Pastime Paradise
| "Pastime Paradise" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Stevie Wonder | |
| from the album Songs in the Key of Life | |
| Released | 1976 | 
| Genre | Funk | 
| Length | 3:27 | 
| Label | Motown | 
| Songwriter(s) | Stevie Wonder | 
| Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | 
| Licensed audio | |
| "Pastime Paradise" on YouTube | |
"Pastime Paradise" is a song by American musician Stevie Wonder, recorded for his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. The song was one of the first to use a synthesizer (the Yamaha GX-1) to sound like a full string section. Built initially from synth tracks rather than from a drummer setting the basic rhythm, the song is augmented with rhythm performances from Wonder, Ray Maldonado, and Bobbye Hall, and a persistent "chinging" bell pattern by Hare Krishna musicians. A gospel choir from West Angeles Church of God and a Hare Krishna chanting group culminate in a multicultural finale.