Tag: 1970s

Gladys Knight + The Pips | Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me

Vocalist Gladys Knight, according to IMDB, won the Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour talent show (1948) at age of seven. She later built a lasting career with her longtime backup singers/dancers, “The Pips,” comprised of her brother and two of her cousins. Perhaps best known for the tracks “Midnight Train to Georgia (1973) and 1985’s “That’s What Friends Are For,” Knight was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. She’s won seven Grammy Awards out of her total of 22 nominations.

All of the Pips have now retired. But The Guardian reviewed one of Knight’s 2019 concerts, remarking on her extraordinary energy and enduring appeal: “Uplifting anthems came laden with poignant nostalgia on a night where the vivacious veteran showed no sign of stopping … an astonishing 58 years after ‘Every Beat of My Heart’ hit the US charts … she is still clearly having fun, telling her euphoric audience: ‘We’ve been hanging out for, errrr … many, many years’ to ripples of laughter. Moments later, she quips, ‘I feel it coming on. Be careful not to hurt yourself.’”

“Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,” written by Jim Weatherly, was released during the very heart of Knight’s prominence (1974); it became a huge hit in the US (#3, Pop; #10, Adult Contemporary; #1, R&B) and also went into the top ten in the UK and Canada. Knight sails a high tonic note from the new key over the transition into the modulation at 1:43 — along with her warm and slightly raspy tone, a true trademark.

Electric Light Orchestra | Mr. Blue Sky

Jeff Lynne, who essentially is Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), wrote and produced “Mr. Blue Sky,” which was recorded for the UK band’s Out of the Blue album in 1977. “The song forms the fourth and final track of the ‘Concerto for a Rainy Day’ suite, on side three of the original double album, and was later released as a standalone single,” (SmoothRadio.com). ELO’s mix of modern production, tips of the hat to Beatle-esque songwriting, and unapologetic earnestness was popular with the public: RockFandom.com reports that “from 1972 to 1986, ELO accumulated 27 Top-40 hit singles in both the UK and the US. The group also scored 20 Top 20 UK hit singles, as well as 15 Top-20 hit singles in the US . The band also holds the record for having the most Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hits of any group in US chart history without ever having a number one single.”

“Lynne has said that he wrote ‘Mr Blue Sky’ after locking himself away in a Swiss chalet, and attempting to write ELO’s follow-up album to (the 1976 release) A New World Record (Smoothradio.com). ‘It was dark and misty for two weeks, and I didn’t come up with a thing,’ he told the BBC. ‘Suddenly the sun shone and it was, Wow, look at those beautiful Alps. I wrote it, and 13 other songs, in the next two weeks.'” The tune reached only #6 on the UK pop charts and only #35 in the US, but retroactively has become a classic: “it has since become ELO’s signature song, and has been one of the most downloaded and streamed songs of the 1970s” and has been featured in many TV and film productions, including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Doctor Who.

Written mostly in an emphatic F major, 3:43 brings an extended instrumental outro. Starting in Db major, the outro heavily features two ELO signatures: choir and strings. At 4:24, a section in Eb major further demonstrates Lynne’s unique approach of adding classical music conventions to a rock/pop sound — the rock instrumentation falls away entirely. Many thanks to our our regular contributor JB for this submission!

Roy Lee Johnson and the Villagers | The Dryer

“Despite 40 years in the music business, details about Roy Lee’s life are rather scarce,” (Sir Shambling’s Deep Soul Heaven). Born in 1938, “reportedly in Heard County, Georgia” (current county-wide population: just over 11K), he worked with groups such as the Brassetts, the Ohio Untouchables, and Piano Red, “for whom he wrote and sang ‘Mr. Moonlight’ … Since the Beatles covered Johnson’s song, it’s an easy assumption that this number has brought him the biggest pay checks he’s ever received … Johnson has been an intriguing figure on the southern soul scene for decades, always on the road gigging, and this cult soulman’s records are never less than interesting.”

Of “The Dryer” (1973), contributor JB adds: “While the arrangement of this tune makes it sound like a bog-standard James Brown song, it has a far higher MPM (mods per measure) quotient than any James Brown song I’m aware of.”

After a start in G minor, 0:42 brings a shift to E minor; a jump back to G minor lands at 1:07, another step back to E (this time major) at 1:42. Thereafter, cascading half-step modulations follow in rapid succession: by the time we complete this tune of barely two minutes, we’ve cycled all the way up to A major.

Cats UK | Luton Airport

Luton, a borough of just over 200,000 less than 30 miles from London, made its name as a center of hat manufacturing. Its arts center, the Hat Factory, was exactly that during the industrial revolution. So its residents were probably a bit surprised when a single named after its airport, released by the all-female band Cats UK, reached #22 on the UK Singles Chart in 1977.

The tune was inspired by the 1977 Campari television commercial: a woman answers the pickup line “Were you truly wafted here from paradise?” by saying “Nahh, Luton Airport!” (The Scotsman).

There’s a whole-step modulation at 2:37.

Ornella Vanoni | L’Appuntamento

“Born in 1934, to a Milanese family, Italian singer Ornella Vanoni spent most of her twenties alternating between theater and music … She started by singing “le canzoni della mala,” or songs about the underworld, but after meeting Gino Paoli in 1960 (with whom she wrote “Senza Fine,” one of her biggest hits) she began exploring the more sentimental sounds of pop” (AllMusic). She became known as the First Lady of Italian Music.

She later “branched out — both in terms of audience and style — from her homeland, exploring Brazilian music as she sang Italianized versions of Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho as well as of Erasmo Carlos’ ‘Sent Ado A’beira Do Caminho,’ retitled ‘L’Appuntamento’ (a song which, incidentally, after its inclusion in the 2001 film Ocean’s Twelve, started a resurgence in Vanoni’s popularity stateside). She has also sung with jazz players like Herbie Hancock, Gil Evans, and Beppe Quirici.”

“L’Appuntamento” (1970) features half-step modulations at 1:50, 2:50, and finally 3:49 for the wordless outro. The tune hit #2 in Italy and enjoyed a wave of popularity after its feature in Ocean’s Twelve.

Little River Band | Help Is On Its Way

On its website, Little River Band provides this overview: “The Eagles’ founding member, the late Glenn Frey, knew what he was saying when he dubbed Little River Band ‘the best singing band in the world.’ The current lineup of LRB takes that accolade to heart each and every time they perform. Through the ‘70s and ‘80s, LRB enjoyed huge chart success with multi-platinum albums and chart topping hits.”

“One of the first Australian bands to find widespread commercial success in America, Little River Band brought a polished, vocal-heavy pop sound to the late-’70s airwaves, melding the rich harmonies of the Eagles and Crosby, Stills & Nash with a bit of AOR drive and soft rock melodicism.” (AllMusic).

1977’s “Help is On Its Way” hit #1 in Australia and #14 in the US. The tune starts in B major, shifts to C major for the first chorus at 0:41, and then returns to B major for verse 2 at 0:59. There’s an early bridge at 1:35, suddenly diminished to only piano and few touches of percussion. The full groove is back at 2:06 with a brief guitar feature in G major; 2:25 brings us back to a verse in B major, with another shift to an C major chorus and then an extended B major outro.

Many thanks to first-time contributor Ziyad for this submission!

Sanford Townsend Band | Smoke From a Distant Fire

The Sanford Townsend Band formed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama but later found great success on a national level and beyond on the strength of its 1977 single “Smoke from a Distant Fire,” which reached the top 10 in the US. Band member Johnny Townsend: “‘We had landed a publishing deal in 1974 and made demos with a lot of the great players of the day that again, caught the attention of another big time New York producer, Jerry Wexler” (Songfacts). “It was Wexler’s idea to take the band to (Muscle) Shoals to record … The experience was incredible … What can you say about Jerry Wexler (alias Tex Wex) that hasn’t been said. He discovered Ray Charles … He took Aretha from a so-so history at Columbia Records, signed her to Atlantic, and helped create some of the greatest popular music ever recorded … When the opportunity to work with him came up we didn’t bat an eye. He was a god to us.'”

Ritter Records reports that the band, unable to duplicate its 1977 success, broke up in 1980, returning to work as session musicians and songwriters. “Sanford went on to co-write Michael McDonald’s debut solo hit ‘I Keep Forgettin” in 1982, while Townsend also worked with Michael McDonald, Jackson Browne, and Gregg Allman (among others),” along with solo releases.

The shuffle-driven hit features stacked backing harmonies that locked from start to finish. The tune has funk feel and a saxophone hook but also features a southern rock sound around the edges. In A major overall, the bridge modulates to F major from 1:28 – 1:49.

Boney M. | Rasputin

“Although they never had much success in America, the Euro-disco group Boney M. were a European phenomenon during the ’70s” (AllMusic) “Fronted by German record producer Frank Farian, the group also included four West Indian vocalists who had been working as session singers in Germany … In October 1978, ‘Rasputin’ became one of the band’s UK Top Ten hits. Their music continues to sell well in Europe, with a compilation hitting the U.K. Top Ten in 1994 … Farian went on to create the late-’80s dance sensation Milli Vanilli.” The band was late-70s mainstay on the UK TV show Top of the Pops.

“Rasputin” (1978) certainly takes a unique approach towards Russian history. Dangerous Minds reports that “the Soviet Union banned the song, which probably didn’t bother Boney M. too much.” The lyrics from the chorus set the tone:

Ra ra Rasputin
Lover of the Russian queen
There was a cat that really was gone
Ra ra Rasputin
Russia’s greatest love machine
It was a shame how he carried on

At the 0:40 mark, the key falls approximately a quarter-step to B minor: an unusual way of working its way out of an intro!

Jennifer Warnes | Right Time of the Night

Written and originally recorded by songwriter Peter McCann, “Right Time of the Night” was made a top ten hit by Jennifer Warnes on her eponymous 1977 album. Warnes wrote new lyrics for the second verse that she believed were more appropriate for a female performer, but McCann rejected her revision and wrote his own, which eventually made it onto the record. The track is Warnes’ most successful solo hit. Starting in Bb, the tune modulates up a whole step to C at 2:11.