Stevie Wonder is taking Songs in the Key of Life back on the road for its 50th anniversary, and fans are already joking about what they’d give up for a ticket. PTO? A utility bill? One moderately useful organ? We’re kidding… Mostly. Tickets go on sale starting today, with the first show stop slated for Birmingham, U.K on October 13.
Released in 1976, Songs in the Key of Life became one of the defining albums of Black music, blending soul, funk, jazz, gospel and social commentary into songs that still sound relevant 50 years later. And because Wonder has spent decades collaborating across generations, we can’t help wondering who might pop up along the way.
Here are five artists we’d love to see join him onstage.
Deniece Williams
Deniece Williams has one of the strongest ties to the album itself. She sang background vocals on “Ordinary Pain” alongside Minnie Riperton, Syreeta Wright and others, making her part of the original Songs in the Key of Life story. Seeing Williams return 50 years later would put one of the women who helped shape the album back where she belongs. And Maya Rudolph could join in as well, offering a tribute to her mother, Riperton.
India.Arie
India.Arie has been praising Wonder since the beginning of her career. Her debut album, Acoustic Soul, featured “Wonderful (Stevie Wonder Dedication). Admiration eventually became collaboration in the form of “A Time to Love,” a featured collaboration on the title track of Stevie Wonder’s 2005 album, “The Christmas Song,” a 2002 holiday duet, and various joint appearances. Their connection feels natural because both artists build music around soul, spirituality and humanity.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder already have history. They recorded Luther Vandross’ “So Amazing” together in 2005, and she later helped honor Wonder during the Songs in the Key of Life — An All-Star Grammy Salute. This pairing would be required social media viewing, as ordered by the Beyhive, who are still reveling in the 20th anniversary of Beyoncé’s B’day.
Rapsody, Cordae and CHIKA
This unexpected trio helped launch Wonder’s own record label when he left Motown. Along with Busta Rhymes, they recorded “Can’t Put It in the Hands of Fate,” a song addressing social justice, systemic racism, and the Black Lives Matter movement. It was one of the two singles released by Wonder’s So What The Fuss Music imprint with Republic Records in October 2020. They could team up again for one of Key of Life’s most political songs, like “Village Ghetto Land” and “Black Man.”
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan, who’s putting out her own album in, first collaborated with Wonder when he was just 19 years old and brought her and her band Rufus the song “Tell Me Something Good” after famously rejecting another track he had offered. The song became a massive hit and earned the band their first Grammy. Wonder also played harmonica on Chaka Khan’s 1984 title track hit “I Feel for You” (1984), written by Prince. This is a pairing worth giving up a marginally vital organ for.