Nancy Wilson | When October Goes

After his death in 1976, the estate of Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Mercer revealed several unfinished lyrics. Singer/songwriter, accompanist, and music director Barry Manilow, who’d befriended Mercer in his final years, was gifted some of these lyrics by Mercer’s widow, Ginger. Mercer’s estate details that one of these lyrics was for “When October Goes.” After setting the words to music, Manilow released the resulting ballad in 1984; the track reached #6 on the US Adult Contemporary charts that year. The tune has since been covered by Rebecca Paris, Kevin Mahogany, Rosemary Clooney, and many more.

AllMusic reports “Diva Nancy Wilson was among contemporary music’s most stylish and sultry vocalists; while often crossing over into the pop and R&B markets … she remained best known as a jazz performer, renowned for her work alongside figures including Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing … By the 1990s, she was a favorite among the ‘new adult contemporary’ market, her style ideally suited to the format’s penchant for lush, romantic ballads; she also hosted the Jazz Profiles series on National Public Radio.” From the JazzIz 2018 posthumous tribute to Wilson: “(her) supple voice, natural ability as a storyteller and willingness to cross musical boundaries made her a sensation in the jazz and pop worlds … (she received) three Grammy Awards during the course of her life — the first in 1965, the last in 2007 … “

Wilson’s version of the tune was released in 1991. It starts in C minor and shifts to Bb minor at 1:51.

Swing Out Sister | Break Out

“… Swing Out Sister‘s music is unashamedly commercial pop,” AllMusic notes. The UK group’s “jazz-tinged arrangements and knack for clever hooks move them closer to the indie dance territory of St. Etienne or late period Everything But the Girl than to the cookie-cutter dance-pop of Kylie Minogue or Paula Abdul.” “Breakout” was the stand-out single from the band’s 1987 debut album, It’s Better to Travel, which AllMusic calls “a dreamy collection of mostly electronic pop songs that manages to sound warmly organic through the judicious use of real strings and horns and Corinne Drewery’s lovely voice, which recalls the throaty purr of vintage Dusty Springfield … ‘Breakout’ (was) one of the finest U.K. pop singles of the late ’80s.”

This unapologetically bouncy pop tune somehow seemed to know upfront that it would become an international smash hit, scoring top 5 chart positions in the UK, US, Canada, and New Zealand as well as prominent chart performance throughout Europe. The track swung for the fences and succeeded in nearly single-handedly establishing the band as late-80s sophistipop royalty. A whole-step modulation at 3:02 is announced by the boisterous horn section.

Many thanks to not one but two of our regular contributors, Chris L. and JB, who suggested this tune completely independently of one another!

Gareth Gates | Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)

“Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)” is featured on the 2002 debut album of English pop singer Gareth Gates, What My Heart Wants To Say. The second single released from the album, the track debuted at #1 on the UK Single Chart, and also reached the top spot in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway. Key change at 2:48.

The Platters | Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

“One of the leading R&B vocal groups of the ’50s, The Platters were the first black group to be accepted as a major chart act,” reports Oldies.com. “For a short time, were the most successful vocal group in the world. The Platters were formed in Los Angeles in 1953. ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,’ which was an international number 1 hit single in 1958-59, highlighted their smooth delivery and arguably remains the group’s best-loved release…They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990.”

The tune was written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the ill-fated 1933 musical Roberta. Playbill reports that the Depression-era production was hamstrung from the start: “The biggest problem was the director, one Jerome Kern. That’s right, Kern — with no directing experience — directed the thing himself; Gordon, recovering from a flop musical which culminated in a nervous breakdown with a suicide attempt, gave in to Kern’s desire in order to get the rights. The show, which opened in Philadelphia — under the title Gowns by Roberta — was so poor that Gordon went ahead and fired Kern as director, although the latter remained on hand to work on the score. But a happy time was not had by anyone.”

Fortunately, the show yielded a wonderfully enduring tune. Starting in Eb major, the track modulates to the bridge, largely in B major (or more properly, Cb major), at 1:17. At 1:50, we return to Eb major. A leap of a major third: truly unusual!

Voctave | Someday

The a cappella group (and MotD favorite) Voctave released a new album, The Corner of Broadway & Main St Vol. 2 earlier this month, featuring an assortment of Disney and Broadway hits. “Somewhere,” from Alan Menken’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, closes the album. Beginning in C major, the arrangement modulates to E at 2:11 before retreating back briefly to D at the 3:00 mark. A final shift to F occurs at 3:33.

J.S. Bach | Sheep May Safely Graze (BWV 208)

This version of J.S. Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze,” originally Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd (The lively hunt is all my heart’s desire), part of a larger 15-movement cantata, features an orchestral instrumentation, including modern flutes. But according to Bach Digital, the original score calls for two recorders and continuo (harpsichord and cello or viola de gamba). While a large portion of Bach’s income came from the church, this 1713 work is Bach’s first known secular cantata, composed while he was employed as court organist in Weimar. It is thought to have been intended as a gift from Bach’s employer, William Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, for one of his neighbors, Duke Christian, who was a keen hunter.

Classical FM explains further: “…sheep may graze safely where there’s a good shepherd who stays awake and where there’s a good nobleman watching over a blissful nation. Why did Bach set such a line? Well, because he was writing this music for the birthday of Duke Christian in 1713 and he knew on which side his bread was buttered. The commission also gives rise to its third name, ‘the Birthday Cantata.'”

This version, featuring an English text, was performed by The Voices of Azusa Pacific University with the Concertante Ensemble of London. Starting in G major, there’s a substantial mid-section from 1:59 – 3:50 (starting in A minor but featuring plenty of pivots) before a return to G major at 3:50.

Little Feat | Mercenary Territory

AllMusic describes Little Feat as “long-running purveyors of funky southern boogie (by way of Los Angeles). Though they had all the trappings of a Southern-fried blues band, Little Feat were hardly conventional. Led by songwriter/guitarist Lowell George, Little Feat were a wildly eclectic band, bringing together strains of blues, R&B, country, and rock & roll. The band members were exceptionally gifted technically and their polished professionalism sat well with the slick sounds coming out of Southern California during the ’70s. However, Little Feat were hardly slick — they had a surreal sensibility, as evidenced by George‘s idiosyncratic songwriting, which helped them earn a cult following among critics and musicians.”

This live version of “Mercenary Territory” is from the 1978 live album Waiting for Columbus. Mostly in D major, the tune takes us through a brief but trippy key-of-the-moment patch from 1:18 – 1:25. We then embark on an extended D minor instrumental bridge from 1:55 – 3:36 featuring a boisterous romp of a sax solo, ending in stratospheric off-the-horn glissando fireworks (a horn section wasn’t a regular part of the instrumentation, but no less than the Tower of Power horns joined forces with Little Feat here). At 3:36, there’s a prominent shift back to D major.

Many thanks to recurrent contributor JB for this submission!

The Cheetah Girls | Strut

“Strut” was originally featured in the 2006 film The Cheetah Girls 2, a sequel to the 2003 Disney Channel original movie The Cheetah Girls. The story traces a talented teen quartet who take a whirlwind tour of Spain to pursue their dreams of pop superstardom; it is the eighth highest-rated Disney original movie ever. Key change at 2:30.

Marco Borsato | Waarom Nou Jij

Many thanks for this contribution from Jeux_d_Oh, a denizen of Reddit’s r/musictheory community: “Waarom Nou Jij” by Marco Borsato.

IMDB reports on Borsato, who was born in the Netherlands and later moved to Italy, ” … where Marco’s father owned a restaurant at Lake Garda. Marco thus speaks fluent Italian. Upon returning to the Netherlands, Marco tried to gain fame as a singer, singing mainly Italian songs … He released three albums, all three in Italian … In 1993, his record company advised him to release some songs in Dutch because he still hadn’t had his big break. Finally, in 1994, he released the song ‘Dromen zijn Bedrog,’ originally an Italian song which was translated into Dutch. The song shot to number one and remained there for 12 weeks.”

Jeux_d_Oh elaborates on Borsato’s success with translated lyrics: “‘Waarom Nou Jij’ was a big hit in The Netherlands in the ’90s, and apparently an adaptation of a different Italian song called ‘Quando Finisce un Amore’. The meaning of the Dutch title ‘Waarom Nou Jij’ translates roughly to ‘why did it have to be you.’ This song is absolutely jam-packed with modulations … try to count them all! Just in the first 1:15, there are four of them. Later there are a few more still. Towards the end of the song, there is a build-up to a great climax/vamp — a part where many slightly tipsy Dutch people will loudly sing along!”

The tune modulates upwards over and over again, generally by a minor third each time. Although the instrumental break at 2:12 gives Borsato a chance to take a break and then drop the vocal by an octave, by the tune’s end the tonality has traveled from Bb major to E major an octave and a half above.

Kacey Musgraves | Happy & Sad

“Happy & Sad” is featured on the 2018 album Golden Hour by American singer/songwriter Kacey Musgraves. Comprised exclusively of original songs, Musgraves ventures into disco and electropop on the record, which was awarded Best Album and Best Country Album at the Grammy’s (Musgraves also received Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance accolades for other tracks.) Key change at 3:02.