Songs in the Key of Life at 50, at USC

I had only planned to see Gary Clark Jr. on this trip. I didn’t know his music well, but I was thoroughly impressed by his performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers.”

It was a pleasant surprise to learn that USC was paying tribute to Stevie’s Songs in the Key of Life—one of my favorite albums of his, second only to Talking Book. That alone made the trip downtown worthwhile. USC isn’t an area I would normally visit, yet I’ve now been there twice since arriving in Los Angeles. Maybe that’s a sign that L.A. is growing on me—or that I’m simply spending more time going down…town.

USC had actually been my first choice for college, but at the time my parents had concerns about the surrounding area. As educators, their opinion carried weight, so I took their advice and headed west instead. A friend of mine did attend USC, however, and I somehow ended up on the alumni mailing list. That explained how I learned about such an extraordinary free concert featuring Stevie Wonder, Greg Phillinganes, and Nisan Stewart—and why, despite the lineup, the evening began in a surprisingly orderly fashion.

The program opened with a thoughtful and beautifully delivered retrospective by Jason King. His remarks set the tone for the performances that followed. The students showed an intimate knowledge of Stevie’s work, performing confidently without relying on charts. Cory Henry played the Harpejji and sang, and one student arrived in a gold satin suit, braids, and shades inspired by Stevie’s 1970s style. He fully committed to the part—and did not disappoint.

Stevie himself eventually took the stage and explained that his children had joined him to watch their father’s legacy come alive through musicians from both a new generation and an earlier one. Greg Phillinganes, after all, has worked with Stevie since the 1970s, including on Songs in the Key of Life.

Stevie closed with a powerful speech that became a call to action. It deserves to be read in full below.

All in all, it was an unforgettable evening. I had seen Stevie perform once before in Osaka, but the intimate setting of the USC theater—and the energy of the Los Angeles audience—made this performance feel truly one of a kind.

Transcribed from my phone recording and lightly edited for reading. [...] marks a passage the recording doesn’t make clear. The songs themselves are not transcribed.

The speech

…in his late nineties now. They say he’s not like he was when he was younger. As we all grow older, things do change. And what I wanted to do, working on my next project, which is called Through the Eyes of Wonder, I wanted to get his voice. Because, you know, he took a chance. I was a kid, going around the studio, playing on these things. As I’ve said in interviews, I always wanted to meet Smokey Robinson. And when I finally met him, he was like, “Hey, so I hear you sing.” I said, “Yeah, I can sing. I might sing better than you.” He said, “No.” It was stupid. But then when Berry heard me sing, and he heard me play harmonica, he said, “Yeah, you’re good, but the harmonica’s better.”

But we had such wonderful moments, so many things that I was able to grow with, not only knowing him but the family, the Gordy family, the people. When I was eleven, anybody older than thirteen was my parent. So I couldn’t do things like… I couldn’t get any candy, I couldn’t stay up late. I was in lockdown all the time. And I’m so very thankful for that, because it taught me to understand discipline and responsibility and commitment.

You know, the radio was my eyes to the world. Eyes and ears to the world. So when I did that whole song, “Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing,” I was trying to speak Spanish [...]. But it’s just a blessing.

And Songs in the Key of Life, the name of it came really out of a dream. I came up with the name, and I said, you know, there will never, ever be enough songs in the key of life, because it goes on and on and on and on. And we just continue doing life. But I just hope that people will understand: you have to remember the most important part of life. It really is love.

And as much as you can say that, and people go, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah”… but honestly, there’s a lot of bullshit going on right now. I mean, really. If I could say anything to the leaders of this nation and the world, it is: grow up, and be about love. If you want to make anything great again, make love great again.

If you really want to understand what you really need to do, you need to open your heart, and use the vision in your heart, and see that we are all one. That is what the Creator did. But it is on us as people to remind the leaders that we are the people that you are supposed to protect. Not just any one people, but every single human being. You learn it, or you mess around and you’ll find out. They say play with popcorn, you will get popped.

So I’m so happy, Greg, that you did this. And you’re here. He told me, he said, “You know, you don’t have to come up here and do nothing. Just enjoy it.” But honestly, listen: I couldn’t tell you how much I’m so thankful, and I feel so blessed, and I feel so honored, and I want to let you know that I will love you to my last breath. That’s what you can know. You can know that.

And what you can also know, and you must know, clearly: I know that I’m from a place where the original people of the earth came. Which means, to me, long before people were saying, “Oh no, no, no, no”… Listen, I know the truth, not only because I know it. I feel it. I knew it from the beginning. So when people get into all that, I say, you know what, you’re stuck on stupid. Because the reality is that we are the original people of the planet, and that means that, really, you are my children. And so, in that, you are my children: grow up, and cut the…

I love you. God bless you. The love is here, the love is here. I just love you so much. Thank you.

[Stevie counts the band into “Love’s in Need of Love Today.”]

Hold on, hold on, hold on. I messed that up. Take two. Just like the old days. Take two, here we go. Two, one, from the top.

[After the song:]

Can I sing one line?

[He sings “What the World Needs Now Is Love.”]

I’m going to my seat.

[Later, on his way off:]

Don’t forget to vote.