Classic Album Sundays, the most popular and respected classic album listening event in the world, is setting up shop in Chicago to expose your ears to some aural enlightenment you've never heard before. Saturday Audio Exchange, Transistor Chicago, CHIRP Radio, Dark Matter Coffee, and event organizer Sam Willett will be celebrating the legacy of Stevie Wonder's Songs In the Key of Life by listening to it in its entirety on vinyl.

In 1995, Stevie Wonder told Q Magazine, "Of all the albums, Songs in the Key of Life I'm most happy about. Just the time, being alive then. To be a father and then… letting go and letting God give me the energy and strength I needed." The album is a musical melding of soul, R&B, Latin, funk, reggae, jazz and pop with the signature Wonder chord structures and indelible melodies with topics ranging from the personal to the universal. He told Oprah Winfrey, “I remember writing "Isn't She Lovely?"—I can almost cry right now thinking about it. The sound of my daughter Aisha splashing in the bathtub created a picture. That was emotion stuck in a moment, and that can never, ever be taken away.

The album credits 130 collaborators including Herbie Hancock, Minnie Riperton, Deniece Williams, his ex-wife Syreeta Wright, Mike Sembello and George Benson amongst others. However, it is still unmistakably the work of an auteur as he alone wrote, produced, arranged and composed pretty much everything on the album himself (only three songs list cowriters and he sings all of the leads and most of the backing tracks). There is no doubt that Songs in the Key of Life is Stevie’s singular vision and infused with his spirit throughout.

Saturday Audio Exchange, a well-renowned Chicago independent music dealer, will be providing a custom-curated hi-fi audio system to make this experience come to life on vinyl. In attending the event, you will listen to the album as if you are watching a movie- no phones, no distractions, and complete focus on the beauty engrained in Songs In the Key of Life. Take a look at the sound equipment Classic Album Sundays typically uses at their events here.



When the event starts, a vinyl-exclusive playlist, including artists that influenced and have been influenced by Stevie Wonder, will be played. Attendees should take this warm up time to take a look around Saturday, visit with our event partners, socialize with new and old friends, and drink beverages. When we have a full house, we will give attendees a ten minute warning to use to the bathroom and make any phone calls before the album starts. Then, Sam will introduce the album drop the needle. From there, your mind should be completely involved with the album and prepared for a musical adventure.