After gaining fame as part of Destiny’s Child, vocalist Kelly Rowland released “Stole” in 2002. The lyrics detail the anguish of multiple young lives lost to violence. The tune was a smash hit in the UK and Australia, but didn’t perform nearly as well in the US.
The form alternates between an intro and verse built around a Cmajor/Asus2 vamp and a chorus with a repeating Gmin/Dmin/Cmin pattern (first appearing at 0:45).
Happy Halloween! There are key changes all over this 1993 release, so we won’t list them here. Thank you to Jeremy Robin Lyons for this suggestion! Enjoy!
A decade after he co-founded Steely Dan, vocalist / keyboardist / composer Donald Fagen released 1982’s The Nightfly, an album which featured a distinctively Cold War/1950s vibe and was reportedly inspired by Fagen’s childhood habit of late night jazz radio listening. Not surprisingly given Fagen’s trademark harmonic complexity, “Ruby Baby” modulates at 2:57, but the close harmonies of the backing vocals are so complexly layered that the key change seems almost routine in comparison.
Here’s “The Wizard and I” from Wicked, which debuted on Broadway in 2003; music by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman. Key changes at 1:21, 3:40 + 4:25.
The Legendary Eddie Holman‘s “Hey There Lonely Girl,” released in 1969, peaked at #2 in the US, #1 in Canada, and #4 in the UK when it was released there a few years later. The tune was later covered by many artists, including Donny Osmond and New Edition. Modulation at 2:14.
Australia’s Little River Band released “Reminiscing” in 1978. Reaching #3 in the US and rumored to be one of John Lennon‘s favorite tunes of that era, the song looks back at the music of the 1930s and 1940s by decorating its 1970s sound with musical touches from those bygone decades.
Receiving an oddly low score of only 51.75 out of 100 from the Yacht or Nyacht yacht rock website, the tune modulates at 2:03, then returns to the original key at 2:19.
Today we feature Kander & Ebb’s “Why Should I Wake Up?” from Cabaret (1966). Key change at 1:35. Enjoy!
Here’s Reba McEntire singing “I Keep on Lovin’ You” (2009). The key change is at 2:15.
At the peak of their history-making string of hits during the 80s, Hall & Oates released “One on One” in 1983. The spare texture allows the individual players within H&O’s longtime lineup to shine — particularly the inventive bassline from the late T-Bone Wolk and the infectious solo from sax player Charles DeChant.
The intro (0:00 – 0:20) features a C/G to G7 vamp; the verse (0:20) is built around a repeating progression of Ebmaj7 / DMin7 / GMajor; the chorus pivots to a CMajor, G/C, F/C progression at 1:01. Written by lead vocalist Daryl Hall, the tune manages to tip its hat to the 1960s/1970s Philly Soul the band grew up with while remaining squarely within the synth-driven textures of the early 1980s.
We generally post videos on MoTD, but here‘s a worthy audio-only link! A track by Boston Music Awards multi-nominee John Powhida and his self-described “rock / disco / soul / pop fuzion” band John Powhida International Airport, “Dirty Birdy and the Funny Bunny” (2011) modulates at 2:20.
https://johnpowhidainternationalairport.bandcamp.com/track/dirty-birdy-and-the-funny-bunny
modulationoftheday.home.blog 