Recording
The working title was Let's see life the way it is. Recording sessions for the album were split between the Crystal Industries in Hollywood; The Record Plant, Los Angeles and Sausalito in California; and The Hit Factory in New York City. Sessions on the latter were particularly memorable, as Songs in the Key of Life was the first album to be actually recorded at The Hit Factory, while Wonder became the first client of Edward Germano, the studio's owner. Wonder initially booked a three-day session with Germano and ended up working there for nine months. As a perfectionist, Wonder spent long hours in the studio for almost every track he recorded. He was "not eating or sleeping, while everyone around him struggled to keep up". According to himself, "If my flow is goin', I keep on until I peak".
A total of 130 people worked on the album, but Wonder's preeminence during the album was evident. Among the people present during the sessions, there were legendary figures of R&B, soul and jazz music – Herbie Hancock played Fender Rhodes on "As", George Benson played electric guitar on "Another Star", and Minnie Riperton and Deniece Williams added backing vocals on "Ordinary Pain". Mike Sembello was a prominent personality throughout the album, playing guitar in several tracks and also co-writing "Saturn" with Wonder. Some of the most socially-conscious songs of the album were actually written by Wonder with other people – these included "Village Ghetto Land" and "Black Man" (co-written with Gary Byrd) "Pastime Paradise" were co-written with Ronald Simmons (he sent Wonder a poem in 1974 titled "The A-tions of the World") and "Have a Talk With God" (co-written with Calvin Hardaway).
Read more about this topic: Songs In The Key Of Life
Famous quotes containing the word recording:
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—Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870–1942)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)