Songs in the Key of Life stands apart, even next to the other four albums in Stevie Wonder's classic period. It resulted in the most hit singles: "I Wish", "Sir Duke", "As" and "Another Star". Chris Molanphy of the Hit Parade podcast leads us through this album's incredible charts story. Not only did it produce FOUR singles, but it inspired two other chart-topping hits: Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and Will Smith's "Wild Wild West". Plus — Peter and Adam nerd out on the keys, dissecting every track to highlight the musical complexity that makes Songs in the Key of Life a favorite among jazz musicians. You may have heard Songs in the Key of Life ... possibly many times. But you've never heard it quite like this! Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://osjazz.link/yhi 00:00 - Intro Jam: "As" 02:13 - The Chart Story Behind SITKOL 05:40 - The Long Wait for Songs in the Key of Life 12:45 - "Love's In Need of Love Today" 19:40 - Comparing Stevie to Prince 20:30 - "I Wish" 24:00 - The Ultimate Crossover Hitmaker 27:25 - "Sir Duke" 32:30 - Making Jazz Fun 37:25 - "Passtime Paradise" 40:00 - Stevie the Synth Innovator 43:50 - How Stevie Commanded the Charts 46:40 - How Was This Track Not a Hit Single? 52:00 - This Hit Was NOT On an Album 56:00 - The SITKOL Jazz Standard 1:00:30 - "Another Star" 1:04:05 - "As" 1:15:00 - How SITKOL Singles Broke Ground 1:22:20 - Our Favorite SITKOL Tracks 1:25:35 - The Best Moments on SITKOL 1:29:50 - Bespoke Spotify Playlists 1:32:45 - What to Listen to Next 1:35:20 - Quibble Bits 1:37:50 - How "Snobby" is This Record? 1:40:50 - Is it Better than Kind of Blue? 1:42:40 - Packaging Gets a 10/10 1:45:00 - Outro: "As" Play better in 2026 and beyond at Open Studio. Join today with our last BIG savings of the year at openstudiojazz.com/yhi
