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Stevie Wonder releases four unheard songs from Songs in the Key of Life sessions

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Beaumont-Thomas, B. (2026, September 28). Stevie Wonder releases four unheard songs from Songs in the Key of Life sessions. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/28/stevie-wonder-releases-four-unheard-songs-from-songs-in-the-key-of-life-sessions

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The Guardian · collected 2026-09-28 · by Ben Beaumont-Thomas

Quick Summary

Stevie Wonder has released four previously unheard songs from his 1976 album "Songs in the Key of Life," marking its 50th anniversary with an EP named after the original album. These tracks, including "It's Easier" and "My Life Story of Love," maintain the spiritual and soulful style that defined Wonder’s work during the 1970s. The new material features contributions from recording engineers John Fischbach and Gary O Adante, along with guest vocalists Thelma Houston and Deniece Williams. Additionally, Wonder is embarking on a tour beginning October 13 in Birmingham, UK, where he will perform "Songs in the Key of Life" in full.
Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Stevie Wonder has released four unheard songs from the recording sessions of his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life, marking its 50th anniversary. The new EP features tracks like It’s Easier, My Life Story of Love, I Can See the Sun in Late December, and I’m Into Livin’, each highlighting Wonder's signature style of sunlit, spiritually attuned soul music. My Life Story of Love includes a co-writing credit for Susaye Greene from The Supremes, while backing vocals on I’m Into Livin’ include future stars Thelma Houston and Deniece Williams along with Shirley Brewer. Wonder stated that these songs were part of his creative journey during the album’s recording but were not initially included in the final 21-track release.

Written for “Stevie Wonder Unreleased Tracks” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Stevie Wonder Unreleased Tracks
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
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The Guardian · 2734 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ben Beaumont-Thomas
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 His brothers were also musicians, one a drummer who joined Prefab Sprout (“they were shite,” Lant would later opine), and another who drummed for Venom in the band’s 21st-century period.
🔮 The voices of two future stars – Thelma Houston and Deniece Williams – can be heard as backing vocalists on I’m Into Livin’, along with Shirley Brewer, who features on Songs in the Key of Life’s Ordinary Pain.
🔮 Rod Stewart has announced that his next tour will be his last.
🔮 I would die.”
🔮 And I eventually look back and say: ‘There might be something there.’”
🔮 Everyone needs to be worried about what I might do.”
🔮 Born Derek Safo, and later known as Sway Dasafo, he was born in Hornsey, north London, to Ghanaian parents, and as well as training as a producer, he honed a versatile rap flow that could be deployed on high-tempo grime and club tracks as well as thoughtful hip-hop leaning material.
2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Sway, Mobo-winning British rapper, dies aged 44
Also by Ben Beaumont-Thomas
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

Birmingham London Manchester Supremes Wonder

Subjects

Wonder PERSON · 9× Deniece Williams PERSON · 1× Gary O Adante PERSON · 1× John Fischbach PERSON · 1× Michael Jackson’s PERSON · 1× Shirley Brewer PERSON · 1× Stevie Wonder PERSON · 1× Supremes ORG · 1× Susaye Greene PERSON · 1× Thelma Houston PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The unheard tracks continue in that vein: It’s Easier is a shimmying, bossa nova-esque number that questions whether to walk away from the very concept of love; My Life Story of Love is quintessential Wonder with the singer using bucolic imagery (“let her bloom into my flower of love”) on a tale of a blossoming relationship; I Can See the Sun in Late December is a slow jazz ballad about determined optimism and self-discovery; and I’m Into Livin’ is a squelchy funk track as Wonder renounces his old partying and womanising ways and pledges himself to a single lover. All four are written and produced by Wonder, though My Life Story of Love features a co-writing credit for former Supremes member Susaye Greene, who also co-wrote Michael Jackson’s I Can’t Help It with Wonder.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28
🔮 The voices of two future stars – Thelma Houston and Deniece Williams – can be heard as backing vocalists on I’m Into Livin’, along with Shirley Brewer, who features on Songs in the Key of Life’s Ordinary Pain.

Claims (14 extracted, 0 hedged)

Stevie Wonder has expanded the scope of what was already the most epic studio album in his catalogue, 1976’s Songs in the Key of Life. asserted
what → expand → Life
Four unheard songs from the recording sessions have been released today as a new EP of the same name, marking the 50th anniversary of an album which won album of the year at the Grammys and contains a number of Wonder’s landmark tracks including Sir Duke, As and Isn’t She Lovely. asserted
She → release → Duke
“We’ve lived with Songs in the Key of Life for 50 years, but there’s still more to hear,” Wonder said in a statement. asserted
Wonder → live → statement
“We didn’t add these songs to the album, but they were part of what I was feeling and discovering as we made it. asserted
we → add → it
They bring me back to that time in my life, and now they get to become part of yours. asserted
they → bring → yours
The songs are suffused with the style Wonder had crafted during the 1970s, and which arguably reached its apotheosis on that 21-track double album: a sunlit, spiritually attuned type of soul and R&B, celebrating love and the richness of existence while acknowledging emotional strife and social struggle. asserted
which → suffuse → strife
The album’s backings are gorgeously detailed, instantly recognisable psychedelic soul arrangements with funk and jazz detailing, bringing in the futurist sound of keyboards and synth bass but fleshing everything out with a huge range of organic instrumentation. asserted
backings → bring → instrumentation
The unheard tracks continue in that vein: It’s Easier is a shimmying, bossa nova-esque number that questions whether to walk away from the very concept of love; My Life Story of Love is quintessential Wonder with the singer using bucolic imagery (“let her bloom into my flower of love”) on a tale of a blossoming relationship; I Can See the Sun in Late December is a slow jazz ballad about determined optimism and self-discovery; and I’m Into Livin’ is a squelchy funk track as Wonder renounces his old partying and womanising ways and pledges himself to a single lover. All four are written and produced by Wonder, though My Life Story of Love features a co-writing credit for former Supremes member Susaye Greene, who also co-wrote Michael Jackson’s I Can’t Help It with Wonder. asserted
I → continue → Wonder
The original recording and mixing engineers, John Fischbach and Gary O Adante, recently mixed the tracks for release. asserted
engineers → mix → release
The voices of two future stars – Thelma Houston and Deniece Williams – can be heard as backing vocalists on I’m Into Livin’, along with Shirley Brewer, who features on Songs in the Key of Life’s Ordinary Pain. asserted
who → hear → Pain
The new EP comes as Wonder prepares to play Songs in the Key of Life in full on an arena tour, which begins 13 October in Birmingham, UK. asserted
which → come → Birmingham
Wonder then tours across Europe before returning to the UK for three more dates in London, Manchester and Glasgow, then plays five US cities: New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, Detroit and Los Angeles. asserted
Wonder → tour → cities
Wonder’s most recent new material was the single Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart, released in 2024, though he hasn’t released a new studio album since 2005’s A Time to Love. asserted
he → fix → Love
In 2020 he announced a new “project” entitled Through the Eyes of Wonder, though no further news on its status has been released since. asserted
news → announce → status
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