"Isn't She Lovely" is a song by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life. The lyrics celebrate the birth of his daughter, Aisha Morris. Wonder collaborated on the song with Harlem songwriter and studio owner Burnetta "Bunny" Jones.[1]
The song opens side 3 of Songs in the Key of Life, and starts with a baby's first cry recorded during an actual childbirth. A recording of Wonder bathing Aisha as an older toddler is brought into the final section of the song, mixed with Wonder's extended chromatic harmonica solo. All of the instruments heard in the song are played by Wonder, except for some keyboard parts played by Greg Phillinganes. During the recording process, bassist Nathan Watts laid down a bass guitar line to serve as a guide track for Wonder, but Wonder eventually replaced this with his own keyboard bass performance.[2]
The more-than-six-minute song was not released as a single, as Wonder was unwilling to shorten the song to fit the 7", 45 rpm format.[2] Even without a single release, the song received so much airplay that it reached number 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart in January 1977. Since then, the song has become a jazz and pop standard, covered by many artists.[3]
The song was not issued as a commercial single and therefore it did not appear on the major charts in the US and UK. However, due to radio airplay, it reached number 23 on the BillboardAdult Contemporary chart (then known as the Easy Listening chart) on January 29, 1977.[5] In June 2012, after Wonder performed the song at the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the song finally charted in the UK (#94) due to download sales.
Vocalist David Parton released the song in 1976, which was a UK number 4 hit in early 1977. It spent nine weeks on the chart,[6] and became the 54th biggest hit of the year.[7] Parton's version gave him one-hit wonder status in the United Kingdom.[2]
