Mod of the Day

New Kids on the Block | Please Don’t Go Girl

“This is the song that put New Kids on the Block on the map and got their career started in a big way,” (Songfacts). “This song was fronted by Joey McIntyre, who was the youngest member of the band. Ten years later, the song was covered by Aaron Carter, who was 11 years old at the time.

(The track) was written and produced by New Kids guru Maurice Starr, who not only controlled their business affairs, but also their music. Most of the ballads Starr wrote for the boy band find them singing directly to the girl, professing their love. Starr used a similar formula in his work with New Edition” a few years earlier. Both groups were Boston-based.

When Hangin’ Tough, NKOTB’s second album “came out in 1988 … the video for the single ‘Please Don’t Go Girl’ was released to BET and Starr focused on Black radio stations, where he had connections from his days with New Edition,” (Biography.com). “But then a Florida pop radio station started playing ‘Please Don’t Go Girl.’ The requests poured in, and plans for promoting the album shifted. New Kids on the Block had found the young girls who would make up their devoted fan base. After a tough beginning, they were on their way to stratospheric success.”

Along with New Edition, NKOTB and its hits like “Please Don’t Go Girl” set the template for subsequent boy bands NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, and many others. The track features a textbook half-step key change at 2:44 as the bridge transitions into the chorus.

Climax | Precious and Few

Vocalist Sonny Geraci, a Cleveland native, didn’t become a household name in his own right, but he was at the helm of two very different but prominent pop hits with two different bands. “’Time Won’t Let Me,’ (The Outsiders), a frenetic dancefloor rocker … incorporated popular soul music elements and was consistent with the garage-band trend of the mid-’60s, (BestClassicBands). ‘Mersey meets Motown,’ was how Geraci once described it.”

Geraci “resurfaced in 1972 fronting the Los Angeles-based Climax … their ballad ‘Precious and Few’ became one of the biggest hits of that year, but they were only able to follow it with one more chart single, “Life and Breath,” which topped out at #52. Their first and only album, simply titled Climax, fizzled at #177 and the group disbanded in 1975.”

The power ballad pulls out all of the stops, featuring layers of orchestral instrumentation and extra backing vocals in addition to the sound of the band itself. Starting in A major, the track makes a stop in Bb major at 1:30, then drops a hearty rubato into the mix during the transition to B major at 1:59.

Marvin Gaye + Tammi Terrell | Your Precious Love

“Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye melded their melodious performative perfection for ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ like a pair of songbirds delivering a twittering Sunday service,” (FarOut). “The cover of the classic Ashford & Simpson track launched them as the soul-extolling duo about to give loving joy to a generation.”

Tragically, Terrell was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was only in her early 20s, but kept performing for a time, releasing ‘Your Precious Love’ with Gaye in 1967. In 1970, “at the tender age of 24, Terrell passed away. At her eulogy, Gaye delivered one final performance of ‘You’re All I Need to Get By’. He later would comment: ‘I had such emotional experiences with Tammi and her subsequent death that I don’t imagine I’ll ever work with a girl again.'” Gaye went through a mourning period for Terrell during which he stopped performing altogether. However, he couldn’t have channeled his grief any more productively: his 1971 solo release, the legendary What’s Goin’ On, is touted by Rolling Stone as its #1 album of all time.

“Your Precious Love,” once again written by Ashford and Simpson, reached #5 on Billboard Pop Singles chart and #2 on the R&B Singles chart. Members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra added dimension to the usual band instrumentation. After a start in Bb major, the short choruses lift into Db major first heard from 0:43 – 0:58) before reverting to the original key.

Manhattan Transfer | On a Little Street in Singapore

“Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, The Manhattan Transfer continues to set the standard as one of the world’s greatest and most innovative vocal bands,” (ManhattanTransfer.net). “Winners of ten Grammy Awards, with millions of records sold worldwide … Defying categorization, The Manhattan Transfer became the first vocal group to win Grammy Awards in the pop and jazz categories in one year, 1981: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for ‘Boy From New York City’ (a cover of the 1964 song by The Ad Libs), and Best Jazz Performance by a Duo or Group for ‘Until I Met You (Corner Pocket).'”

Janis Siegel, the quartet’s alto, “emphasizes the group’s unmatched ability to excel performing a wide variety of music. ‘We didn’t say we were a pop group. We didn’t say we were a jazz group. We’re a vocal group.'” The quartet are now members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

“On a Little Street in Singapore,” originally released by Frank Sinatra and the Harry James Orchestra in 1939, takes on a cinematic quality in the Manhattan Transfer’s 1978 cover. The quartet is backed by WDR Funkhausorchester, an ensemble affiliated with the German big band powerhouse WDR Big Band. Featuring plenty of small harmonic sidesteps before the main vocal’s entrance at 1:30, the tune settles into C major. Between 2:54 and 3:15, an instrumental break modulates up a half-step to Db major in time for the next verse — but the textures are sufficiently ornate to hide the seams, obscuring the exact moment of the shift.

(press play — the video does work, even though it doesn’t look like it will!)

Holier Than Thou (from “Nunsense”)

*This is the fifth and final installment of a week-long series featuring songs from the 1985 Off-Broadway musical Nunsense*

“Holier Than Thou” is a gospel-infused number that brings the show to a rousing finish. There are four half-step modulations over the course of the song; beginning in C, it modulates to Db at 2:09, then up to D at 2:53, to Eb at 3:59, and finally lands in E at 4:16.

I Could’ve Gone to Nashville (from “Nunsense”)

*This is the fourth installment of a week-long series featuring songs from the 1985 Off-Broadway musical Nunsense*

“I Could’ve Gone to Nashville” is the “11 o’clock number” in the show, during which Sister Amnesia remembers her real name. The tune has a laid-back country groove, reminiscent of the music to the 1978 musical The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. It alternates back and forth between Ab and B a few times, and at Amnesia’s point of revelation at modulates up to C at 2:54.

Just A Coupl’a Sisters (from “Nunsense”)

*This is the third installment of a week-long series featuring songs from the 1985 Off-Broadway musical Nunsense*

This duet comes halfway through Act 2, and pays homage to Jerry Herman with its old-fashioned “boom-chick” accompaniment and kick-line at the end. George Gershwin’s 1919 song “Swanee” is also quoted. The track is sprinkled with key changes throughout. Beginning in F, we transition to Bb for the first verse at 0:27, up a half step to B for the second verse at 0:53, and up again to C for the third verse at 1:46. Finally, the “Swanee” quote leads to a modulation down to A at 2:40 for the final verse.

The Drive-In (from “Nunsense”)

*This is the second installment of a week-long series featuring songs from the 1985 Off-Broadway musical Nunsense*

“The Drive-In” comes towards the end of Act 2 in Dan Goggin’s Off-Broadway musical Nunsense. The number has an Andrews Sisters vibe with a swinging groove and tight, 3-part harmony. It starts in C minor and opens up into C major at 0:50.

I Just Want To Be a Star (from “Nunsense”)

*This is the first installment of a week-long series featuring songs from the 1985 Off-Broadway musical Nunsense*

Dan Goggin’s 1985 musical Nunsense is the second-longest-running Off-Broadway show ever, and led to six sequels and three spinoffs. “I Just Want To Be a Star” comes near the end of the second act, and is a big, brassy showtune number that recalls the style of Jerry Herman. Beginning in F, the song briefly detours into Gb at 1:24, then returns to F at 1:41 before a final modulation up to Ab at 2:16.

Les Flechettes | Les Gens

“People” has been Barbra Streisand’s signature song since its release in 1964. The tune was written by Bob Merill and Jule Styne for the musical Funny Girl, a play about the life of comedian Fanny Brice, with Streisand playing the lead in the original Broadway production. The producers did not much like the song, but Streisand’s compelling performance during try-outs made it a keeper. Streisand’s recording strikes a wistful, plaintive tone. The orchestral backing features sweet strings, and a plodding string bass marking the slow tempo. Her record won the 1964 Grammy for Song of the Year.

Nothing wrong with that, but enter Les Fléchettes (“The Darts” in translation), a French pop group consisting of two sisters and their cousins. They recorded a couple of albums in the late 1960s, including the 1969 tune here. The group later reformed as Cocktail, the French entrants for the 1986 Eurovision song contest.

“Les Gens” is based on “People”, though you might struggle to discern that. The French lyrics were written by Eddy Marnay, a songwriter and producer, who won the 1969 Eurovision song contest as a lyricist, and produced several of Celine Dion’s early albums. Those lyrics, while not a direct translation, retain the overall theme of the English version. The pop arrangement here is happy and bright, and the prominent electric bass offers a soupçon of funk. The key goes up a half-step at 2:06.

The B-side of the single is also a French version of a song originally recorded in English, the Turtles’ song “Elenore”. The deliberately-dumb lyrics of the original are replaced by conventional love-theme lyrics in “Une Fille Est Toujours Belle”. Like the original, it modulates between minor verses to major choruses.