Stevie Wonder marked fifty years of Songs in the Key of Life on September 28 with an EP containing four previously unreleased recordings from the album’s sessions.
The selections are It’s Easier, My Life Story of Love, I Can See the Sun in Late December and I’m Into Livin’. Wonder personally curated the release, according to Universal Music’s announcement.
Original sessions, new mixes
John Fischbach and Gary O Adante, the original album’s recording and mixing engineers, mixed the recordings for the EP. Adante was credited on the original LP as Gary Olazabal.
The distinction is useful: these are archival session recordings receiving a new release, rather than four newly recorded 2026 performances. Their connection to the original album lies in when the material was made, while the EP provides a new publication context.
Anniversary release details
- Released: September 28, 2026.
- Format: four-song EP.
- Archive: Songs in the Key of Life sessions.
- Curated by: Stevie Wonder.
The original album was released on September 28, 1976. The new EP therefore adds material around a familiar record rather than replacing its original running order.
For listeners, an archive release offers a reason to separate several questions: which performances date from the original sessions, which mixes are new and which tracks appeared on the original album. That separation gives the additional recordings a clear place beside a work many people already know.
Source: Official label announcement.
Image: Pete Souza / White House. Original photograph · Public domain. Display thumbnails may be cropped.
