Henry – Page 10

Ann Hampton Callaway & Melissa Manchester | New Eyes

“As a new year begins, I am excited to release a song called “New Eyes”, which I joyfully wrote and recorded with my friend, the legendary Melissa Manchester,” said Ann Hampton Callaway. “We created a moment when two people get a new lease on life by letting go of the past and looking at each other with ‘ new eyes.'”

The track is featured on Callaway’s new album Finding Beauty, her first record of all original material. The verses are set in Bb, and the choruses start up a step in C before quickly modulating again to Db.

USA for Africa | We Are The World

“We Are The World” was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson as a benefit for African famine relief. Richie and Jackson, along with producer Quincy Jones, assembled a supergroup of singers, including Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper and many others, to record the track in January 1985. It quickly became the fastest selling pop single in US History, and raised over $80 million. Last month, Netflix released The Greatest Night In Pop, a documentary chronicling how the recording session came together and including footage from the studio.

The tune begins in E and modulates to F at 4:03.

Toby Keith | Whiskey Girl

“Whiskey Girl,” written by country singer/songwriters Toby Keith and Scotty Emerick, is featured on Keith’s 2003 album Shock’n Y’all. The album hit #1 on the Billboard Country chart, and sold over four million copies. “She’s just the epitome of a redneck girl who ain’t into wine and beer or tequila,” Emerick said, discussing his inspiration for the tune. “It’s not strong enough for her. She didn’t do anything but sip on whiskey … We wanted to make her sound like a really good-looking gal who’s also kind of rough — but not some slobbering binge drinker!”

Toby Keith passed away last week at age 62.

The intro to the track is in E minor, and it shifts up to F for the verse at 0:26. A modulation to G sets up the chorus at 0:57. There is a brief return to F for the second verse at 1:48, and a final arrival in G at 2:20.

My Own Best Friend (from “Chicago”)

This week on MotD we are recognizing the legendary Chita Rivera, a dancer/singer/actress who passed away last week. The first Latino American to ever receive a Kennedy Center Honor, Rivera also won three Tony Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Rivera had a long association with the songwriting duo Kander & Ebb, starring in Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Rink, The Visit, and most famously, Chicago as the vaudeville singer Velma Kelly opposite Gwen Verdon’s Roxie Hart. Both were nominated for Tony Awards for their performances. “My Own Best Friend” is sung by Velma and Roxie at the end of the first act as they realize there is no one they can count on but themselves. The track starts in Ab and features a common tone modulation up to A at 1:53.

Spanish Rose (from “Bye Bye Birdie”)

One of her Tony-nominated roles was her turn as Rose Alvarez in the 1960 Broadway production of Bye Bye Birdie. “Spanish Rose” comes near the end of the show, and there are modulations throughout. The tune begins in C and successively modulates up by half steps, ultimately landing in Eb.

Susan Boyle | I Dreamed a Dream

Scottish singer Susan Boyle rose to fame as a contestant on the third season of the reality singing competition Britain’s Got Talent singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from the blockbuster musical Les Miserables. Her debut album of the same name, released in 2009, quickly became the UK’s best-selling album of all time, and with over 10 million copies sold is now one of the best-selling records of the 21st century. Boyle has gone on to release seven additional albums.

The tune begins in Eb and dramatically modulates up a whole step to F at 1:44.

Dream Street | I Say Yeah

“I Say Yeah” is featured on the eponymous 2000 debut album by the American boyband Dream Street. The group, which originally formed in 1999 and broke up in 2002, reunited last year and released a single this past June. It is unclear if or when they will release another full album.

This track begins in D and modulates up to E at 2:14.

Kennedy Caughell | The Life I Never Led (from “Sister Act”)

“The Life I Never Led” is from Alan Menken and Glenn Slater’s musical Sister Act, which opened on Broadway in 2011 following a run in the West End two years earlier. The show, based on the 1992 film of the same name starring Whoopi Goldberg, tells the story of Deloris Van Cartier, a nightclub singer is forced to take refuge from the mob in a convent and introduces the choir to Motown music.

This song comes in the middle of the second act and is sung my Sister Mary Robert, who longs to leave the convent and explore what lies beyond its walls. Singer Kennedy Caughell’s performance, featured here, is from 2017. The tune begins in D and shifts up to F for the final verse at 2:26.

Will Gittens & Bren’nae | I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Whitney Houston’s classic, originally recorded in 1987, is covered here by singer/songwriters Will Gittens and Bren’nae. Gittens, who boasts 60 million views on YouTube, grew up in Nashville and graduated from Berklee College of Music. Drawing his inspiration from Stevie Wonder, Prince, Michael Jackson and others, Gittens has released two albums of acoustic covers. Bren’nae Debarge was a contestant in season 8 of the NBC reality series The Voice.

The track begins in Eb and modulates up a step to F at 2:47.

Darren Criss | Not Alone

Originally written for A Very Potter Musical, a parody of the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling, “Not Alone” is the final track on the debut EP by American singer/songwriter/actor Darren Criss. Criss, who co-wrote the score for the musical, also produced the EP and plays guitar for the song.

The tune begins in Bb and shifts up to C at 2:55.