We have featured a number of songs from Ahrens and Flaherty’s Tony-winning score for the 1996 Broadway musical Ragtime here at MotD; the score is considered one of the masterpieces of the Broadway canon, integrating a diverse array of musical styles into an organic tapestry reflecting the roots of American music at the start of the 20th century.
“Till We Reach That Day” closes the first act of the show. It flips back and forth between Bb major, its relative G minor, and G major throughout until a final modulation up a half step to Ab major at 3:03.
The show is currently in a limited revival at City Center in New York City.
“The Temptations released one of the enduring singles of the rock and roll era when ‘My Girl’ topped the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts,” (Seattle Post Intelligencer). “The song was propelled by the sweet tenor voice of David Ruffin. During his time with the Temptations he provided the lead vocals for such hits as ‘Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,’ ‘All I Need,’ and ‘Beauty Is Only Skin Deep.’ His time with the group was short, 1964-1968, but he would help leave a lasting legacy and be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame … While he would never be as commercially successful as during his time with the Temptations, his solo releases would sell moderately well and produce some fine music.
His debut release, My Whole World Ended, (was) released during the spring of 1969. It was more emotional and rawer than the smooth soul sound of his former group. The only song that runs counter to this formula was the hit single “My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me),” which was originally written for the Temptations. It has a smooth Sam Cooke quality as it just flows along.”
In addition to typical R&B instrumentation, smooth strings and piccolo arpeggios(!) are prominently featured on the mid-tempo title track. 2:13 brings brief instrumental chorus as well as a half-step modulation.
Today we feature Celine Dion’s classic rendition of “God Bless America.” It starts in D, shifts to Eb at 1:27, and then up another half step to E at 2:23.
In honor of Quincy Jones, the singular musician, performer, producer, educator, and mentor, we’re bringing back a post from 2022 which sheds a bright light on his extraordinary gifts. Jones passed away yesterday at the age of 91. Given that his career spanned the worlds of jazz, R+B, funk, and pop over many decades, it’s likely impossible to describe its full impact. But many of our posts here on MotD featured his work as a producer, even though the names of the artists and bands in question accompanied the songs’ titles.
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“‘Quincy Jones was looking for artists for his new label, Qwest Records,” jazz/pop vocalist and guitarist George Benson remembered in a Guardian interview). ‘I’d started to cross over from jazz and Quincy asked: Do you want to make the world’s greatest jazz record – or go for the throat? I laughed and said: Go for the throat! … He said: George, put yourself in my hands. I know more about you than you do yourself. I was insulted at first, but calmed down, and things started happening.’
George was under pressure to have a crossover hit. Nobody yelled at each other but there was tension, because he wouldn’t always do what Quincy told him to. (The sessions for 1980’s ‘Give Me the Night’ were) a clash of the titans at first. ‘I asked for the same musicians he’d used on (Michael Jackson’s) Off the Wall. The sound they made inspired me. Quincy also brought in Rod Temperton, formerly of the band Heatwave … Rod was always in the background except for when something went wrong. He didn’t mind saying: George, you’re singing in the wrong key.” Patti Austin, now known for her own R+B, jazz, and pop material, was the accomplished background singer Jones hired. Austin remembers: “‘When I went into the studio, the tracks were already recorded. I used to be a jingle singer; you have to be able to walk in, sight-read, and make whatever product the jingle is plugging sound orgasmic. So I worked very quickly.'”
Built in F minor overall, the tune shifts to Ab minor for the chorus at 1:19 – 1:42, later repeating the pattern. The track crossed over with a vengeance; it wasn’t a smash hit, but managed to become a solid global presence (see below) while hitting top five on the US Pop, Soul, and Disco charts.
“Although nominally part of the British Invasion, Petula Clark’s age and pre-rock career history gave her a different perspective from the beat groups and girl singers who emerged in the early-to-mid ’60s … ” (ReBeat). “Unlike the heightened emotions of most youth-oriented pop, Clark’s best ’60s singles are decidedly human in scale, dealing with ordinary adult challenges like stressful jobs, limited prospects, and domestic discord … Because she frankly acknowledges the difficulty of these problems, her entreaties to keep your chin up and make your own happiness carry real weight.
… Clark’s 1967 hit ‘Don’t Sleep in the Subway’ is the epitome of this sort of celebration of small successes. Clark inhabits the role of a woman who, inadvertently or not, bruised her partner’s ego and now has to persuade him not to leave. There’s no outsized dramatics — she’s not pleading with him, or immolating herself before him, or trying to win him over through sheer vocal willpower. There’s even a touch of humor in Clark’s voice as if she is recognizing the ridiculousness of her partner’s huffy threats to spend the night riding the rails …
Songwriter Tony Hatch … was clearly inspired by the Beach Boys’ experimental teenage symphonies, both in terms of the immaculate, yearning melody (the chorus hints at ‘God Only Knows’) and the affinity for crossing rock with orchestral music.” After a start in G major and a rhapsodic pre-chorus, the chorus arrives in Bb major (0:50 – 1:13), complete with a gentler groove. The pattern continues from there.
“Für Elise” is the first single released singer/songwriter/bandleader Jon Batiste’s solo piano album Beethoven Blues, which will be released next month. Batiste, who cites Stevie Wonder, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone and Django Reinhardt among his musical influences, has been nominated for 20 Grammy Awards and last year was featured in the documentary American Symphony, which explores his relationship with his wife, Suleika Jaouad, and his debut at Carnegie Hall.
We have featured Für Elise on the site before, but Batiste has a very different take than the version you typically hear at an intermediate piano recital. The piece, which has a rondo ABACA form, starts in A minor and modulates briefly to F major at 1:30 before returning to A minor at 2:14.
“When Champaign burst on the scene in 1981, it appeared to be a group that was going to be around for quite awhile,” (SoulTracks). “With strong lead vocalists Pauli Carman and Rene Jones … great production by Leo Graham, and a crossover smash hit in “How ‘Bout Us,” the group’s debut album won critical acclaim and sold well.” The septet was named for the band’s hometown of Champaign, Illinois (WBSSMedia). The track’s songwriter was Dana Walden, the band’s keyboardist.
The track, from an album of the same name, reached #5 in the UK, #4 on the US Billboard R&B chart, and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. “It was a wonderful debut — one of the best complete albums of that year. Unfortunately, that debut album would be the commercial high point for the group.”
The mid-tempo funk-infused tune starts in Bb major; the bridge (2:22 – 2:35) then shifts to the relative G minor before a final transition into Db major for the final verses.
Grammy-award winning singer Jack Jones included “I’ve Got A Lot of Livin’ To Do,” from the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie, on his 1968 album Curtain Time, comprised entirely of Broadway covers. Jones appeared on many variety shows throughout his career and released dozens of records. He passed away from leukemia last week at age 86.
The track begins in Db and shifts up to D at 2:01.
“While the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inexplicably remained immune to her charms, few artists have had the career of Linda Ronstadt,” (The Second Disc). ” She’s racked up 38 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including ten that went Top Ten. On the album chart, she’s placed 36 entries, including ten that reached the Top Ten there too (her magic number!) and three that hit pole position. And consider this: after playing a vital role in the country-rock scene with the Stone Poneys and their hit recording of Mike Nesmith’s ‘Different Drum’ on which she sang lead, Ronstadt embarked on a solo career definitively interpreting some of the greatest songs of the California rock genre.
Ronstadt never could stay in one place for long, though, which may account for her great longevity as a vital artist and performer. While she kept racking up hits from both her contemporaries and the voices of an early generation – think of “When Will I Be Loved,” “It’s So Easy,” “You’re No Good” or “That’ll Be The Day,” and chances are you might think of Ronstadt over those songs’ originators – she was looking for new directions and new challenges … In 1983, Linda Ronstadt teamed with Nelson Riddle, the man responsible for many of Frank Sinatra’s most famous orchestrations, for What’s New … It spent 81 weeks on the Billboard chart … In any format, What’s New is a classy excursion into timeless pop teaming one of the most familiar voices of all time with arguably the greatest arranger of them all.”
Ronstadt and Riddle’s version of Irving Berlin’s classic 1923 waltz ballad “What’ll I Do?” begins with a brief string intro leading to a short additional vocal section. The tune begins in earnest at 0:57, launching into a textbook AABA form built in Ab major overall. The B section (1:37 – 1:58) shifts up to Db major. The piece modulates wholesale up into A major at 2:18 with two instrumental A sections; Ronstadt rejoins the band on the B section at 2:59. The rubato outro spirals out of the otherwise measured arrangement, its closing bars off-kilter and unresolved.
“Known as Zoom in the UK, the Commodores’ eponymous fifth LP (1977) was … very much a transitional work, highlighting the greasy southern funk that the group so ably practiced before pianist and saxophonist Lionel Richie firmly took centre stage,” (BBC). “The album was a huge hit in the US, setting the Commodores up for their chart-topping scene stealing as the 70s became the 80s. In the UK, the reaction was a little more muted. However, ‘Easy’ paved the way for ‘Three Times a Lady’ and ‘Still,’ and Lionel Richie’s unshakeable place as a favourite artist of millions.”
Another track from the album, the midtempo “Funny Feelings,” features an intro in F# minor. At 0:15, however, the first verse settles in with B minor. At 1:01, the chorus shifts to E major. From 1:22 – 1:36, an instrumental interlude mirrors the intro; the cycle continues from there, keeping a laser focus on the funk groove throughout.
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