“And I Will Follow” is a stand-alone song by musical theater composer Jason Robert Brown. It is the lead track on singer Lauren Kennedy’s 2003 album The Songs of Jason Robert Brown (JRB subtly lends his voice as back-up as well.) The song, which fuses musical theatre, folk and country characteristics, begins in D and modulates up a whole step to E coming out of the bridge at 3:30.
Mike Stern | What I Meant to Say
Voted Jazz Guitarist of the Year in 1993 by Guitar Player and one of DownBeat Magazine’s “75 Great Guitarists,” Mike Stern has released 20+ albums of his own as well as collaborating with Miles Davis, Blood Sweat and Tears, Steps Ahead, Michael Brecker, The Brecker Brothers, Jim Hall, and many others.
A lot of work and preparation have set the stage for Stern’s versatility. “‘There are so many different things to get into and study,’ (RivetingRiffs). ‘I check out a lot of horn players, a lot of saxophone players and trumpet players, and Miles, I check his stuff out. I write it out, I transcribe stuff like that. Piano players, like McCoy Tyner and Herbie, I try to get some of those ideas on the guitar … You can arrange everything to a certain point and you can rehearse it to a certain point, but it doesn’t all have to be Pro Tooled to death and everything lined up perfectly. It’s got to have some rough edges … with Miles, there was an edge, but I’ve always liked a kind of a vocal sound, like a horn. I use a little chorus and two amps to try and make it sound a little more vocal, like Jimi Hendrix, because he sang, and the blues guys I grew up with, BB King, Albert King, they bent the strings and sounded very vocal and I’ve always been a fan of that style. I want the guitar to sound more legato and more singing like. I want air in the sound.’”
Although Stern is well known for tunes that fit into a more uptempo rock/blues/funk/fusion vein, “What I Meant to Say,” from his Grammy-nominated 1994 album Is What It Is, embodies the legato, lyrical style he detailed in the interview. Verse 1 starts in Ab major; after a surprisingly smooth side step into D major at 0:34, we return to Ab major for verse 2 (0:42). A shift to E major hits at 1:21, then C major at 1:38, and a sustained solo section in Ab at 2:12. Stern re-visits many of the sections until the verse is re-stated in the original key at 4:25.
BoA 보아 | Milky Way
“BoA (보아) is a South Korean singer, songwriter, record producer and actress,” (KPopping). She’s been “recognized as one of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers throughout her career, and is therefore commonly credited as the ‘Queen of K-pop.'”
The giant Korean music conglomerate SM Entertainment discovered BoA, then partnered with her in releasing 20 studio albums since her debut in 2000, including ten in Korean, nine in Japanese, and one in English. “BoA’s multilingual skills (she speaks Japanese and English along with native Korean and has recorded songs in Mandarin) have contributed to her commercial success throughout Asia outside of South Korea, such as China, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.”
Her 2003 release “Milky Way” starts in Eb major, knocks us off balance a little with some fast-moving harmonic magic during the bridge (2:22 – 2:31), and lands in E major at 2:32.
Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!
Chloe Martini | Love You The Right Way (feat. KWAYE)
“Love You The Right Way” is featured on Polish producer Chloe Martini’s 2019 EP Daydream. Heralded by Spotify for its “blistering electronics fused to soulful R&B textures,” the EP includes five tracks — two with the British-Zimbabwean singer KWAYE. Martini, who is completely self-taught, counts Prince, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis among those who have influenced her most.
The track begins in B and winds its way up a whole step at 3:01.
George Jones | Bartender’s Blues
This is Galen C.’s second MotD submission. Thanks, Galen!
“Bartender’s Blues” was originally written and performed by James Taylor in an attempt to imitate George Jones’ sound; it was released on Taylor’s 1977 abum JT. George Jones covered “Bartender’s Blues” a year later on his 1978 album of the same name, with Taylor on backup vocals.
In an interview with Billboard following Jones’ death, James Taylor said that he wrote this song as a tribute to George Jones, trying to create a song that was “…100 percent George Jones…” Jones’ version is unique from Taylor’s original in that Jones added a key change at the start of the final verse (2:32).
On a personal note: Since learning about Modulation of the Day, I’ve been listening specifically for key changes. I heard this song on Willy Nelson’s radio show while visiting my parents in Florida — and rushed to write it down while the song was still playing!
JT’s version, for reference:
Linda Eder | Someone Like You
“Someone Like You” is from the 1990 musical Jekyll & Hyde, featuring a score by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse. Eder originated the role of Lucy in her Broadway debut and was nominated for a Drama Desk award for her performance. She is now an acclaimed solo concert artist and has released 18 studio albums.
The song, which comes at the end of Act 1 as Lucy is questioning her love for Jekyll, modulates at 2:43.
Owsley | Coming Up Roses
Owsley was born William Reese Owsley III in 1966 in Alabama. According to his website, “he was raised in a musical household; his mother was a singer and stage actress, his father the drum major for the marching band of University of Alabama, his sister a classically trained pianist and his brother a rock guitarist.”
In his early 20s, he moved to Nashville to work as a touring guitarist. At the same time, he worked on writing his own material. In seeking a record deal, he made sure to emphasize that he didn’t want a record label shifting the emphasis of his work: “I had heard the story of Tom Scholz of the band Boston recording his first album and taking it to the record company, where he told them that it was finished and they could take it or leave it. And I thought, ‘What a cool idea!’ I didn’t want anyone else coming between me and what I was trying to accomplish.” Owsley also worked as a guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter and producer with artists including “Charlotte Church, Kenny Loggins, Amy Grant, Michael McDonald and Rodney Crowell. He also wrote and produced for many Disney stars – among them Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and the Jonas Brothers – and went back on the road as a guitarist for Amy Grant’s touring band. He once described himself as having moved ‘not up or down in the music industry, but sideways.'” He died at the painfully early age of only 44.
After a start in C minor, the chorus for “Coming up Roses” (1999) shifts to C major at 0:29. At 0:55, verse 2 reverts to C minor. The pattern continues throughout, with strings and a catchy wordless sing-along hook joining the mix as the fade ending leads us down a Beatle-esque path.
Thin Lizzy | Do Anything You Want to Do
“If you want to see the platonic ideal of a rock band, go to YouTube and search ‘Thin Lizzy Rainbow 1978’,” (The Guardian) ” You’ll find the band’s classic lineup … in full flight, and even the degradation of old dubbed recordings can’t diminish their power. Gorham and Robertson flank Lynott, the trio in motion, the two guitarists criss-crossing and taking to the monitors, Lynott in the centre, bass held high, a beautiful, heavy-lidded man half seducing his audience and half assaulting it.”
The Irish rock band is probably best known for their 1976 release “The Boys are Back in Town,” which was a top 10 hit in the UK, Ireland, and the US; it placed 272 on the 2021 edition of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list.
1979’s “Do Anything You Want to Do,” from the album Black Rose: A Rock Legend, reached #25 on the Irish charts and #14 in the UK. The tune starts in a de-tuned G major, shifts to Bb major at 1:37, then alternates again between the two keys.
Boz Scaggs | Look What You’ve Done To Me
“Look What You’ve Done To Me” was originally written for the 1980 motion picture Urban Cowboy. Penned by Scaggs and legendary producer David Foster, the tune peaked at #14 on the Billboard Top 100, and features background vocals by The Eagles.
The song fluctuates between E minor for the verses and instrumental interludes, and its relative major, G, for the choruses.
Joe Cocker + Jennifer Warnes | Up Where We Belong
“‘Up Where We Belong’ was written for the movie An Officer and a Gentleman and won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1983 and a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group With Vocal in 1983,” (Songfacts). “Island Records boss Chris Blackwell liked the idea of Cocker recording the song with Warnes, but Cocker was on tour in the Pacific Northwest at the time.
No problem: he simply flew to LA one afternoon, recorded the track with Warnes that evening, and flew back to resume the tour. Warnes and Cocker stood next to each other when they recorded this in the studio, where they had a great chemistry that carried over to live performances. ‘Off stage, I never saw him,’ Warnes said in a 2018 Songfacts interview. ‘But on stage he understood exactly what we were doing … He wasn’t going to step on my note and I wasn’t going to step on his. We felt free to take chances.'”
At 2:52, a late bridge brings a half-step modulation which carries on for the short remainder of the tune.
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