever to do that (the first two were both Elton John's) and the first by an American artist. It stayed at number one for 13 weeks running and won Stevie his third Album of the Year Grammy. I Wish and Sir Duke both went to number one in the US.
Now for the pub quiz bit. In Britain, Songs In The Key Of Life stopped at number two. Sir Duke also stopped at number two, kept off the top by Free by Deniece Williams, who had sung on Stevie's album. Stevie has never topped the UK albums chart. Hotter Than July and The Woman In Red both peaked at number two as well. Not bad for a man whose records are on every "greatest albums" list going.
Its influence keeps turning up too. Coolio rebuilt Pastime Paradise into Gangsta's Paradise in 1995, and Will Smith built Wild Wild West on I Wish in 1999.
Buying Songs In The Key Of Life on vinyl: what a complete UK original looks like
This is a record where condition matters, and completeness matters even more. Here's what to check before you hand over your money.
The catalogue number. The original 1976 UK release is on Motown, catalogue number TMSP 6002, with standard blue Motown labels. The US original is Tamla T13-340C2. The UK discs have STML 60021 and STML 60022 matrix numbers in the run-out, so a quick look under a lamp tells you a lot.
The full kit. A complete first-edition copy should have:
- Two LPs in the gatefold sleeve (the UK sleeve was printed by Garrod & Lofthouse).
- The bonus 7-inch EP A Something's Extra, which plays at 33⅓ and has Saturn, Ebony Eyes, All Day Sucker and Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call).
- The 24-page lyric and credits booklet.
The front of the sleeve originally carried a sticker spelling all of this out. Copies with the sticker still on are a nice bonus. The EP and the booklet are the bits that go missing over fifty years of house moves and teenage borrowing, so check both before you buy. A copy without the EP is missing four songs, and not filler ones either. Ebony Eyes alone is worth the hunt.
Auto-coupled discs. The UK LPs are auto-coupled for autochanger record players. Sides 1 and 4 are on one disc, and sides 2 and 3 are on the other. Don't panic when side 2 isn't on the back of side 1. That's how it was made.
A label variation for the anoraks. According to Discogs, some UK copies credit Black Man to "Wonder-Byrd" on the label while others just say "Wonder". Gary Byrd co-wrote the song, so the longer credit is correct.
Playing condition. Songs In The Key Of Life was the soundtrack to a great many parties, and a lot of copies show it. Play the loud, busy tracks, like the horns on Sir Duke and the bass on I Wish, and listen for distortion on the high notes and peaks. Sleeves often have ring wear and split spines because two LPs, a 7-inch and a booklet are a lot to carry. Our vinyl grading explained guide covers what VG, VG+ and EX really mean.
We don't have a copy of Songs In The Key Of Life on the shelf as we write. Complete copies don't hang about. If you'd like first dibs on the next one, add it to our wanted list and we'll email you when one comes in.
Stevie Wonder vinyl in stock now
Here's the good news: our crates are full of Stevie right now. Every record below is graded by hand, and the photos show the actual copy you'll get.
The follow-up: Stevie Wonder – Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants (Motown TMSP 6009, 1979), fold-out sleeve with embossed cover, Irish press, VG+/VG, £7.50. This was the next album after Songs In The Key Of Life, a double-LP soundtrack to a documentary about plants. Yes, really. The embossed sleeve has a Braille caption, and it was one of the first digitally recorded pop albums, made on Sony PCM equipment three months after Ry Cooder's Bop Till You Drop. It's the most underrated record in his catalogue, and the price shows it.
Before the classic period:
- Stevie Wonder – Live (Tamla Motown STML 11150, 1970), UK press, VG/VG, £7.50. Released as Stevie was getting ready to negotiate the Motown contract that gave him full artistic control. It runs over an hour on a single LP, which was a lot to fit on one disc in 1970, and includes his takes on Blowin' In The Wind and Alfie.
- Stevie Wonder – Looking Back 3LP anthology, gatefold, Canadian Motown press, VG+/VG, £10. Forty songs from 1962 to 1971, including Fingertips, Uptight and My Cherie Amour. It was the first release of his 1967 recording of Until You Come Back To Me, later a hit for Aretha Franklin, and it has never been reissued as a triple LP.
- Stevie Wonder – Portrait Of (5C 062-92636, 1971), Tamla Motown, German press, VG/VG, £7.50. A German compilation from 1971 with a cracking yellow sleeve.
The eighties hits:
- Stevie Wonder – The Woman In Red soundtrack (ZL72285, 1984), gatefold, German press, VG+/VG+, £7.50. This is the album with I Just Called To Say I Love You, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song, went to number one in Britain and was the UK's second best-selling single of 1984, behind only Band Aid. Dionne Warwick sings on several tracks.
- Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You 12" (TMGT 1349, 1984), UK press, VG+/VG, £5. The big one on a 12-inch.
- Stevie Wonder – In Square Circle (ZL72005, 1985), gatefold, booklet, embossed cover, German press, VG+/VG, £7.50. Home of Part-Time Lover, a US number one, and the gorgeous Overjoyed.
- Stevie Wonder – Love Songs (Telstar STAR 2251, 1984), UK press, VG/VG, £7.50. The classic TV-advertised compilation, made for a Sunday afternoon.
Stevie the producer: Syreeta – Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta (Tamla Motown STML 11268, 1974), UK press, EX/VG, £5. Stevie produced it, and Minnie Riperton, Deniece Williams and guitarist Michael Sembello all play or sing on it. All three turned up on Songs In The Key Of Life two years later, so think of this as a warm-up for that record, with a lovely sleeve.
Stevie the guest star:
- Paul McCartney – Tug Of War (Parlophone PCTC 259, 1982), printed inner, UK press, VG+/G+, £5. It has Ebony And Ivory, recorded with Stevie at AIR Studios in Montserrat in early 1981, which went to number one in both the UK and the US. It also has What's That You're Doing?, a proper funk workout the two of them did together.
- Eurythmics – Be Yourself Tonight (RCA PL70711, 1985), lyric sheet, printed inner, German press, VG+/VG, £5. That harmonica solo on There Must Be An Angel is Stevie, and it gave Eurythmics their only UK number one. Dave Stewart remembers him playing sea shanties between takes as a joke.
- Elton John – Too Low For Zero (Rocket HISPD 24, 1983), printed inner, UK press, VG+/G+, £5. Stevie plays the harmonica solo on I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues. It seems only fair given how much Elton loves Songs In The Key Of Life.
- George Michael – Careless Whisper 12" (Epic TA 4603, 1984), UK press, VG/VG, £5. Our nod to the man who called Songs In The Key Of Life his favourite album. He later covered As with Mary J. Blige.
Every record we sell on the website is cleaned with a Pro-Ject VC-S3 vacuum record cleaner before it goes out. If you'd like a deeper clean, add a Degritter Mark II ultrasonic clean at checkout for £2. Think of it as a spa day for the grooves. The details are on our cleaning service page. New customer? Use code Autumn10 for 10% off your order.
Got a Stevie Wonder collection in the loft?
If you've got a Songs In The Key Of Life with the EP and booklet still tucked inside, or a shelf of Tamla Motown that deserves to be played again, we buy vinyl collections from all over the UK. Start at sell your vinyl records or get in touch.
Dig the crates
Fifty years on, Songs In The Key Of Life still sounds like the work of someone who couldn't stop writing great songs. If you're off to Birmingham, London, Manchester or Glasgow, give side one a spin before you go and you'll be word-perfect on Love's In Need Of Love Today. If you're staying in, have a dig through the shop and pick up some more Stevie while it's here. Happy fiftieth, Stevie.