Category: Rob

O.C. Smith | Little Green Apples

“O.C. Smith began as a jazz vocalist and later moved into country and R&B,” reports AllMusic. After singing in Count Basie‘s band in the early ’60s, Smith then moved into into a unique soul/country mix, scoring a hit with “Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp.”

Smith then went deeper into the soul genre. “Little Green Apples,” released in 1968, went to #2 on both the pop and R&B charts. Later in life, he became a pastor of a Los Angeles church while also continuing to perform and record until his passing in 2001.

The unusual modulation, up a minor third, hits at 2:07. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission!

The Blues Brothers | Rawhide

“Rawhide” was written by Ned Washington (lyrics) and Dimitri Tiomkin (music) in 1958. “The song was used as the theme to Rawhide, a western television series that ran from 1959 until 1966. According to the Western Writers of America, it was one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

The tune has been covered by Johnny Cash, The Jackson 5, The Dead Kennedys, Liza Minnelli, Oingo Boingo, Sublime, and many other artists. It was featured prominently in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, where it saved the day as as a last-second substitute opener for an R&B/Blues band haplessly booked into a Country/Western bar. Fortunately, the band had a lot more chops than luck …

The half-step modulation is at 2:13 at the start of a short guitar feature. The tune itself doesn’t begin until the 1:25 mark. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission!

Buzzcocks | I Don’t Mind

“With their crisp melodies, biting lyrics, and driving guitars, the UK’s Buzzcocks were one of most influential bands to emerge in the initial wave of punk rock,” AllMusic reports. “Buzzcocks were inspired by the Sex Pistols‘ energy, but they didn’t copy the Pistols‘ angry political stance. Instead, they brought that intense, brilliant energy to the three-minute pop song.”

Buzzcocks’ album Another Music In A Different Kitchen (1977) featured the single “I Don’t Mind,” which reached #55 on the UK Singles charts. The tune features a bridge at 1:16 — unusual for the punk genre. But at the end of the bridge, another rarity arrives: a half-step modulation (1:50), making this 2:20 track quite unusual within its genre.

Many thanks to Rob Penttinen for this contribution!

Mariah Carey | Always Be My Baby

The fourth single released from Mariah Carey’s fifth studio album, Daydream, “Always Be My Baby” was the most played song on the radio in 1996, and the first single to debut at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. The lyrics describes the lingering attachment the singer retains towards her former lover, even as they both go their separate ways. The track is one of Carey’s most successful, reaching Triple Platinum status with well over 2 million sales.

The key change is at 3:01. Many thanks to MotD fan Rob Penttinen for this submission!

Rolling Stones | Dear Doctor

Not a band normally known for modulations, the Stones produced a tune with a key change in “Dear Doctor” from 1968’s Beggar’s Banquet. The tune is a country/blues waltz — a classic story song about an ill-fated romantic pairing.

According to AllMusic, “Jagger may be poking fun a little, but he could not nail the parlance of the characters so precisely if he had not studied it closely as a fan of the music…in a sense, they have been musicologists, interpreting musical forms that were in danger of dying out.”

At 1:38, there’s a big key change (up a major fourth). Many thanks to mod scout Rob Penttinen for this contribution!

Madness | The Sun and the Rain

The Guardian suggests that Madness “are still perhaps England’s greatest post-Beatles singles group. ‘The Sun and the Rain’ was a tribute to precipitation, and what could be more English than that? Accompanied by an urgent, string-laden stomp,” the lyric speaks of “standing up in the falling down.” The track was released in 1983 as a stand-alone single, reaching 10 weeks on the UK Singles chart (peaking at #5). It later appeared on the group’s subsequent album, but only after its strong showing as a single.

Setting the tone, there’s a quick key change from the intro into the first verse at 0:34. Taking a back seat to the band’s unique piano-driven post-ska sound and goofy, irreverent style, the main modulation drops with minimal fanfare between two choruses at 2:49. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission!

The Beach Boys | Be True to Your School

Continuing with Beach Boys week: “Be True to Your School,” by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys, was released in 1963. The melody of the University of Wisconsin fight song, “On, Wisconsin,” can be heard on the track. There was also single version, which was released with “In My Room”. The tune peaked at #6 on the Billboard charts, but also #3 in New Zealand, #6 in Sweden, and #10 Australia. However, the single performed best back home in Los Angeles: three weeks at #1, according to airplay on KFWB.

The key change is at 1:54, interspersed with cheerleader chants. Many thanks to Rob Penttinen for this submission!

Cheryl Lynn | Got to Be Real

One of the all-time legends of the disco genre, 1978’s “Got To Be Real” was Cheryl Lynn‘s debut single. Although it’s had huge staying power, the track somehow only reached #11 on the disco charts. A writing collaboration among Lynn, Toto‘s keyboardist David Paich, and master songwriter/arranger David Foster, the tune was inducted into the Dance Music Hall Of Fame in 2005.

The whole-step key change hits early, at the 1:38 mark. But Lynn’s supple soprano continues to carry her through with ease, stretching all the way up to a lofty C6 (two octaves above middle C) at 2:58.

Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for the submission!

Joan Jett + The Blackhearts | Bad Reputation

“Bad Reputation,” an uptempo guitar-fueled tune which clocks in at well under three minutes, was the title track of a 1981 album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Thanks to MotD fan Rob Penttinen for submitting this track!

Music Connection Magazine reports that “Jett took the record to a number of major record labels, none of which were interested in releasing the project. Rather than continue to hunt for a willing label, Laguna (the producer) and Jett decided to fund the pressing of the album themselves … (and) sold directly to concert-goers and record stores out of Laguna’s car trunk.”

Typical of Jett, (also known as “The Godmother of Punk”), the track is a classic 3-chord rocker — with the exception of a full-step modulation at 1:07.

Ian Dury + the Blockheads | Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

After multiple requests from *two* regular contributors, JB and Rob Penttinen, here is “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick” (1978) by Ian Dury. Stricken by polio in his native UK at age 7, Dury didn’t allow anything to slow him down. His band, Ian Dury (and the Blockheads), mixed funk textures, gonzo punk sensibilities, and cutting lyrics.

The track features F minor verses and F major choruses, with a few quick nods to F minor even during the choruses. It reached #1 in the UK, #2 in Australia, and Top 10 across much of Europe.