Category: Steck

Verdelle Smith | (Alone) In My Room

“Verdelle Smith had a minor hit on the US charts in 1966, ‘Tar and Cement’ (not to be confused with ‘Concrete and Clay,’ the hit for Unit 4 + 2 around the same time — a bigger hit in Canada and Australia).

‘(Alone) In My Room’ (distinct from the Beach Boys’ single ‘In My Room’), appeared on her one album for Capitol, produced by Marvin Holtzman. It’s an adaptation of a Spanish song by Joaquin Pieto, with English lyrics by Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance. Several covers of the song have appeared (by the Walker Brothers, Nancy Sinatra, and Marc Almond).

The organ introduction may make you think of Bela Lugosi, or Lon Chaney, Jr., if not J.S. Bach. The song is in 3/4, in B♭ minor. The verse is subdued, building to the chorus featuring a powerful vocal enhanced by strong brass. There’s another softly-sung verse, a break, then a modulation to a B minor at 1:47 with the brass leading the way. Then a wordless vocal line continues to the fadeout — all in a scant two minutes and 20 seconds.”

Many thanks to our regular contributor Paul for this submission!

Rumer | Aretha

A submission from Paul “Steck” S., one of our regulars:

“Rumer is the stage name of Sarah Joyce, a Pakistan-born British singer-songwriter who has been very popular in the UK, but less well-known in the US. Her contralto voice is sometimes redolent of Karen Carpenter; indeed, Richard Carpenter wrote her to praise her first album, Seasons of My Soul, released in 2010. She’s released several albums since then, one as recently as 2020.

Rumer has been extensively involved with the music of Burt Bacharach. In 2010, she released a Christmas EP with a Bacharach song; in 2012, she performed at the White House as part of the tribute to Bacharach and Hal David; and in 2016, she released an entire album of Bacharach/David songs.

The tune here, “Aretha,” is taken from the first album; yes, it’s Aretha Franklin that she’s singing about. It’s a tale of a schoolgirl, attending a school where the kids are mean, while coping with a mentally ill mother. Listening to Aretha on her headphones is a refuge. It was written by Rumer and producer Steve Brown.

The song is a soul ballad in the key of B♭, mostly in 4/4 time (with a 12/8 feel), with measures of 2/4 and 3/4 in the verse. The bridge at 1:56 features the singer lightly harmonizing with herself. At 2:30, there’s a modulation to C for the final verse.”

Thanks, Steck, for this submission!

Claudine Longet | I Don’t Intend to Spend Christmas Without You

Claudine Longet has had a career as a dancer, actress, and singer; born in France, she’s lived in the US since she was a teenager. She recorded several albums, mostly for A&M, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She was married to middle-of-the-road singer Andy Williams for several years, appearing on some of his recordings. After they divorced, infamously, she was convicted of negligently shooting and killing her boyfriend, Olympic skier “Spider” Sabich. After that tragedy and its lurid media coverage, she stayed out of public view.

The song here, “I Don’t Intend to Spend Christmas Without You,” was written by Margo Guryan expressly for Longet. Producer Tommy LiPuma asked her to write a Christmas song without the usual trappings of snow, mistletoe, and so on. A&M issued the song as a single in 1968, backed with (wait for it) “Snow,” written by Randy Newman. 

Guryan started her career writing songs and lyrics in the jazz tradition. Her songs were recorded by the likes of Chris Connor, Dizzy Gillespie, and Harry Belafonte; she wrote the lyrics to Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman”. After hearing the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”, the story goes, she decided to write pop songs. She recorded one sunshine pop album, “Take a Picture”, in 1968, for Bell. The album did not do well, but became something of a cult favorite in the 1990s and 2000s, particularly in Japan. After that album, she recorded occasional singles, and wrote “Chopstick Variations”, a piano education book. Margo Guryan died earlier this year (2021) at the age of 84.

The song starts out in G, with a bridge in A. At 1:45, the verse modulates to A-flat. (You can find Margo Guryan’s own version of the song here, recorded as a demo. Her voice is remarkably like Claudine Longet’s. No modulation in her version, though.

Thanks to regular MotD contributor Paul Steckler for this submission!

Emmet Cohen | It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Another solo piano performance, this time from jazz pianist Emmet Cohen. Recognized as a prodigy, the 29-year old Cohen has been hailed by Downbeat magazine for his “nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary.” He has performed with Ron Carter, Kurt Elling, and Christian McBride, among others, and composes as well. Key change at 1:54. Thanks to MotD contributor Paul Steckler for this find.

J.J. Jackson | But It’s Allright

From our regular poster Paul “Steck” Steckler comes J.J. Jackson’s “But It’s Allright.” Steck writes that the track is “so good that it became a charting hit twice, in 1966 and 1969. Jackson is American, but he recorded this one in England with top-drawer studio players. Besides the strong belting vocal, notable are the chunky guitar intro, the tasty glockenspiel in the instrumental section, and an upward modulation at 1:47.”

AllMusic’s review of the tune starts off with this heartfelt praise: “Driven by one of the catchiest guitar hooks in the history of rock + roll and a devastating vocal performance, J.J. Jackson’s “But It’s Alright” is one of R&B’s notable high points during the ’60s.”

Fever | Josh Turner (feat. Allison Young)

From MotD regular Paul Steckler comes this update on a 1959 pop classic:

“Everyone knows the famous version of ‘Fever’ by Peggy Lee. She added lyrics to the original release, performed by Little Willie John in 1956. In 2019, we have a guitar-and-voice version by Josh Turner and Allison Young.”

Josh’s bio states that he “started playing at 13, when his PlayStation 2 was confiscated.”

Modulations at 1:35 and 2:11.

Three Dog Night | Celebrate

A bonus weekend mod from our frequent contributor Paul Steckler:

“‘Celebrate’ was a hit for Three Dog Night, reaching #15 on the Billboard chart in 1970. The studio version had no modulations. But this live 1975 version features an endless series of modulations beginning at 2:36, eventually posing health risks to performers and audience alike.”

The Ventures | Perfidia

Another contribution from MotD fan Paul Steckler:

“Who can turn a dolorous Mexican popular song into a surf guitar classic? Why, The Ventures, of course. Their 1960 version of “Perfidia” (Spanish for “perfidy”, meaning faithlessness, treachery or betrayal) changes key at 1:07.”

Other than the Ventures’ version, which hit #18 on the pop charts, the tune has been covered by Desi Arnaz, Nat King Cole, and Linda Ronstadt, among many others.

Cher | The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore

Many thanks to MotD fan Paul Steckler for this contribution!

Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, writers of many of the Four Seasons’ hits, wrote “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore)”, originally sung by Frankie Valli, and a big international hit for the Walker Brothers in 1966. Thirty years later (1995), Cher covered it. Her version starts in F# and then alternates to G# at 1:50; then back, etc.

Spanky + Our Gang | Sunday Will Never Be the Same

Intrepid MotD fan Paul Steckler points out the single modulation at 2:19 in the middle of a section of Bach-inspired vocalese in “Sunday Will Never Be the Same” by Spanky and Our Gang (1967). The tune, which reached #9 in the US and was another example of Sunshine Pop, scored the biggest hit for this short-lived band from the late 60s.