“Brown Eyes” was included on Survivor, the third studio album released by the R&B group Destiny’s Child. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart in May of 2001, received three Grammy nominations (including Best R&B album), and was ranked at #70 by Billboard of their 200 Best Albums of the Decade. Straight-forward direct modulation from F to Gb at 3:33.
Category: Henry
T’aint Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do (from “Bullets Over Broadway”)
On July 5, the Broadway community lost one of its shining lights, 41-year old actor Nick Cordero, due to Coronavirus complications. Most recently, Cordero starred in A Bronx Tale and Waitress on Broadway, and prior to that he originated the role of Cheech in the 2014 production of Bullets Over Broadway, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.
“T’ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do,” one of the first blues standards from the 1920s and the splashy Act 1 tap number from Bullets, features Cordero and his cadre of gangsters. The show, based on Woody Allen’s 1994 film of the same name, boasts a score of jazz and popular standards from the 20s and 30s selected by Allen to complement the story. Key changes at 2:54 and 3:18.
Say No to This (from “Hamilton”)
In recognition of the live film of the stage production of Lin Manuel Miranda‘s blockbuster 2016 Broadway musical Hamilton dropping on Disney+ earlier this month, today we feature “Say No To This.” Coming in Act 2 of the show, the song outlines Hamilton’s one-year affair with Maria Reynolds, which eventually led to the first major political sex scandal in US history. Beginning in F# minor, the tune glides smoothly into the relative major for the chorus at 1:23 and continues to play back and forth between these two tonal centers. A modulation to B major occurs at 3:03.
Yesterday, the original cast recording for the show became the first cast recording to reach the #2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart since the revolutionary 1969 musical Hair, which spent 13 weeks in the #1 spot the year of its premiere.
Josh Groban | To Where You Are
Written and produced by Grammy-winning producer and performer Richard Marx with Linda Thompson, “To Where You Are” appeared on Josh Groban‘s 2001 debut album, and reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Chart. Groban frequently sings the the song in live performance, and it has also been performed on numerous reality television voice programs such as American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent. The track seamlessly alternates between Bb in the verses and C major for the choruses at 1:09 and 2:50.
Taylor Swift | Love Story
One of the best-selling singles of all-time at 18 million worldwide sales, Taylor Swift‘s “Love Story” was released in 2008 as the lead single from her second studio album Fearless. Considered to be her signature song, it tells the story of a love interest of Swift’s who was not popular among her family and friends. The track peaked at #4 on the Billboard Top 100 and has been certified 8x Platinum by the RIAA. Key change is snuck in right at the end at 3:18.
Voctave | Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Go The Distance (from “Hercules”)
From the 1997 Disney animated feature Herculues, “Go The Distance” was written by Alan Menken and David Zippel, originally recorded by Roger Bart for the film. Michael Bolton also recorded a pop version of the track for the credits. Key change at 2:07.
The Chicks | You Were Mine
Earlier today, the American country band The Dixie Chicks announced they would be dropping “Dixie” from their name, becoming simply The Chicks. The change was made without much fanfare; in a brief statement on its new website, the band states simply: “We want to meet this moment.” To accompany this news, they dropped a new single from their upcoming album Gaslighter (due out next month — the group’s first album in fourteen years) titled “March March,” featuring images of current and historical protests — for women’s rights, gay rights, environmental causes and Black Lives Matter.
While the new track doesn’t have a key change, we thought it would be an appropriate day to feature The Chicks. “You Were Mine” was released in 1998, the fourth single from their hit album Wide Open Spaces. The song is notable for being the first to feature Natalie Maines as the lead vocal; the Erwin sisters were so impressed with her performance on the original demo that she would go on to replace Laura Lynch in the band. It is also a deeply personal song for the group as the lyrics describe the breakup of the Erwin sisters’ parents. It spent two weeks in the #1 spot on the US Country Singles chart, and reached #34 on the Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart. Key change at 3:03.
I’d Give It All For You (from “Songs for a New World”)
In recognition of Jason Robert Brown‘s 50th birthday this past Saturday, today we feature “I’d Give It All For You” from his debut production Songs For A New World, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1995. Straddling the line between musical and song cycle, the songs are connected through their depictions of moments of decision for the show’s four characters. Brown has described Songs as being “about one moment. It’s about hitting a wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back.” Here, a pair of former lovers are reuniting after attempting to live without each other.
Beginning in D major, the song stays there while each character sings a verse and chorus, narrating their backstories and how they ended up where they are. With the onset of the bridge at 3:01, the key center becomes ambiguous, reflecting the more unsettled, striving nature of the lyrics as the characters engage in a call-and-response. When the dust settles, we emerge into the sunlight of the chorus at 4:04 in A major, followed by a wistful, concluding coda in G major.
Performed here by noted Brown interpreter Shoshana Bean and Brown himself at the keyboard at an event at the Library of Congress in 2016. Happy 50th, JRB!
Brenda Russell | Piano In The Dark
“Piano In The Dark” was the first single released from Brenda Russell‘s 1988 album Get Here. The track earned Russell two Grammy nominations in 1989, including one for Song Of The Year, and went on to be her biggest hit, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. When asked about the genesis of the song in an interview, Russell said:
“Piano In The Dark” was a wonderful experience. I had two co-writers on that song. Scott Cutler and Jeffrey Hall. And they had sent me this music. And I’m a person that collects song titles. You know, if I hear a good title, like talking to a friend or whatever, I’ll write it down. I keep a little song title book. I always think that in every title there’s a song somewhere, and you’ve just got to thin it out. So when they sent me this music, I thought, Whoa, it’s so haunting and beautiful, I love that. And I was flipping through my title book and I just thought, piano in the dark, I wonder if that would go with that music I heard. That’s as easy as that happened. I had that title and I thought, Hmmm, maybe that’ll work.
…[the song is] about this woman. Her lover plays piano. And she wants to leave him, because she’s really kind of bored. But every time she does that, he sits down and starts playing. And it sucks her right back in. She’s so in love with the way he plays. And he plays in the dark, theoretically. It’s not that literal, necessarily. But that’s what keeps her to him, basically, is his music. And I just found that was an interesting story to write about.”
The verses are set in F minor, and Russell modulates seamlessly to the parallel major for the choruses at 1:03, 2:06, and 2:59.
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