“Respect,” originally released by Otis Redding in 1965, was later a huge 1967 hit for Lady Soul, Aretha Franklin. Franklin’s cover became a feminist battle cry as well as one of the best-known American R&B tunes, winning Recording Academy / GRAMMYs, entry into the Grammy Hall, honor by The Library of Congress, a #5 perch on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, and a place on the “Songs of the Century” list by the The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The tune modulates on the brief instrumental bridge at 1:17 and is back to its original key at 1:34.
Category: Elise
Rosemary Clooney | Hey There
“Hey There,” from the 1954 musical The Pajama Game, was subsequently recorded by several prominent artists after John Raitt performed it in the original theatrical production. Rosemary Clooney‘s version reached #1 on the Billboard chart in 1954. Written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, the ballad modulates at 0:42 and then reverts to the original key at 1:04.
Kevon Carter | The Greatest Love of All
Another unintentionally pitchy performance — redeemed to hilarious effect by the top-drawer musicianship and humor of Kevon Carter. Somehow, he keeps up with many, many modulations per minute, supporting each one with an awesome re-harmonization in the accompaniment.
This time, it’s “The Greatest Love of All,” originally made popular by Whitney Houston and George Benson.
Keith | 98.6
An American performer named Keith (yes, just Keith) released the single “98.6” in 1967. The song reached #7 on the Billboard chart and #24 on the UK Singles Chart in 1967. The Tokens, the Brooklyn-based doo-wop group better known for “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” provided back-up vocals.
The tune features a few instrumental breaks featuring key-of-the-moment glimpses. But the actual modulation is at 2:47 as the instrumental outro begins.
Peek Freans cookie ad
Weekend Bonus Mod: This 1970s ad for Peek Freans cookies features a lyric which most companies would likely avoid today (“much too good to waste on children”), but also provides a modulation at 0:14 to go along with its reverse psychology.
John Mayer | Bigger Than My Body
The first single from John Mayer‘s second album, Heavier Things (2003), was the mid-tempo tune “Bigger Than My Body.” Billboard reported that the tune “delivers a contagious melody, an exhilarating arrangement and lyrics that are thoughtful and touching without stooping to sentimentality or bombast.”
Primarily built around E major, the tune’s bridge centers around F major from 2:39 – 3:06, then reverts to E major.
Elton John | The Ballad of Danny Bailey
Elton John‘s iconic 1973 album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, sold over 30 million copies worldwide and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The album featured “The Ballad of Danny Bailey,” a tune which seemed so authoritative that many fans thought it was about a real person. But AllMusic‘s review debunks that myth: the subject of the song was fictional.
The track starts with pivots between B minor and C major, builds to pivots between E minor and F major at 0:25, continues to grow in intensity with pivots between A minor and Bb major at 0:31, all supporting a melody ascending in pitch and intensity. At 0:49, the chorus is based on D major, but only tenuously — the lack of harmonic stability seems to reflect the song’s unsettling story. This complex song qualifies as “filler” between the far better-known hits on this legendary album.
Metallica (arranged + dubbed by Andy Rehfeldt) | Enter Sandman
This labor of love is a hilarious re-make of Metallica‘s iconic 1991 track, “Enter Sandman.” Andy Rehfeldt retained only the lead vocal from the original release while re-recording all of the other tracks. The tune has been pushed from its original key of E minor upwards into its relative major key of G major; the original dark metal sound shifts to lightweight, sunny “smooth” jazz. In addition to the full re-harmonization underneath the lead vocal (which stays in its original range), a section of the instrumental bridge (2:42 – 3:00) modulates up a full step before returning to G major.
Electric Light Orchestra | I’m Alive
The 1980 film Xanadu featured the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) track “I’m Alive.” While the film did poorly at the theaters and with critics, its soundtrack was a double-platinum smash hit, peaking at #4 on the end-of-year charts. The tune, which features Jeff Lynne‘s trademark stacked vocals and plenty of real strings layered in with synths, modulates at 2:03.
Toni Braxton | Unbreak My Heart
“Unbreak My Heart,” released in 1996 by Toni Braxton, is a Grammy-winning track (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. The tune stayed at #1 on the Pop chart for 11 weeks straight. When Billboard celebrated its 40th anniversary, the track was declared as the most successful song by a solo artist in the Billboard Hot 100 history. The verses are in the key of B minor, with modulations to D minor for the choruses and G# minor for the bridge.
An excerpt from SPIN journalist Charles Aaron’s review: “This exquisitely crafted, heart-pumping l-u-v song has been droning in the produce department of my grocery store for about a year now, but I’d just like to go on record as saying that if it ever stops, I’ll really be heartbroken.”
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