1970s

William Bell | Tryin’ to Love Two

“William Bell was born in Memphis in 1939, and began singing as a child in church,” (ArtsATL). “By the time he was 14, he was performing in clubs and soon joined the blues band helmed by Phineas Newborn Sr. that included future jazz and R&B legends Phineas Newborn Jr. (piano) and saxophonists Charles Lloyd and Hank Crawford … Bell was one of the first artists signed to the Memphis label Stax Records and his debut single, ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’ in 1961, became a soul classic. He never reached the heights of other Stax artists — namely Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, and The Staple Singers — but he was one of the label’s foundational figures as a vocalist and songwriter and guiding light.

Bell co-wrote ‘Born Under a Bad Sign,’ the signature tune of blues guitarist Albert King and one of the greatest blues songs in history. There is irony in the lines, ‘I can’t read, didn’t learn how to write’ because King could neither read nor write. In the studio for the recording, Bell stood behind King as he sang the vocals and whispered each lyric to him. ‘He just nailed it,’ says Bell. ‘And it came to life when he put his guitar on it. I was going, Wow! It became Albert’s song instead of mine.’ Bell’s songs have also been recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Warren Haynes, Bruce Springsteen and The Byrds. And his music has been sampled in recent years by Ludacris, Jaheim and Kanye West.

Bell moved to Atlanta in 1969 and continued to record, including the #1 R&B single ‘Tryin’ To Love Two’ in 1976.” The tune unexpectedly shifts up a half-step toward the end of a phrase, rather than between sections of the tune, at 1:51.

Bo Cooper (Ron Dante) | Don’t Call It Love

Ron Dante, a native of NYC’s Staten Island, isn’t quite a household name — but you’ve almost certainly heard his work at some point. “Ron Dante has had a long and distinguished career in the music industry as a singer, songwriter, and producer,” (Medium.com). “In 1969, his vocals helped catapult The Archies’ hit, ‘Sugar, Sugar,’ to the top of the charts where it became the #1 single of the year. In addition to writing songs for a variety of artists, Dante came to prominence as a record producer, most notably with Barry Manilow.”

Along the way, Dante sang the “You Deserve a Break Today” McDonald’s jingle; provided backup vocals for Barry Manilow’s first hit, “Mandy” (and other Manilow tunes); worked with John Denver, Cher, Dionne Warwick, and Ray Charles; and more recently toured with The Turtles, filling in for an ailing Howard Kaylan.

Using the assumed name Bo Cooper, Dante released “Don’t Call It Love” in 1975. Very little information is available about this track, but it could have been a hit! Mixing elements of pop and R&B, Dante’s bubblegum “Archies” vocal timbre is barely detectable on this track. Built in a slightly up-tuned Ab major initially, the tune shifts to A major at 2:42.

Many thanks to our longtime Brazilian contributor Julianna A. for sending in this find!

The Blackbyrds | Walking In Rhythm

“In the early ’70s, the legendary jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd was teaching at Howard University in Washington,” (Popdose). “In 1974 he decided to assemble a group made up of top student players from the university’s music program. With Byrd as their inspiration, and a deal with Fantasy Records, the Blackbyrds would record and tour for nearly ten years, finding a good deal of success along the way. Although the group would record eight albums for Fantasy, there is no doubt that the high point of their career was the release of the single “Walking In Rhythm” in 1975. The song, written by guitarist Barney Perry … was produced by Donald Byrd, who gave it a smooth, jazz-inflected sound with plenty of soul in the mix.

“Walking In Rhythm” was recorded at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles in September, 1974; by March of the following year, it was on the charts. There it would eventually make it all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, selling a million copies, and winning a gold disc award. The record was also nominated for a Grammy that year, and the track was on the band’s second album, Flying Start, which was released in 1975. There would be other hits in the years to come. Most of them would climb the R&B chart, but a few crossed over to the Pop chart as well. The most successful Blackbyrds singles included “Flyin’ High” (1975), “Happy Music” (1976), and “Rock Creek Park” (1976). The latter song, which appeared on the City Life album, has been sampled numerous times by hip-hop artists like De La Soul, NWA, Eric B. & Rakim, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five.”

The tune’s structure is a bit unusual, starting with its short chorus in Bb major. The group must have really loved that chorus, because it’s repeated until 1:15, when the first verse (in G minor) begins; at 1:50, the verse ends with a false upward half-step key change but falls back into the G minor at 1:53. An instrumental chorus hits at 1:54. This section arguably includes one of the best flute features in all of 1970s pop or R&B — an era which featured plenty of flutists who sound like they first picked up the instrument a few weeks prior. 2:28 brings another vocal verse, which ends at 3:02 with a half-step shift upward to B major — but this time the key change sticks.

Olivia Newton-John | A Little More Love

“In a recording career that spanned over five decades, Olivia Newton-John, the singer, actress, environmentalist, and animal rights activist, won four Grammy Awards, had five #1 hit singles, and several platinum-selling singles and albums.” After her initial singles in the mid-70s, Newton-John’s 1978 star turn in Grease also produced three Top 5 hits: “You’re the One That I Want” (with John Travolta), “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” and “Summer Nights.” Newton-John followed Grease with Xanadu, “whose soundtrack went double platinum. With Totally Hot, released in November 1978, Newton-John had … a top-ten album and a #4 hit, ‘A Little More Love.’

‘A Little More Love’ is a song recorded and released as a single in October 1978 … (it) became a worldwide top-ten hit single in 1979,” (JohnPWalshBlog). “Both the new album and single were another wildly successful collaboration for Olivia Newton-John and John Farrar, her record producer and songwriter in the 1970s and 1980s.” The track ranked #17 in 1979’s year-end singles rankings.

The tune starts in G minor, cycles through some uneven harmonic ground during its pre-chorus (heard for the first time at 0:32), and arrives at its chorus in Ab major. At 1:20, the return of the verse brings a drop back into G minor. The pattern continues from there. Two years before the advent of MTV and a million miles away from any chill New Wave energy, the band mugs shamelessly for the camera. Newton-John seems to happily be in on the joke, too — or perhaps she was simply happy to leave both her early country/pop ballad tracks and her famous 1950s movie persona in the rear view.

Mama Cass | Different (from “PufNStuff”)

“Cass Elliot didn’t just sing on a kids’ show,” (Kendall LeJeune). “She turned a children’s puppet fantasy into pure camp gospel. The way she sings ‘Different’ as a spell, equal parts lullaby and incantation. That’s presence. That’s control … she transforms a TV cameo into a cultural artifact. Witch hat, velvet cape, full vocal power. She knew the audience would remember. And we do.”

“‘Different’ is the sixth song in the soundtrack of the movie Pufnstuf (1970) and is the first of two songs which are sung the antagonists of the movie,” (Fandom.com). “During the Witch’s Council, after the Boss Witch’s assistant starts the record player, Witch Hazel sings about how she discovered from a very young age that she was different from other people and how she used her difference to her advantage before meeting the other witches. During the course of the song, Hazel is joined by the other witches in refrains of certain words in the verses and for three quarters of the song’s chorus. After the song is finished, while the other witches applaud Hazel, Witchiepoo acts unamused, since Hazel is also up for Witch of the Year.”

The track begins in F major, shifting to G major for a second verse at 0:23. The chorus, starting at 0:38, leads up to a melodically surprising ending. 0:58 brings a G major interlude which connects us to another verse which reverts back to F major (1:01). The pattern continues from there.

Below is a video with high audio quality, but also check out the second posted video of the actual footage from Pufnstuf. For a synopsis and review of the film, check out the 366 Weird Movies site — it was too dense with detailed descriptions to choose an excerpt!

Many thanks to Maureen BZ for calling our attention to this one-of-a-kind track.

And no, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you: this footage does include a Nazi rat character who happens to hang out with witches:

Tavito | Tua Ramalhete

“One of the members of Som Imaginário, a band organized to back Milton Nascimento in the ’70s and which also accompanied Gal Costa and other artists, Tavito had his song ‘Hey Man’ (with Zé Rodrix) successfully recorded by the group on its first LP. In 1973 he became a music producer,” (AllMusic). “In 1979 he recorded his first solo album, Tavito, followed by two others recorded before 1982. His biggest hit was ‘Casa no Campo’ (with Zé Rodrix), recorded by Elis Regina in 1971, and ‘Rua Ramalhete’ (with Ney Azambuja)” in 1979.

In the central Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte is a street called Rua Ramalhete (Bouquet Street). The area is well known for its romantic setting, where couples often stroll in the evenings. Tavito lived nearby; a plaque recognizing his work has been placed on a wall overlooking the street.

Online information about Tavito is sparse, but the same can’t be said for his arrangements! After “Tua Ramalhete” starts in E minor, 0:37 brings a pre-chorus leading to a chorus at 0:56 in C# major and a harmonically meandering interlude. At 1:36, E minor returns for another verse. The pattern continues from there. Many thanks to our frequent contributor, Julianna A. from Brazil, for submitting this beautiful tune!

Commodores | Won’t You Come Dance With Me

“Known as Zoom in the UK, the Commodores’ eponymous fifth LP … very much a transitional work, highlighting the greasy southern funk that the group so ably practiced before pianist and saxophonist Lionel Richie firmly took centre stage.” The album included the hits “Brick House” and “Easy” and “was a huge hit in the US, setting the Commodores fair for their chart-topping scene stealing as the 70s became the 80s,” (BBC). “In the UK, the reaction was a little more muted. However, ‘Easy’ paved the way for ‘Three Times a Lady’ and ‘Still,’ and Lionel Richie’s unshakeable place as a favourite artist of millions.”

“The fifth album by the first self-contained band signed by Motown at the start of the 1970s,” (Motown.com). “Commodores became the first of the Commodores’ three consecutive Top 3 albums on the pop charts during 1977-78 … (it) spent a year among the Billboard best-sellers, including eight weeks at Number One on the R&B rankings. The Commodores graduated into Motown’s biggest group during the second half of the ’70s, not least due to their creative collaboration with record producer James Anthony Carmichael, and the astute leadership of their manager, Benny Ashburn. ‘One reason we’ve been successful is that we treat it like a business,’ Ashburn once told Billboard. ‘After a show, people will come up and ask, Where’s the party? It’s all right to have fun, but every day when people go to work, do they party? The guys have to get rest to do it tomorrow in the next town. If you treat it as a business, it will treat you well.'”

“Won’t You Come Dance With Me,” adorned with plenty of shifts in texture and groove, pivots among several closely-related keys. After a short intro and a chorus-first section in E major, A major at 0:25 and F# minor at 0:58 are also visited before the pattern repeats at 1:19 with an intro-mirroring interlude and another chorus.

Eagles | Already Gone

“Eagles were an ascendant country-rock band by 1974, with a handful of hits to their name,” (Ultimate Classic Rock). “With their third album, On the Border, they began courting the rock listeners they so desperately wanted to win over — beginning with the LP’s lead single, ‘Already Gone.'” The tune was “built around a rousing guitar riff from their newest member, Don Felder, and his and Glen Frey’s dueling solos.

… Released on April 19, 1974, ‘Already Gone’ peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 — no small feat, but one that paled in comparison to On the Border’s third single, the chart-topping ballad ‘Best of My Love'”

The track is built primary in G major, but after two verses, two choruses, the guitar feature, then another verse and chorus, 3:18 brings a late key change up a fourth to C major for the chorus-based outro.

The Jaggerz | The Rapper

“From the ‘Club Naturale’ in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, to Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, the homegrown band The Jaggerz paved their way to success … Among the band’s accolades, the Jaggerz received a gold record for having the number one song in the country,” (TribLive). “With sales exceeding 5 million copies, ‘The Rapper’ found itself being blasted all over the country.” The Jaggerz have performed with artists including The Beach Boys, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Dells, Tommy James, and B.J. Thomas and released four albums.

After a nominal start in A major, the entire verse of “The Rapper” (1970) is constructed from major chords (A, B, D, and E), so it’s essentially a parade of keys of the moment. From 0:35-0:51, there’s a shift to F# major for the chorus before a return to the next verse’s cavalcade of keys.

Charlie Rich | A Very Special Love Song

“Charlie Rich did not start his career in country music,” (Saving Country Music). “After leaving the Air Force in 1956, he purchased a 500-acre farm in West Memphis, Arkansas, and would drive over the Mississippi River bridge at night to play piano in jazz and R&B outfits in Memphis clubs. Eventually he ended up at Sun Studios in Memphis as a studio musician. Sam Phillips didn’t see him as a performer though, chiding that Rich was too jazzy. At one point, Sam Phillips handed Charlie Rich a stack of Jerry Lee Lewis records and told him, ‘Come back when you get that bad.’

For years Charlie Rich struggled as a performer since he wasn’t dirty enough for rockabilly or country, and not distinctive enough to make it in the world of pop. But when the Countrypolitan sound became all the rage in country music, it gave Charlie Rich an opening. Where some more hard country artists struggled to perfect the more genteel Countrypolitan approach, Charlie Rich’s balladeer style and smoothness fit the era perfectly.”

Though it didn’t reach the popular heights of his biggest single, “Behind Closed Doors,” 1974’s “A Very Special Love Song” is among Rich’s best-known tracks. After starting in C major, the tune features a bridge in Bb, running between 1:16 – 1:44. After the bridge, the original key returns.