SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Stevie Wonder's groundbreaking and still influential eighteenth studio album, "Songs in the Key of Life". After a string of highly successful and critically acclaimed albums which included "Talking Book", "Innervisions", and "Fulfillingness' First Finale", the immensely popular, Wonder was burnt out and really feeling ready to call his recording career a day since he had been making music professionally since he was eleven. But the twenty-five year old artist, whose contract with Motown was up, would end up changing his mind. Although there was high interest from several other labels, Wonder would wind up signing a new contract with Motown in 1975. This seven year contract would give him thirty million dollars upfront, 20% of the royalties, ownership of the publishing rights and most importantly, complete artistic control which was extremely rare with the label.

A year later, Wonder went to work on this new project and would ultimately release this double album on September 28, 1976. This collection featured seventeen songs which focused on a wide range of subjects like love, romance, parenthood, inequality and racial discrimination. With musical contributions from Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Minnie Riperton and Deniece Williams, "Songs" would have four singles released including the number one songs, "I Wish" and "Sir Duke", a track that pays tribute to jazz legend, Duke Ellington who had just died in 1974.

Other highlights from the album that received extensive radio airplay include "Love's in Need of Love Today", "Knocks Me Off My Feet" and "Isn't She Lovely", a song that surprisingly wasn't actually released as an official single since Wonder refused to trim the over six minute track but was still so popular that it wound up charting, reaching number twenty-three on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Songs" would spend thirteen weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 Album chart, was the second-best-selling album of 1977 in the US and would have sales of five million copies worldwide. And "Songs in the Key of Life" would win Album of the Year at the 1977 Grammy Awards, making this his third win in the category ("Innervisions" and "Fulfillingness' First Finale" won in 1974 and 1975).

To celebrate this remarkable musical achievement, Wonder will be taking "Song in the Key of Life" on the road with the entire album performed at each stop of the tour. The "Songs" 50th Anniversary concerts will begin in Europe in October before heading to the US in November and finishing in Los Angeles on December 19th. There has also been a new recording released, "Songs in the Key of Life: The EP" which features four outtakes from the original album recording sessions: "It's Easier" "My Life Story of Love" "I Can See the Sun in Late December" and "I'm Into Livin'".

PARTY

Another song from Troye Sivan's upcoming new album, "She's The Best" has been released. Utilizing a sample from Madonna's 2000 hit, "Music", "Party" is all about hanging out with some good friends and having a wild soiree. The song, with spoken-word from Sivan over a progressive beat, is a fairly standard house-pop track but it's the music video that actually leaves a real impression. Beginning with narration provided by actor, Sir Ian McKellan, the rousing clip (directed by Gordon von Steiner who did the singer's previous video for the title track) is a queer, medieval-set romp with Sivan as a knight with lust in his heart and ready to tear up the dance floor. This is an expensive looking video and highly sexually charged, helping to elevate this single to make "Party" appear far more intriguing.

WESTSIDE WHIMSY

Days after announcing the news on social media, Jhené Aiko unexpectedly released her fourth studio album, "Westside Whimsy". It's been six years since her last album, "Chilombo" and this latest collection by the neo-soul vocalist (which this title was also the name of her personalized smoothie that had been available at the luxury grocer, Erewhon) continues her musical journey reflecting back on her life, relationships and growing up in Los Angeles. Working with an army of producers (which includes Fisticuffs, Boi-1da and PartyNextDoor), Aiko has twenty tracks of smooth, laid back, hip-hop fueled, r&b that features some guest appearances from some well-known so-Cal artists, Ab-Soul, Tyga, Larry June, OHMA and Kendrick Lamar. Here are a few of my favorite songs from the album:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

It's hard to believe but it has been twenty years since the release of Beyoncé sophomore album, "B'Day" and to celebrate, the artist has just delivered "B'Day: 20th anniversary edition". This collection has remastered the original album and features nineteen additional tracks with remixes and previously unreleased bonus songs that includes "Morning Dew (Donk)" and "Can I Watch You" with Pharrell. But what is most noteworthy about this edition is that Beyoncé is leaning even heavier with Spanish-language songs with "Amor Gitano", a duet with Alejandro Fernández, "Cuerpo Tumbao (Get Me Bodied)" with Maluma (and samples Celia Cruz’s "La Negra Tiene Tumbao") and a new version of "Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)" that samples vocals from the late "Queen of Tejano Music", Selena.







Some new sounds I'm enjoying includes Adéla, the singer, songwriter and dancer from Slovakia, who has just released her debut album, "Prima" and the latest single, "Nicole Kidman" pays homage to the Oscar-winning actress; Chlöe and Timbaland have dropped another song from their upcoming collaboration with "World on Fire"; the British nu-disco band, Jungle has just released their fifth studio album, "Sunshine" and a single, "Come Back To Me"; Luca is an emerging artist bringing a vintage soul vibe into his music and the latest single from the Harlem-born, twenty-three year old performer is "Sympathy", Rising British artist, Charlie Jeer has teamed with fellow Brit singer/songwriter, Cat Burns for a guitar-driven song, "Small Talk" and Victoria Monet has revealed another song from her upcoming album, "Juicy"

And I will close by paying tribute to Cassandra Wilson, the distinctive jazz vocalist who transcended the sound by blending blues, country, and folk music into her work, has sadly passed away on September 1st at the age of seventy. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, she began her musical journey studying classical music and learning to play the piano, clarinet and guitar as a child. While attending college, Wilson would spent her nights performing with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands. Wilson moved to New Orleans after graduating and emersed herself in the jazz scene there before moving to New York in 1982. This was when Wilson would truly begin to develop her style as a singer by becoming one of the founding members of the M-Base collective where they expressed a new way of creating jazz music. In 1986, Wilson recorded her debut album, "Point of View" which included a few original songs she wrote or co-wrote. But is was her third album of standards, "Blue Skies" that helped gained Wilson some notice and helped her get signed to Blue Note Records in 1993. Her debut on the label, "Blue Light 'til Dawn" was Wilson's true breakthrough, a collection of originals and intriguing covers that included the Monkees, Joni Mitchell and Hank Williams, that gave her critical and commercial acclaim. Her follow-up, "New Moon Daughter" in 1995 would reach number one on Billboard Jazz Album chart and win her the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Wilson would release "Traveling Miles" in 1999, a well-received tribute album to Miles Davis, who was one of her greatest influences, with music inspired by his artistry.

BASS PERSUADES

Miley Cyrus has recently announced that she's dropping "Cyrus" from her professional name, moved to a new record label, Atlantic and that she's releasing her tenth studio album, "Bass Persuades". She reveals that the new record reflects a "love story with multiple layers, including a romantic thread running throughout it".

Frustrated with lengthy album rollouts, Miley will release "Bass Persuades" on September 18th, a mere fifteen days after the title track was released as the first single. The song is classic dance-pop that calls for people to put down their phones, reconnect to an analog world and get back to dancing together. The music video for the track, directed by Mert Alas, features Miley in full pop diva mode with her leading a group of sexy, shirtless men through some high-energy dance moves. She will also promote the album with a two-night engagement at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 16th and 18th.

DOLLY PARTON (1946 - 2026)

It is still shocking to believe the passing of Dolly Parton, who worked hard to become a major player in country music before being able to transcend herself into a global superstar, finding success and popularity in all areas of entertainment. She had been going through some undisclosed health issues earlier in the year and it was revealed that Parton died after a brief battle with cancer on August 25th at the age eighty. 

While she was clearly a gifted performer, Parton also was a talented songwriter (who is said to have written over three thousand songs over her career), an savvy entrepreneur and a person of deep faith which helped guide her through an amazing life with an open heart and positive spirit. And Parton certainly stood out with her distinctive look (inspired by the style of the local town tramp she admired when she was a child) of big blonde hair, form fitting clothes that accentuated her curvy figure, sky-high shoes (she was only five foot tall) and plenty of sequins.

Born in the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, Parton was one of twelve children living in a one room cabin on a tobacco farm. The family struggled financially but music played an important part in their lives. Parton began writing and singing music as a young child and would perform on local television and radio programs. By thirteen, she recorded her first single, "Puppy Love" in 1959. While this song wasn't much of a hit but it still gave her confidence to try a move to Nashville. In 1967, Parton recorded her debut album, "Hello, I'm Dolly" that would move it's way to number one on the country chart. She caught the attention of country superstar, Porter Wagoner and Parton would be asked to join his band and eventually be his co-host on his weekly television show. Wagoner and Parton became a popular musical duo and recorded twelve highly successful albums.

During this time, Parton began to release solo recordings with her biggest hit was "Jolene" which topped the country chart in 1974 and even made it on to the pop chart. And it around this time that Parton was ready to make a move away from Wagoner to pursue a career path on her own. Wanting to express her feelings about her musical partner, she wrote "I Will Always Love You" which went to number one on the country chart. Elvis Presley loved the song and wanted to record a version but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker informed Parton she would have to give him half of the publishing rights if Presley did. Parton had to sadly refuse which became a very wise business decision years later when Whitney Houston recorded a reimagined soulful pop version for her 1992 acting debut, "The Bodyguard" with the single selling well over twenty-four million copies.

Parton loved her success in country music but was curious about expanding her audience, deciding to work with a new manager, Sandy Gallin (who she met through Mac Davis and stayed with him for twenty-five years) to help her crossover to pop music. Her breakthrough came in 1977 with the title track from her nineteenth studio album, "Here You Come Again" where it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the country chart. This was impressive feat for Parton as she managed to achieve this success without drastically changing her sound or alienating her country fans. More hits came on the country and pop charts with her profile heightened even further by appearing on numerous variety shows including her own, "Dolly!" which ran for one season in 1976.

Parton was lured to the movies and made her acting debut in the work-place comedy, "9 to 5", co-starring with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The film was a huge hit and Parton's theme song she wrote became her first to top the pop chart and to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. She went on to make more feature films that includes an adaptation of the Broadway musical, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" with Burt Reynolds, "Rhinestone", a 1984 comedy with Sylvester Stallone and "Steel Magnolias", a beloved all-star dramatic-comedy.

Parton invested in various charities, medical research and philanthropic projects that includes Dollywood, a theme park that was opened in 1986 located in Pigeon Forge, TN that provided jobs for the people in the community and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, founded in honor of her father who never learned to read or write, which mails one book per month to an enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten.

As one of the most accomplished and highly honored performers in country music with total sales of well over one hundred million records sold, Parton was able to help expand this distinctly American sound to attract a wide international audience. She was a charismatic entertainer, one who had a singular talent and extraordinary gift to be able to achieve this kind of rare universal appeal.

SHE'S THE BEST

Troye Sivan has just dropped the title track from his upcoming fourth studio album, "She's The Best". The Aussie pop star explains that this record was the first time where he didn't focus on himself or about men when writing his music instead deciding to explore the positive aspect in his life which are women and feminine energy. The song is also a departure for Sivan musically as it's more trip-hop influenced and features the singer delivering spoken-word vocals. And the music video for "She's The Best" is filled with various visions of divine womanhood with the highlights being appearances by drag superstar, Sasha Colby and the one and only Nicole Kidman, looking spectacular serving her usual, effortless sultry glam.