There are few albums more universally acclaimed than Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life.” A sprawling, genre-bending masterclass whose messages of treasuring family, love and the gift of life itself resonate as strongly today as they did 50 years ago. On Thursday night, a cast filled with tenured musicians assembled in Bovard Auditorium to reminisce on the everlasting magic of Wonder and his 1971 magnum opus.
This gathering marked the beginning of the 2026-27 iteration of the Thornton School of Music’s “Beyond Category” series, which was spearheaded by Thornton dean Jason King. According to King, Wonder was an easy choice for the third iteration of the Beyond Category series.
“He is one of the most incredible creative artists of our time, and certainly one of the great musicians of our time,” said King in an interview with Annenberg Media.
King and Thornton adjunct professor and former bandmate of Wonder, Greg Phillinganes, with help from USC Visions and Voices, led discussions about all things “Songs in the Key of Life” and Wonder, including many personal stories from musicians who worked with him directly.
The panel operated in two stages: first, King introduced Phillinganes, legendary pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Nathan Watts, who’s served as Wonder’s musical director for the last 30 years and his “musical right hand,” according to King.
The quartet specifically focused on Wonder’s blindness and how it seemed not to impede his abilities in any way, musical or automotive. This included multiple stories about Wonder driving a car full of people, whether that be through empty parking lots or on the road.
“Steve is one of, if not the most visually oriented blind person I have ever known in my life,” Phillinganes said. “He’s so visually in tune.”
They also naturally focused on “Songs in the Key of Life,” which all three musicians contributed to. Discussions about Wonder and the album naturally created an air of magic that hung over Bovard. The all-encompassing magnitude of Wonder’s artistry inspired a kind of awe in musicians like Phillinganes and Watts that arose as they discussed the first time they worked with Wonder.
“I walk[ed] in the room, and I froze. I said, ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!’ I’m in the room with the Wonder and the Wizard!” Watts said. “I tried to play the best I ever did [on “As”].
After about 30 minutes, Hancock left, and the second panel began, with seven different musicians – including Michael Sembello, who was not originally included in the line-up and who played the intricate guitar line on “Contusion” – taking a seat on the stage. King also played a video from Questlove, who was unable to attend.
The conversation began with a collection of stories from everyone about how they met and began working with Wonder, and then a pattern emerged. An artist of Wonder’s magnitude treated these musicians with a substantial amount of respect, albeit filled with jokes and teasing, even though they were very inexperienced emerging adults.
“These guys was 18 years old,” said Susaye Greene, former member of the Supremes and Wonderlove. “When you’re writing, you’re just having fun. It’s a ball. And that’s what we did in Wonderlove.”
When asked to be a part of Wonderlove, Wonder’s backing band, Phillinganes asked Wonder to call his mom to ensure it was real. Wonder told Raymond Pounds that they would “kick [his] ass” if he didn’t play well, and he kept inviting Pounds over until he became Wonder’s drummer. Sembello partly got the job on “Songs in the Key of Life” because he emphasized his Italian identity over being white, because Wonder reportedly didn’t hire white guys.
Beyond his brilliance, the panel often discussed Wonder in jest. An especially noted topic was his lack of punctuality; Greene noted that she met her husband in Moderna, Italy, while waiting on Wonder, while Deniece Williams, who was raising two kids at the time of joining Wonder, got the biggest laugh of the night when talking about the balance of being a mother and a member of Wonderlove.
“I had to get up in the morning at six-something, get the kids ready, get them to nursery school, and start that whole day. And Stevie would be calling at 2:00 a.m., talking about ‘Come to the studio,’” said Williams. “I went to the Braille Institute, and I bought him a Braille watch.”
That cheerful informality between these otherwise legendary musicians was a highlight for attendees.
“I like the fact that a lot of these cats were able to let loose with their story,” said Wayne Matthews Jr., an event-goer. “When you have panels like that, time is very limited. Very ‘got to get straight to the point’. But it seemed like they let them stretch out just a little bit to give them a little bit more of the story, and that helps.”
The panel began closing down with Phillinganes playing Wonder classics like “Sir Duke” and “Isn’t She Lovely” on a Yamaha piano, which evidently turned into singalongs that the whole crowd participated in, causing sound to bounce off the Bovard walls. They also touched on the musical afterlife of Wonder’s music, with Williams’ hit song “Free” being used as a specific example. Williams stood up and sang a bit of “Free,” which drew cheers.
Ultimately, if there is anything to be learned from Thornton and Visions and Voices’ celebration of Stevie Wonder and “Songs in the Key of Life,” it’s that life and love, along with the musicians who emphasize them, should be cherished for as long as possible, even as those artists continue to age.
“I love Stevie Wonder. He’s one of the last Motown greats. Diana Ross, Stevie, Smokey, a few other groups,” said Carolyn Christian-Hines, an eventgoer. “But I had to be here because I see them all. I see them all because it may be the last time.”
Edited by Camille Culbertson and Sammie Yen.