I Wish is a 1976 funk-soul-pop song by American singer Stevie Wonder - released in November 1976 as the lead single from his eighteenth studio album Songs in the Key of Life (1976). Wonder wrote and produced the track, which looks back on his childhood in the 1950s and early 1960s and his wish to go back and relive those days. The song blends funk, soul and pop influences, runs 4:12 in the single version (4:35 on the album), and was released on the Tamla label with the B-side You and I. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Soul Singles chart, and earned Wonder the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male at the 19th Grammy Awards. The groove came to Wonder after a summer Motown picnic in 1976 - he recalls the vibe at Crystal Recording Studio following a toothache - and he originally considered broader cosmic topics but kept the nostalgic chorus intact. The track features Nathan Watts (bass), Raymond Pounds (drums) and Hank Redd (alto sax), and the voice reprimanding the “young” Stevie in the song, “you nasty boy,” was his sister Renee Hardaway. I Wish remains a classic highlight of the 1970s R&B scene and helped cement Songs in the Key of Life as a landmark album.
