Remember Jones schedules another ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ tribute at Basie Center, in October

Remember Jones will perform Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” album, and other songs, in Red Bank, on Oct. 3.

After selling out his Oct. 18 concert at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank — at which he performed Stevie Wonder’s landmark Songs in the Key of Life album in its entirety — Remember Jones will do it again, on Oct. 3. Tickets will go on sale May 1 at 10 a.m., with pre-sales beginning April 28 at 10 a.m.; visit ticketmaster.com.

A gospel choir and guest vocalists will join Remember Jones and an expanded version of his band at the show.

Songs in the Key of Life — a double album that included a bonus four-song EP — is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The album was a No. 1 hit, as were its singles “I Wish” and “Sir Duke.” Other well known songs from it include “Isn’t She Lovely,” “As,” “Another Star,” “Pastime Paradise,” “Love’s in Need of Love Today” and “Summer Soft.” It won four Grammys in 1977, including Album of the Year.

In a 2004 essay for Rolling Stone, when Wonder was included as No. 15 on the magazine’s list of The Greatest Artists of All Time, Elton John wrote: “Let me put it this way: wherever I go in the world, I always take a copy of Songs in the Key of Life. For me, it’s the best album ever made, and I’m always left in awe after I listen to it. When people in decades and centuries to come talk about the history of music, they will talk about Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.”

Remember Jones — perennially busy as a singer-songwriter, bandleader, actor and director — has previously presented shows paying tribute to the music of Amy Winehouse, Queen, Meat Loaf and others. He announced, last week, a “Songs & Stories” show at The State Theatre Studio in New Brunswick, June 12, that is already sold out.

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