“I’ve Been Everywhere” is a song which was originally made popular upon its initial Australian releases (with Aussie place names) in 1959 and 1962. In 1962, the song was also a #1 US country hit by Hank Snow — with multiple half-step modulations at 1:12, 1:37, and 2:03.
More recently, Johnny Cash had another country hit with the tune in 1996, with several TV ad placements; the video is posted second. However, Cash’s version has no modulations.
Tag: 1960s
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.
The Nice | Country Pie Brandenburg Concerto #6
Chalk up another mod for frequent contributor JB: According to AllMusic, the Nice “bridged the gap between mid-’60s psychedelic pop and 70s art rock, laying the groundwork for the entire progressive rock explosion in the process. It was with the Nice that Keith Emerson began his transformation from an unknown musician into an international rock star with Emerson, Lake & Palmer.” Over time, the band pulled excerpts from an eclectic range of composers including Sibelius, Janacek, Brubeck, Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, and more, including this 1969 tune featuring a J. S. Bach melody.
At 2:28, there’s a short bridge based on a quote from the Brandenburg Concerto #3; at 2:46, after a pause, the tune modulates up a whole step.
Jacob Collier | Moon River
Jacob Collier‘s newest release is an arrangement of “Moon River,” written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer in 1960 — it will blow your mind. Starting in Bb, it modulates to Db at 3:48, then to D at 4:34. After a long, winding transition, we end up in Eb at 5:55, and go in many different directions from there before ultimately landing on a…C major chord. 🤯 There is no one like this guy, and this might be his most epic masterpiece yet.
UPDATE | April 12, 2020:
This update isn’t strictly a modulation, but in this 90-minute video Collier breaks down, in granular detail, how he put together the arrangement. It is staggering, and includes a fascinating discussion of harmony.
The Beach Boys | I Get Around
The Beach Boys‘ first charting single, 1964’s “I Get Around,” was co-written by band members Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Starting in G major, the tune transitions to Ab major at 1:06.
Rolling Stone magazine’s Anthony DeCurtis praised Wilson’s tendency to be “very complex and have every single thing you do have an emotional impact, and have the hearer not even be aware of it — just hear it the first time and get it. That’s hard.”
Roger Miller | King of the Road
“King of the Road” by Roger Miller (1965) is yet another submission by mod scout JB. The key change at 1:13 is routine, he notes, but “it’s an iconic song from the very end of the epoch when Folk and Pop were still on speaking terms with one another (e.g., Kingston Trio, etc.).”
The Delfonics | La-La Means I Love You
1968’s “La La Means I Love You” was a #4 Billboard pop hit and a #2 R&B hit for Philly Sound mainstays The Delfonics. After two verses and choruses, a brief instrumental bridge starts at 2:25, bringing a modulation with it. This R&B standard was later covered by The Jackson 5, Todd Rundgren, Swing Out Sister, The Manhattan Transfer, and Prince, among others.
Gee, Officer Krupke (from “West Side Story”)
“Gee, Officer Krupke” is from Leonard Bernstein‘s seminal 1957 musical West Side Story. Eb major is tonicized in the chorus before a return to C major in the verses, and the song modulates briefly to Eb major at 3:46 for the very end.
The Turtles | Elenore
The Turtles, an American band led by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (later known as Flo and Eddie), released “Elenore” in 1968. Unhappy with its record label, the band intentionally delivered a single with off-kilter lyrics. According to the liner notes for the band’s compilation album Solid Zinc: “‘Elenore’ was a parody of ‘Happy Together’…I gave them a very skewed version…with all these bizarre words. It was my feeling that they would listen to how strange and stupid the song was and leave us alone. But they didn’t get the joke.”
Nobody else got the joke, either: the two-and-a-half minute “sunshine pop” single packed a huge punch, shooting into the top 10 in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia.
Following the same pattern as “Happy Together,” one of the band’s other big singles, the E minor verses transition to E major and back again throughout the tune, starting at 0:43.
Aretha Franklin | Respect
“Respect,” originally released by Otis Redding in 1965, was later a huge 1967 hit for Lady Soul, Aretha Franklin. Franklin’s cover became a feminist battle cry as well as one of the best-known American R&B tunes, winning Recording Academy / GRAMMYs, entry into the Grammy Hall, honor by The Library of Congress, a #5 perch on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, and a place on the “Songs of the Century” list by the The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The tune modulates on the brief instrumental bridge at 1:17 and is back to its original key at 1:34.
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