“Where Did She Go” is the final track on the 2014 album Everybody Wants, the debut release by the English rock band The Struts. The group, comprised of vocalist Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliot, and drummer Gethin Davies, count Queen, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson among their influences; they released their third album, Strange Days, last fall. Key change at 3:11.
Ella Fitzgerald | Body and Soul
JazzStandards.com describes “Body and Soul” as an all-time great: ” … In Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs, William Zinnser describes ‘a bridge unlike any other. The first four bars are in the key that’s a half-tone above the home key… the next four bars are a half-tone below the home key.’”
Many covers of the tune have been recorded, but trumpeter Louis Armstrong and saxophonist Coleman Hawkins’ signature versions are perhaps the most widely known. But the addition of lyrics — particularly as delivered with Ella Fitzgerald’s unforgettable style and vocal timbre — surrounds the listener with an additional layer of beautiful storytelling.
The tune, written by pianist/music director/composer Johnny Green, was first performed in 1930. The bridge is first heard from 1:18 – 1:55.
The Specials | Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)
“The Specials were the fulcrum of the ska revival of the late ’70s, kick-starting the 2-Tone movement that spurred a ska-punk revolution lasting for decades,” AllMusic reports. “As influential as they were within the realm of ska, the group and its impact can’t be reduced to that genre alone. The Specials were one of the defining British bands of new wave, expanding the musical and political parameters of rock & roll … (the) 2-Tone label (was) named for its multiracial agenda and after the two-tone tonic suits favored by the like-minded mods of the ’60s.” Originally performed by Guy Lombardo, the big band leader made famous by his multi-year televised New Year’s Eve gig, the tune was later covered by Jamaican singer Prince Buster before it reached The Specials’ repertoire in 1980.
This party tune isn’t entirely representative of the band’s full repertoire, which also includes a marked focus on social justice. The Guardian describes the 21st century version of The Specials at a reunion tour show in 2019: “Their ranks diminished by death and fallings out, the trio are part nostalgia act, part wrathful fighters for fairness, who walk on to a stage decorated with signs reading ‘Vote’, ‘Resist’, ‘Think’ and, incongruously, ‘Listen to Sly and the Family Stone’ … this highly influential group have found their feet again in an era that encourages activism and increasingly reviles apathy … The Specials’ 40-year campaign against injustice resounds down the generations.”
A whole-step modulation appears at 2:22. Many thanks to regular contributor Rob Penttinen for this tune!
Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta | Summer Nights (from “Grease”)
“Summer Nights” is one of the most popular songs from the 1971 musical Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta performed the song in the 1978 film adaptation of the musical, and their recording reached the #5 spot on the Billboard Top 100 (and the #1 spot in the UK.) Two ascending half-step modulations occur at 1:42 and 2:22, and we return to the original key of D at 2:35.
Graham Rorie | Babiche
“Orcadian fiddle and mandolin player Graham Rorie is an award-winning folk musician based in Glasgow,” his site reports. “A finalist in the 2021 BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year and graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Traditional Music Degree, Graham has been making a name for himself as a performer, composer, session musician and producer.”
The bio continues: “While still in the early stages of his career, Graham has gained a wealth of performance experience appearing at festivals including Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, Celtic Colours (Canada), Festival Interceltique de Lorient (France) and Celtica Valle D’Aosta (Italy).” The piece “Babiche” is part of “a new suite of music composed by Rorie to tell the story of Orcadians who traveled to Northern Canada between 1600 and 1900 to work for The Hudson’s Bay Company. Orcadians, according to the history website Orkneyjar, are “the indigenous inhabitants of the Orkney islands of Scotland. Historically, they are descended from the Picts, Norse, and Scots.”
Starting in E major, a middle section in an inversion-heavy C# major (2:14) returns triumphantly to the main melody and original key at 2:54. Many thanks to our champion contributor JB for submitting this tune!
The Subdudes | Next to Me
“Next to Me” is featured on the 2006 album Behind the Levee by American roots/rock group The Subdudes (and produced by Grammy-winning blues artist Keb’Mo’). Based in New Orleans, the group synthesizes folk, cajun, blues, and country influences, and substitutes a tambourine player for a drummer.
The tune subtly modulates from A to B at 3:00. Thanks to Carol Cashion for this submission!
George Michael | Cowboys and Angels
After his breakthrough as 1980s pop/dance royalty with his duo Wham!, UK artist George Michael later released the smash hit 1987 solo release Faith. The album became Billboard‘s #1 Album of 1988 and won multiple top industry awards in the UK, the US, Japan, and more, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide. The album also spawned the iconic black-and-white video for the single “Father Figure,” which went on to win many more awards of its own.
In the wake of the mammoth success of Faith, Michael released the unexpectedly understated Listen Without Prejudice, Volume 1 in 1990. Michael didn’t officially come out as a gay man until 1998, but his sexual orientation was nonetheless an open secret. Pitchfork reported: “Something was happening that autumn to gay artists closeted from their fans … In its original form, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 was the follow-up that Faith demanded; in this new incarnation, it’s a miscellany unruffled by notions of coherence, an attempt to make art out of George Michael’s quarrels with himself. Never again would these quarrels work to such bounteous ends.” Michael went on to release several more albums through 2004, but was felled by heart failure on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of only 53.
The fast jazz waltz feel of “Cowboys and Angels” beautifully supports Michael’s broad harmonic sense, lyrical melody, and adroit arranging. Meanwhile, the lyrics traverse one of his favorite themes: the possibility of finding true romance and companionship despite great odds. The barely submerged subtext: spiking HIV fatalities, which wouldn’t see a peak for a few more years, muddied the waters yet further. The track was the first of Michael’s singles to miss the UK top 40 charts, peaking at #45.
Starting in Bb minor, the tune shifts to C minor at 2:37, reverts to Bb minor at 3:01, and drops into a clear emphasis on the relative major (Db) for a bridge at 4:57. More repetition of sections follows, ending in C minor.
Scary Pockets | Man in the Mirror
Scary Pockets is a collaborative team consisting of Jack Conte and Ryan Lerman, in collaboration with the self-described “rotating roster of the best session musicians in the LA area.” Conte and Lerman are accomplished musicians in their own right, and as Scary Pockets, they put an irresistible, funky twist on everything from modern pop tunes to older classics. Their own knack for finding the groove merges with the talent and soul of a rotating musical team to produce tunes which, though cover arrangements, take on a life and energy of their own.
Today’s tune is Scary Pockets’ arrangement of Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard’s “Man in the Mirror,” made famous by Michael Jackson in 1988. In addition to Conte and Lerman, this tune features the soulful vocals of Rozzi Crane, the inimitable style and talent of MonoNeon on the bass, and the transcendent drum rhythms of Tamir Barzilay. While the original tune certainly wasn’t lacking in the groove category, Conte and Lerman’s arrangement condenses Jackson’s orchestral style into a compact, pulsing funk which compels the listener to dance from beginning to end. The tune begins in G Major, and — similarly to Jackson’s rendition – modulates up a half step as the tune reaches its most climactic energy (at the 2:41 mark).
If this is your first introduction to the Pockets’ music, I recommend listening to this tune around noon, so that you allow yourself enough time. I arguably did not: I discovered it just after dinner time, and found myself still bopping to the Scary Pockets discography on Youtube at an hour that most decent people reserve for sleeping. Hope you enjoy, and embrace the groove.
Sammy Davis Jr. | The Candy Man
Written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, “The Candy Man” was recorded and released by Sammy Davis Jr. in 1972 for his album Sammy Davis Jr. Now. Davis himself did not like the song: “This record is going straight into the toilet,” he reportedly said. “Not just around the rim but into the bowl, and it may just pull my whole career down with it.”
Despite his misgivings, the track became his only #1 hit and was also nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 1973 Grammy Awards. The song has since been used in dozens of commercials and films, including a recent Apple promotion for the iPhone 12. Key change at 2:19.
Kenny Rogers | Coward of the County
About Kenny Rogers’ 1979 hit “Coward of the County,” Songfacts writes: “Like Rogers’ hit ‘The Gambler,’ this song tells a compelling story, and also … was made into a TV movie. Coward of the County aired October 7, 1981; Kenny Rogers acted in the film and sang. Although the film was not a massive hit, the song was …” The tune went to #1 on the US Hot Country Songs, Cash Box Top 100, and multiple Canadian charts and it ranked in the top 10 the US Pop chart, US Adult Contemporary chart, and across much of Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. Billboard listed the track as the #9 most popular country song of 1980.
Songfacts continues: “Some felt the music was compromised.” Joe Ely, a proponent of the more rough-hewn “outlaw” country style, said in 1980: “‘The top 40 that’s going on on country stations over there [Texas] really depresses me.'”
Half-step key changes hit at 1:30 and 2:49. Many thanks to our longtime contributor Kent for submitting this tune!
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