Mod of the Day

Connie Francis | Pretty Little Baby

“Connie Francis was one of the reigning queens of the Billboard Hot 100 in its early days,” (Billboard). “The late-’50s and early-’60s pop star scored a whopping 15 top 10 hits on the chart, including three #1s: ‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,’ ‘My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own’ (both 1960) and ‘Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You’ (1962). And over six decades after her commercial peak, Francis is once again having a big pop culture moment – but it’s not with any of those charting singles.

‘Pretty Little Baby,’ a non-single (written by Don Stirling and Bill Nauman) from Francis’ 1962 album Connie Francis Sings Second Hand Love, has caught fire on TikTok in the past month. Users have been lip synching along to the ‘You can ask the flowers/ I sit for hours/ Telling all the bluebirds/ The bill and coo birds/ Pretty little baby, I’m so in love with you’ verse of the song, often while wearing cute retro outfits and/or singing to actual babies, with over a million videos being created to the song … the song has already begun to cross over from TikTok to streaming in massive numbers … a (recent) gain of over 7,000% … (and) could soon be threatening a Hot 100 debut, a mere 63 years after its initial release.”

At 1:19, a textbook half-step upward key change appears in the midst of the diminutive tune, which features a run time of only 2:22 in total.

EDIT: Connie Francis passed away at the age of 87 on July 16, 2025, one day after we posted this tune.

Flim + the BBs | At the Hop

Even in the world of instrumental jazz fusion, which represented a tiny slice of recording sales even at its height, the trio known as Flim and the BBs enjoyed only a cult following as a band. Over the years, much of the information from the few short articles about the band has already been excerpted here on MotD. Some additional information about the trio’s musicians:

“Bassist Jimmy ‘Flim’ Johnson has played on countless standout sessions with everyone from Stan Getz to Ray Charles. Since 1991, he has recorded and toured regularly with James Taylor,” (VinylDiscovery). “Drummer Bill Berg, who was never credited for his work on Blood On The Tracks, is a native of Hibbing, Minnesota, birthplace of Bob Dylan. He now lives in western North Carolina where he plays gigs from time to time. Pianist, composer, filmmaker, screenwriter (etc.) Billy Barber wrote the theme song for the long-running ABC soap opera All My Children, along with a whole bunch of other stuff you’ve probably heard of.”

Keeping a focus on a light-hearted yet strongly syncopated melody and plenty of dynamic range, “At the Hop” (1985) starts with an emphasis on Bb major. There’s a shift to Gb major at 3:13, another to Ab major at 3:39, and then a return to the original key drops at 4:05. After a (mostly!) very soft-spoken percussion break, the full band returns to end the track.

The Village People | In Hollywood (Everybody Is a Star)

“… The Village People surprised everybody with this popular four-song (debut) album. Phil Hurtt, a good friend of Thom Bell and the writer of “I’ll Be Around,” arranged and co-authored three songs,” (AllMusic). “Produced by Henri Belolo and Jacques Morali, Village People exploits and promotes gay liberation in a little over 20 minutes of music. The vocals slap you in the face, the beats nonstop … the four energetic tracks — ‘San Francisco (You’ve Got Me),’ ‘In Hollywood (Everybody Is a Star),’ ‘Fire Island,’ and ‘Village People’ — practically clone each other, with the lyrics the only distinguishing difference.”

Hurtt was a professional lyricist who had written the words for the Spinners hit “I’ll Be Around.” To broaden the song’s appeal, Hurtt made the song more universal in scope, drawing on his own experiences in Hollywood,” (Songfacts). “Hurtt never tried to make it as a West Coast actor, but he had been there on business and had a good handle on the game that was played there.

Now it’s time to get a new car / You know the kind that has a phone and a bar …

Slip outside and call and have yourself paged / Get on the phone and scream as though in a rage

Before cell phones, this was a classic ploy in Hollywood: have yourself paged, then pretend to boss around the imaginary person on the other end of the line.”

After a start in A minor, there’s a shift up a half step to Bb minor at 0:45. At 1:29, the chorus shifts to a jaunty Bb major until 1:51, where the key reverts to the original A minor. The pattern continues from there.

Herbie Mann | Insensatez

“Herbie Mann played a wide variety of music throughout his career. He became quite popular in the 1960s, but in the ’70s became so immersed in pop and various types of world music that he seemed lost to jazz,” (Qobuz). “However, Mann never lost his ability to improvise creatively as his later recordings attest.
Herbie Mann began on clarinet when he was nine, but was soon also playing flute and tenor. After serving in the Army, he was with Mat Mathews’ Quintet (1953-1954) and then started working and recording as a leader. During 1954-1958 Mann stuck mostly to playing bop, sometimes collaborating with such players as Phil Woods, Buddy Collette, Sam Most, Bobby Jaspar, and Charlie Rouse.

… After spending time playing and writing music for television, Mann formed his Afro-Jazz Sextet, in 1959, a group using several percussionists, vibes (either Johnny Rae, Hagood Hardy, or Dave Pike) and the leader’s flute. He toured Africa (1960) and Brazil (1961), had a hit with “Comin’ Home Baby,” and recorded with Bill Evans. The most popular jazz flutist during the era, Mann explored bossa nova (even recording in Brazil in 1962) … he had among his sidemen such top young musicians as Willie Bobo, Chick Corea, Attila Zoller, and Roy Ayers … As the ’70s advanced, Mann became much more involved in rock, pop, reggae, and even disco. After leaving Atlantic at the end of the ’70s, Mann had his own label for awhile and gradually came back to jazz … He passed away on July 1, 2003.”

Mann’s version of the Brazilian standard by Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Insensatez” (“How Insensitive”), released on 1964’s Latin Fever, is built in a slightly de-tuned C minor overall. The middle chorus, where the melody passes to the trombone while the Mann’s flute provides a harmony line (1:07 – 1:48), is in D minor .

Tanya Tucker | What’s Your Mama’s Name

“Tanya Tucker has been one of the queens of country for nearly fifty years, but it was her arrival that made quite an impression,” (TheRecoup.com) “When she appeared, she was just in her early teens, although upon first listening you would not think so, as she was an old soul singing powerful songs with an equally powerful singing voice that sounded three times her age.

Her first two albums, 1972’s Delta Dawn and 1973’s What’s Your Mama’s Name are very much of a piece; considering the wont of the Country music industry at the time, it’s quite likely both albums were recorded at the same group of sessions, much more likely considering the albums appeared within mere months of each other. “Delta Dawn” was her debut single, the dark and foreboding song about heartbreak that certainly did not sound like a 13-year-old child. It’s a fantastic number, and a hell of a way to launch a career.

On 1973’s What’s Your Mama’s Name, “the title track follows in the dark nature of her first hit, and is a tale of a mysterious stranger trying to find his daughter that he has never seen before. Aside from the Southern Gothic quality of the song, is also an edgy tune for the era, dealing starkly with the issue of illegitimacy. Unsurprisingly, it was controversial coming from a 14-year-old, but the controversy helped to sell the record and cemented Tucker as a musician not afraid to go into the dark places others wouldn’t dare go.”

As the heart-wrenching tale unfolds, both 1:11 and 1:41 bring half-step key changes.

David Soul | Don’t Give Up On Us

“The newish Quentin Tarantino movie Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is full of fascinating little period details, and one of my favorites is the idea that everyone in 1969 watched the same TV shows,” (Stereogum). “The washed-up movie stars, the psychotically violent hippies, the ailing cowboys — they all go home at night and tune in to the same cheesy procedurals. They don’t have options. Cable doesn’t exist yet. Neither, obviously, does the internet. There are three networks. If you’re looking for some kind of routine and vaguely comforting diversion, the shows on those three networks are all you really have … That was still the case in 1977. The ABC buddy-cop show Starsky & Hutch wasn’t even an especially big hit in its time. It did decent ratings, stayed on the air for four seasons, and stuck around in syndication for a while. Starsky & Hutch wasn’t a landmark TV show. It didn’t change the game. But it was on. So pretty much everyone in America at least had some vague idea who those two Bay City, California detectives were.

If you were, let’s say, an actor who’d never managed to get your music career off the ground but who was on TV every week, that exposure could change everything. You could record a forgettable ballad, and that forgettable ballad, combined with your own familiar face, could propel a record to #1. Starsky & Hutch was in its second season when David Soul, the chiseled and squinty actor who played Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson, released ‘Don’t Give Up On Us.’ That year, Starsky & Hutch was airing against The Mary Tyler Moore Show and regularly getting wrecked in the ratings. But that didn’t matter. David Soul was just famous enough … (UK songwriter) Tony Macaulay produced the song for Soul, slathering it in dramatic strings and woodwinds. (It) has a hook strong enough to linger. It’s got a full, luxuriant arrangement … But ‘Don’t Give Up On Us’ remains a sleepy nothing of a ballad. It fills space, and it does nothing else.”

After a start in A major, the piano-driven track shifts up to Bb major at 2:43. The vocals seem a bit dicey through the transition in terms of pitch, but close enough for a 1970s pop ballad(?) — apparently! Many thanks to regular contributor Rob P. for submitting this track.

Al Stewart | Year of the Cat

“By the time Al Stewart finally achieved his commercial breakthrough with 1976’s ‘Year of the Cat,’ it was the culmination of a decade-long odyssey to bring the song to completion,” (Guitar Player). “Its bones date back to 1966, when Stewart penned a set of lyrics titled ‘Foot of the Stage.’ ‘It was about British comedian Tony Hancock,’ the Scottish folk-rocker recalls. ‘But the American record company had never heard of Tony Hancock and asked me to rewrite it.’ Stewart responded with a new set of lyrics about Princess Anne called ‘Horse of the Year.’ Not surprisingly, he says, ‘they requested another rewrite,’ … Luck would finally prevail on the third try. ‘I had a girlfriend who had a book on Vietnamese astrology, and it was opened on a chapter called Year of the Cat,’ Stewart reveals.

… A hallmark of the song is Stewart’s use of a major-seventh chord throughout the main progression, which imbues ‘Year of the Cat’ with a rich, wistful nostalgia. ‘Major sevenths are great and kind of cool,’ he exclaims. ‘I’ve probably never met a major seventh I didn’t like,’ … Released as a single in the U.S. in October 1976, ‘Year of the Cat’ climbed to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning Stewart his first U.S. charting single … (and) remains a staple in the guitarist’s live set. He believes the song’s film noir undertones and varied instrumentation are pivotal to why the song continues to enthrall audiences. ‘The song’s longevity affirms that one should write about what one is interested in, without regards to fashion or favor of the crowd. Which is exactly what I did.’”

Built in E minor overall, the bridge (2:47 – 3:07) flips the emphasis over to the relative major key of G before the original minor key returns for an extended series of solos. The tune’s leisurely pace, lush textures, and storytelling focus somehow added up to hit status for the track, which at 6:4o clocked in at nearly twice the length of many singles.

Lucky Daye | Real Games

Painted by Lucky Daye, a 2019 album release, is ” … a modern twist on traditional soul-funk or ‘Neo-soul.’ (TheModernLifeMag.com). “He grew up in a religious household where secular music was largely prohibited,” (AllMusic). “As a result, he developed his musical abilities by learning melodies through church hymns. After leaving his family’s church as a teenager, he immersed himself in R&B, soul, and funk music, drawing inspiration from artists such as Stevie Wonder, Prince and D’Angelo. Following New Orleans’ devastation by Hurricane Katrina, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia …

Daye was a 2005 American Idol contestant and “a successful songwriter and background vocalist, with credits as ‘D. Brown’ on tracks by some industry A-listers such as Trey Songz, Ne-Yo, Keith Sweat, Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige, and many more notable artists.”

The hard-charging funk verses of “Real Games” are built in Bb minor. The choruses, first heard from 0:57 – 1:24, shift to several different Bb major-related modes as they immerse us in a noticeably lighter groove and texture. D’Mile, the track’s co-writer along with Daye, also served as producer for the tune. Daye uses one of his apparently favorite techniques — pitch-shifting his vocal down an octave, sometimes doubled with the original vocal — several times throughout the track.

Traffic | Many a Mile to Freedom

“Somewhere in Steve Winwood’s career, between the blue-eyed teen soul of ‘I’m a Man’ and ‘Gimme Some Lovin’’ to the made-for-the-80s albums of Arc of a Diver and Back in the High Life came a little bit of exploration,” (Music Street Journal). “He recorded with percussionist Stomu Yomash’ta and Mike Shrieve as Go, and Traffic’s version of “John Barleycorn” was a landmark in the then-popular folk-rock era. But as Traffic had its on-again off-again moments, the band was able to put out some great music, perhaps none better than this album. Besides the usual trio of Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood, bassist Ric Grech (another ex-Blind Faith member), uber-musician Jim Gordon, and percussionist “Rebop” Kwaku Baah … filled out the sound considerably. Fortunately the songs and arrangements knew when to open up and when to pull back. The result is a classic of the early ‘70s that still sounds fresh.”

On “Many a Mile to Freedom” (1971), “Winwood’s electric piano holds down the fort while Wood again offers some delicate lines on his flute. The guitar counters with some nice, simple arpeggiated lines on the between-chorus-and-verse space. There’s an extended ending here where the band locks into a good, relaxed groove.”

Various flavors of the C scale (shifting between major and minor) predominate the track, starting with the first verse (beginning at 0:21). Starting at 4:20, Bb major holds sway with a I and bVII chords alternating. At 5:12, we’ve returned to the tonality of the first section of the tune.

Nat King Cole | L-O-V-E

In the 1950s, “the studios had been trying to get (Cole) from behind the piano and sing more … despite being hailed as one of the key greats,” (PSAudio) ” … As this played out there was an outcry from the diehard jazz community, especially jazz publications like Downbeat and Metronome. (Cole reported): ‘For years we did nothing but play for musicians and other hip people,’ he said. ‘…we practically starved to death.’

Despite Cole’s disdain for his voice, he was a classic crooner, a beautiful master of a phrase with flawless enunciation and perfect pitch. His recordings during the late 40s and the 50s are some of the most perfect and iconic love songs ever recorded … Nat Cole’s career barely lasted 20 short years, but in that time he collected 28 Gold Record awards and was inducted into every Hall of Fame imaginable, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence. Cole was an inspiration as a man and a performer.”

“L-O-V-E,” the title track from a 1965 album of the same name, was released by Cole shortly before his death and became his final release. The tune begins in G major, shifts up to Ab major for an instrumental verse at 0:57, then changes keys again to A major at 1:21, remaining there for the balance of the track. Many thanks to Scott, a new visitor to MotD, for this submission!