Staff Writer
Stevie Wonder’s newly announced Songs in the Key of Life Performances–50th Anniversary Tour includes Chicago and two Detroit performances, but no Cleveland date.
Wonder announced the Songs in the Key of Life Performances – 50th Anniversary Tour on Sept. 8. The 19-show international tour begins Oct. 13 in Birmingham, England, and concludes Dec. 19 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. According to the tour announcement, Wonder will perform the 1976 album in its entirety.
The U.S. leg is limited to six performances in five cities: New York, Chicago, Washington, Detroit and Inglewood. Chicago’s United Center will host Wonder on Nov. 21, while Detroit’s Fox Theatre will host performances Dec. 8 and 9.
As of Sept. 24, no Cleveland performance appears on the announced schedule, and the tour announcement gives no reason for the city’s absence. The limited U.S. schedule means many major markets are not part of the initial itinerary.
Still, Cleveland has documented connections to Wonder’s performing history.
A history with Cleveland
Decades before the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opened, Wonder performed at Leo’s Casino, the celebrated Cleveland nightclub that became a major venue for R&B and Motown artists during the 1960s.
Case Western Reserve University’s Encyclopedia of Cleveland History reports that Wonder and Aretha Franklin gave some of their early performances at Leo’s Casino. The club also hosted acts including Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Temptations and the Four Tops.
Wonder later performed at the Richfield Coliseum on Oct. 28, 1974, just two days after the arena opened. According to a Cleveland Cavaliers history of the Coliseum, Wonder headlined the venue’s first R&B concert, with Rufus featuring Chaka Khan as the opening act. The Cavaliers also noted that Wonder was already trying out material that would later appear on “Songs in the Key of Life.”
Released in 1976, “Songs in the Key of Life” produced enduring songs including “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” “Isn’t She Lovely” and “As.” The album earned Wonder his third Grammy for Album of the Year at the 1977 Grammy Awards and was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2005.
Wonder was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a performer in 1989.
Detroit offers closest announced dates
For Northeast Ohio fans seeking the closest announced anniversary performances, Detroit offers the nearest option. Wonder is scheduled to perform Dec. 8 and 9 at the Fox Theatre.
The announced U.S. schedule also includes Midwest performances in Chicago and Detroit, with Detroit receiving the only two-night stand on the U.S. portion of the tour. But the U.S. run covers only five cities, so Cleveland is one of many large markets not included.
Wonder, 76, has spent more than six decades recording music across R&B, soul, pop and funk. The Library of Congress credits him with 25 Grammy Awards, while the “Songs in the Key of Life” album has been preserved in the National Recording Registry as a work considered culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
