Category: JB

Del Shannon | Runaway

“Runaway” by Del Shannon is an “eerie, aching, chart-topping 1961 single” according to the AV Club. “Few songs in popular music are so enduring yet ethereal. ‘Runaway’ is a moody song for a brooding scenario, one that seems to instantly sublimate into a glum, haunting fog. Written by Shannon and his keyboardist, Max Crook, it outlines in tear-streaked detail a guy who’s lost his girl. Guys losing girls is a primary preoccupation of pop songwriters, then and now, but ‘Runaway’ nudges that theme to a preternatural level. ‘As I walk along I wonder / what went wrong,’ he begins the song, not bothering to mention where he’s walking or why.

The not-so-secret weapon of ‘Runaway,’ though, is its keyboard. Crook joined Shannon’s band in 1959, and soon after he began toying with a riff on his Musitron, a self-built version of the clavioline that served as a precursor to the analog synthesizer. Modifying the instrument with spare parts from television sets and household appliances, Crook used his invention to turn his riff into the spooky, unsettling hook of ‘Runaway.'” The single went to #1 in the US and was a true international smash hit as well, hitting Top 5 in Australia, Canada, Chile, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the UK, among others.

The intro, verses, and iconic keyboard feature sections are in Bb minor; the choruses (first heard at 0:31) shift to Bb major.

Average White Band | You’re My Number One

Released in 1982, “You’re My Number One” was a track from the Average White Band’s album Cupid’s In Fashion. ” … the group decided to keep things a bit funkier on this release … ” (Soulfinger). ” … they brought in some cool cats like Dan Hartman to write ‘You’re My Number One’. Say what you will about Hartman, but that man can make a fun song … AWB could do LA pop without losing their soul … “

Hartman is perhaps best known for his own release “I Can Dream About You” (which reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 and #12 on the UK Singles chart in 1985). He wrote and/or produced many other successful tunes for other artists, including “Living in America” for James Brown (1986), as well as tracks for a wide-ranging list of artists including The Plasmatics, Steve Winwood, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Dusty Springfield, and Bonnie Tyler. Hartman passed away from HIV in 1994 at the age of only 43.

1980s LA pop could hardly have a better standard-bearer than this track. Its funk foundation, nimble horn section, glossy production, and an entire instrumental verse devoted to a sax solo all belie the fact that Average White Band is from … Scotland! The modulation kicks in at 1:46.

Mariana’s Trench | The Killing Kind

“Blending the energy and melodicism of pop-punk with theatrical pop ambitions and a progressive rock spirit, Canadian quartet Marianas Trench — named after the Pacific Ocean trench which is the deepest known spot in the world — rose to widespread popularity at the end of the 2000s thanks to platinum-selling concept albums like 2009’s Masterpiece Theatre and 2011’s Ever After,” (AllMusic). “With an increasing trend toward thematic grandeur and a growing worldwide audience, the Vancouver band continued to expand both their sound and commercial reach with the ’80s adventure film-themed Astoria in 2015 and the lush, haunted pop of 2019’s Phantoms.“

Reviewing Phantoms, MelodicMag adds: “Full of theatrical moments, textures, colors, and unconventional sounds … Reminiscent of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ (‘The Killing Kind’) sounds like multiple songs in one … Each section is like organized chaos. They build onto each other, while staying central to a certain theme or idea.”

Starting in B minor, the track ends in the relative major key of D major — but this seemingly straightforward shift is handled in an indirect fashion: a meandering path through a landscape constructed from equal parts 1970s Queen-style pomp and the gleaming grandeur of contemporary symphonic metal.

Gin Blossoms | California Sun

“An homage to the surf music the Beach Boys helped make so popular, this song is certainly one directly from the depths of Gin Blossom Jesse Valenzuela’s heart,” (Songfacts). “Jesse’s original role with the Gin Blossoms was as lead singer. He switched to guitar with the introduction of vocalist Robin Wilson to the band. Yet he was – and is – one of the band’s most prolific songwriters. While some artists may have a rough time of it allowing someone else to sing their words when they themselves are perfectly capable of doing it, Jesse says it doesn’t bother him.”

InnerEarMedia‘s review of the band’s 2006 album Major Lodge Victory has this to say about “California Sun,” the album’s closing track: “The easy-to-the-ears pop of the Gin Blossoms is like a warm blanket surrounding you and keeping you safe. That blanket only gets warmed more by ‘California Sun’ as the sweet pop song brings this great album to an appropriate end. Gin Blossoms leave us with a folk/pop song that could’ve come straight from the 70s (Eagles, America, etc.) and it makes you smile.”

Starting in E major, a bridge at 2:03 begins with a vocal section but then settles into a guitar feature. We’re led into a key change at 2:49 with an emphatic, extended V chord in the new key of F major, complete with richly textured backing vocals echoing the Beach Boys’ style. At 3:00, the final chorus is firmly established in the new key.

Coleman Hawkins | Body and Soul

“Out of all the hit recordings of ‘Body and Soul,’ Coleman Hawkins’ is the best remembered,” (JazzStandards.com). Considered the first truly great jazz saxophonist, Hawkins’ October 11, 1939, version cemented his fame and must be considered the definitive recording of the song. According to Mark C. Gridley, author of Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, ‘Coleman Hawkins loved to improvise on complicated chord progressions and invent solo lines whose construction implied that chords had been added …'”

In 1973, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences inducted Hawkins’ 1939 recording into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The original recording is on Coleman Hawkins’ Body and Soul CD. An interesting reworking of the tune can be heard as the title cut on Hawkins’ 1944 Rainbow Mist recording on which he lays a new melody over the chord changes of ‘Body and Soul.'”

The 32-bar tune, composed in 1930 by Johnny Green, is built in Db major overall. After a brief intro, the first A section begins at 0:11 and the second at 0:32. The B section, which features several departures from the original key via a huge amount of harmonic sleight of hand, begins at 0:52. Finally, 1:12 brings the form’s last A section, returning to the original key.

Eddie Bo | Hook and Sling

“Edwin Joseph Bocage, known to music lovers around the world as ‘Eddie Bo’, was born in New Orleans, raised in Algiers and the 9th Ward,” (EddieBo.com). “Having come from a family that is legendary in the traditional jazz community … after graduating from Booker T. Washington High School and spending time abroad in the Army, he returned to New Orleans to study composition and arranging at the Grunewald School of Music. It was here that Eddie Bo developed a unique style of piano playing and arranging that incorporated complex be-bop voicings, influenced by Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson. His mother and Professor Longhair, whose playing styles were similar, were major influences on Bo as well.

In a career that spanned well over five decades, Eddie Bo made more 45s than any artist in New Orleans, other than Fats Domino. He produced records for Irma Thomas, Robert Parker, Art Neville, Chris Kenner, Al ‘Carnival Time’ Johnson and the late Johnny Adams … ” In terms of songwriting, he “demonstrated genius in the realm of contemporary New Orleans funk on the highly creative works ‘Hook and Sling’ and ‘Pass the Hatchet.'” Some of the awards Bo garnered during his career include the U.S. Congressional Lifetime Achievement Award in Jazz + Blues, the New Orleans Jazz + Heritage Foundation Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Louisiana Music Association, and coverage in the PBS documentary on contemporary music along the Mississippi, River of Song.

Evoking a tow truck fleet capable of moving any vehicle, Bo’s “Hook and Sling,” released in 1969, is infused with New Orleans flavor. The groove was so good that the track was later sampled by the hiphop artist Everlast (formerly of House of Pain), then again by Kanye West, Common, Pusha T, Big Sean feat. Kid Cudi, and Charlie Wilson for the track “G.O.O.D. Friday” (WhoSampled.com). The tune shifts up a half step at 1:36.

Here’s the G.O.O.D. Friday sample:

Barry Manilow | Looks Like We Made It

” … there’s a good chance you’re Facebook friends with your ex. But in 1977, when people still had to run into their exes at parties or whatever, that feeling still got a drippy Barry Manilow ballad dedicated to it,” (Stereogum). “Around the time that Barry Manilow got to #1 with 1976’s ‘I Write The Songs,’ he apparently figured out what the world wanted from him. He could sing silly, frisky, jazzy numbers, but those songs weren’t what the world wanted from him. They wanted big, grand, feelings-on-display adult-contempo ballads full of pianos and woodwinds and showy Broadway notes.

… you can hear that formula at work on ‘Looks Like We Made It,’ Manilow’s third and final #1. As with (his) two previous #1 hits, Manilow didn’t write ‘Looks Like We Made It.’ Instead, the song’s music came from Richard Kerr, the pianist who’d already co-wrote the 1975 #1 ‘Mandy.’ (No surprise that it sounds a whole lot like ‘Mandy.’) The lyrics, meanwhile, were written by Will Jennings, a ballad specialist … Manilow’s got an impressive voice, and he’s not shy about showing it off. He and producer Ron Dante pile on the strings, which makes for a whole lot of big, crashing moments.”

After a start in C major, a short bridge at 2:28 starts sweetly, continues with the piled-on strings mentioned above, and ends with the drummer sounding like the host of an “instrumental petting zoo” at an elementary school. After pulling out all the stops, 2:44 opens the curtains, shines the spotlights, and sounds the figurative trumpet fanfare as the new key of Db major arrives.

Tommy James + the Shondells | Crystal Blue Persuasion

“Some songs are written specifically for films or TV shows,” (American Songwriter) “Then there are those songs that seem like they’re tailor-made for just about any kind of filmed production. ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion,’ a mellow masterpiece from 1969 by Tommy James and the Shondells, falls into that latter category. … James proved to be a steady hitmaker for Roulette Records from the mid-60s on, deftly straddling the line between garage rock and bubblegum pop like few of his era. ‘As a songwriter, you’re always looking for interesting word combinations and stuff. And the title of this poem was Crystal Persuasion. I just thought that was a fascinating title. I had no idea what it meant, but it sounded very profound.’

Dozens of filmmakers have taken their turns interpreting “Crystal Blue Persuasion” pretty much since it first hit the Top 5 in 1969 … Tommy James is all right with all of it. ‘On Breaking Bad, it meant crystal meth,’ he laughs. ‘But I guess you take it where you can get it. I can’t believe the reach that song has had over the years. It’s really a magical little record …’”

The half-step modulation at 2:27 is preceded only by a hand percussion break — no surprise there, as the track had no drum set in its instrumentation. A feature probably intended for album listeners, as opposed to the radio audience, is a surprising double-time section at 3:36, which amps up the energy just as the volume fades; most DJs likely didn’t play the tune to the very end.

Harold Hopkins | Glamour Girl

RareSoulMan.com describes Harold Hopkins as “a mysterious artist with a sublime vocal style … Texas Northern Soul offering not one but two sides of slick finger-snapping … showcasing an expressive vocal … only recording this one record under the name Harold Hopkins.”

“Where most soul genres are named for either the region that the music where the music was created, or for the sound of the music, Northern Soul is named after where the music was played — in dance clubs in northern Britain,” (AllMusic). “During the early ’70s, once the Mods had run out of steam and prog rock was ruling the landscape, there were a handful of underground dance clubs that played nothing but ’60s soul records, and they weren’t any ordinary oldies. Instead, the DJs at these clubs were obsessive collectors, finding the most obscure American soul singles. Usually, these records sounded like Motown, Chicago soul, or New York soul, but they were records by unknown or underappreciated performers.”

“Glamour Girl” (1965) might not have received much notice, but it is quintessential mid-1960s soul nonetheless. The key change is at 1:40.


Steam | Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

“Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” (1969) was written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named “Steam”. It went all the way to #1 in late 1969. It was Billboard‘s final multi-week #1 pop hit of the 1960s, but also peaked at #20 on the soul chart. The track also went into the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK. By the beginning of the 21st century, sales of “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” had exceeded 6.5 million records, reaching multi-platinum record status (Rolling Stone).

“But in 1977, as legend has it, the organist for the Chicago White Sox, Nancy Faust, started playing it when opposing pitchers were yanked from the game. The crowds began to chant along with the music, and a great taunt was born. Now (it’s) the anthem of taunt, sung in many languages and many sports, among them politics,” (Washington Post).

Songfacts provides more detail: “When this song became a hit, an entire album was commissioned and a group created for it, also with the name ‘Steam.’ But DeCarlo wasn’t invited to tour with it, even though he had recorded it. Indeed, he “was asked not to reveal that it was him on the record, since there was a different singer performing it at live appearances.” DeCarlo tried to capitalize on the song’s success as he continued his musical career, but was unsuccessful.

The tune starts with a distinctive vibes feature on the intro, followed by the iconic chant chorus, right out of the gate (C minor). The first verse (C major) runs from 0:17 – 0:48; the chorus then returns in the original key and the pattern holds throughout.