A submission from MotD fan Kent: “Perhaps my favorite ballad of the 1970s, Frankie Valli’s ‘My Eyes Adored You’ (1974) starts out in A major (after an intro that keeps you guessing which key it’s going to land in).” Written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Easy Listening chart, and was ranked by Billboard overall as the #5 song of that year.
The path to each of the modulations is cleared by a V/IV compound chord in the new key, announced by a syncopated kick not found anywhere else in the arrangement. The first one hits at 0:39 at the end of the first chorus; oddly, the tune doesn’t start with a verse. But although that initial kick features the V/IV chord, it’s just a warmup: there’s no modulation. At 1:33, the first half-step modulation hits with the same syncopated kick, followed by more at 2:29 and 2:52.
Fred Hersch | And So It Goes
“And So It Goes” first appeared on Billy Joel’s 1989 studio album Storm Front. The tune has since been covered by countless artists, ranging from former Yankees centerfielder Bernie Williams to American bagpiper Jori Chisholm on his debut album Bagpipe Revolution. Here, jazz pianist Fred Hersch performs his rendition, which was featured on his solo 2017 album Open Book. Beginning in C major, Hersch hints at Eb Major around the 4:00 mark, and then settles in Ab at 4:51 and stays there through the end.
Frédéric Chopin | Prelude for Piano #25 in C-sharp minor (Op. 45)
Towards the end of his life, Frédéric Chopin wrote a series of preludes; while there were 26 in all, the piece known as #25 (1841), although published earlier, was actually the final installment of the series to be written.
According the AllMusic, “This last prelude begins with a gentle, melancholy theme, whose mostly ascending accompaniment Chopin deftly works into the gloomy melodic fabric. That is nothing new for him, but here the obsessive and seemingly simple manner of the harmony never becomes tiring, always remains profoundly atmospheric, largely because of the composer’s manipulation of his thematic material, at times allowing sunlight to break in, as when the theme is played for the second time and blossoms into hopeful joy…It is hardly surprising that this masterpiece is one of Chopin’s more popular and widely-played compositions.”
Although we can see from this sheet music-centric video that the key signature never formally shifts, modulations and passing keys-of-the-moment are more the rule than the exception in this piece, calling legions of accidentals into service. AllMusic goes as far as to suggest that “the success of this whole piece rests on the composer’s deft handling of what is essentially threadbare thematic material — there is no middle section here.”
Earth Wind + Fire feat. The Emotions | Boogie Wonderland
From stalwart MotD fan Carlo Migliaccio: “I was listening to Earth Wind and Fire, when I remembered that ‘Boogie Wonderland’ modulates briefly to the relative major, twice: once at 1:38 and again at 3:38.”
The 1979 single, the caboose-that-could at the end of Disco’s multi-year train, achieved a #14 ranking on the Dance chart, #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #2 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. It also garnered Grammy nominations for Best R&B Instrumental Performance and Best Disco Recording.
According to AllMusic.com, “One of the few records that paired two full-fledged groups successfully, the combination of EWF and the Emotions worked wonders here and it remains a classic of the period. A virtual call to arms of the disco scene, the lyrics relate the power of the extinct musical form, and although loaded with clichés, it still retains a certain period charm. The fantasy life of disco patrons is celebrated here, and in this way, it was a sort of theme song to the Studio 54 crowd. Musically, it’s a straight four-on-the-floor rhythm with a funk melody, and despite its simplicity — or because of it — it was a huge and accessible record that is still played regularly on oldies R&B radio.”
I Know Where I’ve Been (from “Hairspray”)
There’s a road
We’ve been travelin’
Lost so many on the way
But the riches
Will be plenty
Worth the price we
Had to pay
There’s a dream
In the future
There’s a struggle
We have yet to win
And there’s pride
In my heart
‘Cause i know
Where I’m going
And I know where I’ve been
From Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s 2002 Broadway musical Hairspray, set in 1962 Baltimore and highlighting themes of racial prejudice and discrimination, these lyrics seem more relevant, urgent, and necessary today than ever. Just this week, the show’s creators announced that going forward, all productions of the show will be required to cast the show to accurately reflect the race of the characters as they were written. The Tony-winning score incorporates elements of rock & roll and rhythm & blues. Hairspray is widely performed in schools and other theaters across the country today. In reflecting on the genesis of this song in particular, Marc Shaiman said:
This was … inspired by a scene late in the [1988] movie that takes place on the black side of town. It never dawned on us that a torrent of protest would follow us from almost everyone involved with the show. ‘It’s too sad … It’s too preachy. … It doesn’t belong. … Tracy should sing the eleven o’clock number.’ We simply didn’t want our show to be yet another show-biz version of a civil rights story where the black characters are just background. And what could be more Tracy Turnblad-like than to give the ‘eleven o’clock number’ to the black family at the heart of the struggle? Luckily … the audiences embraced this moment, which enriches the happy ending to follow, and it is our proudest achievement of the entire experience of writing Hairspray.”
Performed here by Jennifer Hudson, who portrayed Motormouth Maybelle in the 2016 NBC Live broadcast of the show. Key change at 3:17.
Reign of Kindo | Dust
Reign of Kindo‘s music, according to AllMusic, features “the introspective Brit-pop influences of bands like Coldplay and Keane, but placing the piano front and center and mixing complex jazz harmonies and dissonances with the pop sensibilities of a Ben Folds.” The band has toured with a small central core of musicians, but makes its main impression with the sprawling instrumentation featured in this live recording session. Recording live in the studio, with no overdubs, is a feat on its own — but the band has also added the challenge of capturing the process on video.
The ensemble doesn’t fit neatly into a genre, sitting somewhere between the prog rock, pop, and jazz worlds. The band’s website explains: “It is piano-driven Alt-Jazz…Latin and R&B close by …since the debut EP hit #5 on the Billboard Middle Atlantic Heatseekers chart in 2007, this band has only just begun to emerge from their decade-long journey from rags to… better rags with resumes.”
Starting in C minor, an extended multi-key middle section runs from 1:40 through 3:19. At 3:19, there’s a clear return to C minor.
Nathaniel Dett Chorale | Abide With Me
The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, based in Canada, specializes in Afrocentric music of all styles, including classical, spirituals, gospel, jazz, folk and blues. Founded in 1998 by Brainerd Blyden-Taylor (who continues to serve as director), the group has performed across the US and in Canada, and was featured at the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama. From their website:
“The Chorale’s vision is to be a premier performer of Afrocentric composers — past, present, and future — and to be a touchstone for the education for audiences and communities regarding the full spectrum of Afrocentric choral music. The Nathaniel Dett Chorale’s mission is to build bridges of understanding, appreciation, and acceptance between communities of people, both Afrocentric and other, through the medium of music. The Chorale seeks to dissolve the barriers of stereotype, to empower humans in general, and those of African descent in particular.”
“Abide With Me,” a 19th century hymn, is featured on one of their live performance DVDs. Key change at 2:47.
Niamh Kavanagh | In Your Eyes (Eurovision 1993)
The 65th annual Eurovision Song Contest was to have been held this spring in Rotterdam. Unfortunately, like so many other live performance events, the contest was cancelled due to the worldwide COVID-19 crisis — an unprecedented move in the history of the competition. Fortunately, most of the nations originally slated to send a representative to the competition have already confirmed that they will return in 2021.
1993’s winning song, “In Your Eyes,” was performed by vocalist Niamh Kavanagh, a Dublin native. The tune became the best-selling 1993 single in the Republic of Ireland and reached #24 on the UK Singles chart. Kavanagh is still active as a musical artist with her band, The Illegals. In a 2020 interview with the Irish Examiner, when asked about her top choice of unsung hero: “I’m going to say to musicians, not specific ones, but musicians in general…who strive to create music everyday, who won’t necessarily achieve fame or fortune…who work just to create and share something that affects pretty much everyone on the planet. Music is around us all of the time…”
The huge modulation at 2:21 comes quite late, after several edge-of-the-seat opportunities.
Committed | Lift Every Voice
Ending our week with some much-needed uplift: A cappella quintet Committed, according to its site, “solidified their sound while at school at Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL…The group had the amazing opportunity to be featured on the second season of NBC’s hit singing competition The Sing Off and emerged as the season two champions.”
NPR’s Performance Today details the history of today’s feature, also known as the black national anthem: “Poet James Weldon Johnson’s ‘Lift Every Voice’ was written in 1900 for a Lincoln birthday celebration at the segregated Stanton School in Johnson’s native Jacksonville, Florida. The song became immensely popular and was passed on among students throughout the South. About 20 years later, the NAACP adopted it as the ‘Negro National Hymn.'” The tune has seen prominent covers by Melba Moore (backed up by Stephanie Jackson, Freddie Jackson, Anita Baker, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Jeffrey Osborne, and Howard Hewett), Bebe and Cece Winans, Take 6, The Clark Sisters, Rene Marie, and Beyonce.
In this 2015 version, Committed starts in Eb major with simple textures; a wordless bridge emerges at 2:25, building in intensity. There’s a whole-step modulation at 2:42 as the verse returns, adding a few piquant re-harmonizations and some spectacularly broad voicings.
Whitney Houston | I Believe In You and Me
Originally released and recorded by Four Tops on their 1982 album One More Mountain, “I Believe In You and Me” was covered in 1996 by Whitney Houston and included the 1996 flick The Preacher’s Wife. Much more successful than the original, Houston’s rendition became a top 5 R&B hit in the US and topped many charts worldwide. The key change, in Whitney’s customary dramatic fashion, is at 2:52.
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