"I Wish" is a song by American singer Stevie Wonder. It was released in late 1976 as the lead single from his eighteenth album, ''

Songs in the Key of Life ''Songs in the Key of Life'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at Crys ...

'' (1976). Written and produced by Wonder, the song focuses on his childhood from the 1950s into the early 1960s about how he wished he could go back and relive it. The single hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and soul singles chart. At the 19th Grammy Awards, Stevie Wonder won the

Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B V ...

for this song.

Composition

Wonder recollected how the music for "I Wish" came to him:

The day I wrote it was a Saturday, the day of a Motown picnic in the summer of '76. God, I remember that because I was having this really bad toothache. It was ridiculous...I had such a good time at the picnic that I went to Crystal Recording Studio right afterward and the vibe came right to my mind – running at the picnic, the contests, we all participated. It was a lot of fun ... and from that came the 'I Wish' vibe."

The lyrics came with more difficulty. The lyrics that wound up in the song deal with childhood and teenage experiences. But originally Wonder wanted to address broader topics. Wonder said he originally tried to incorporate "a lot of cosmic type stuff, spiritual stuff. But I couldn’t do that 'cause the music was too much fun — the words didn’t have the fun of the track," and that he "couldn't come up with anything stronger than the chorus, 'I wish those days lapswould lapscome back once more.' Thank goodness we didn't change that." For the television series '' Classic Albums'', Wonder recreated a small section from the song to demonstrate how he composed and arranged it. He played the keyboards and drums himself, and used most of the musicians that recorded the original.

Reception

'' Cash Box'' said that the song was chosen as the lead single from ''Songs in the Key of Life'' after "radio stations spent weeks determining which... cut the public wanted most" and "'I Wish' came out on top in terms of popularity and editability."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1976 singles 1976 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Stevie Wonder songs Songs written by Stevie Wonder Motown singles Tamla Records singles Song recordings produced by Stevie Wonder {{1970s-R&B-song-stub