Weekend Bonus Mod: This 1970s ad for Peek Freans cookies features a lyric which most companies would likely avoid today (“much too good to waste on children”), but also provides a modulation at 0:14 to go along with its reverse psychology.
Tag: 1970s
Laura Nyro | Sweet Sky
Regular MotD scout JB contributes “Sweet Sky” by singer / songwriter Laura Nyro (1978):
“Usually there’s some kind of foreshadowing or build-up before a modulation, with the key change acting as a kind of catharsis or accelerant. But the key change at 2:15 in this song is like falling through an unexpected trap door.”
Elton John | The Ballad of Danny Bailey
Elton John‘s iconic 1973 album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, sold over 30 million copies worldwide and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The album featured “The Ballad of Danny Bailey,” a tune which seemed so authoritative that many fans thought it was about a real person. But AllMusic‘s review debunks that myth: the subject of the song was fictional.
The track starts with pivots between B minor and C major, builds to pivots between E minor and F major at 0:25, continues to grow in intensity with pivots between A minor and Bb major at 0:31, all supporting a melody ascending in pitch and intensity. At 0:49, the chorus is based on D major, but only tenuously — the lack of harmonic stability seems to reflect the song’s unsettling story. This complex song qualifies as “filler” between the far better-known hits on this legendary album.
Aretha Franklin | Til You Come Back to Me
Co-written and recorded by Stevie Wonder but never released until a subsequent retrospective album, “Til You Come Back to Me” (1973) was a huge hit for Aretha Franklin, reaching #1 on the R&B chart and #3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. The tune was later covered by over a dozen other prominent artists, ranging from Johnny Mathis to Cyndi Lauper. The short bridge (1:30 – 1:51) departs from the primary key of D Major.
Kenny Loggins + Stevie Nicks | Whenever I Call You Friend
“Whenever I Call You Friend” by Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks (1978) was released among a slew of late-disco tunes. The track stood out for its kinetic pop sound despite its string-heavy arrangement. There are plenty of modulations, particularly from the instrumental bridge (2:30) onward. The tune, written by Loggins and Melissa Manchester, went top ten in the US and Canada.
Neil Sedaka | Laughter In the Rain
Neil Sedaka‘s 1975 release, “Laughter in the Rain,” is well under three minutes long — but it packs in plenty of harmonic complexity. Sedaka had a long career as a Brill Building-based songwriter (including composing “Where the Boys Are” for Connie Francis) but also found his own success as a performer.
The F major of the intro and verse transitions to Ab major at the chorus (0:36) and then back to F major for the next verse (0:57), etc. The track hit #1 in the US and Canada — and #2 in Yugoslavia!
David Bowie | Young Americans
David Bowie‘s 1975 album, Young Americans, featured a title track which played up Bowie’s love for soul and R&B — a departure from his previous glam-rock style. R&B/soul vocalist Luther Vandross contributed backup vocals to the track. Self-deprecating as usual, Bowie described the album as “plastic soul…the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak rock, written and sung by a white limey.” Modulation at 2:39.
Tower of Power | So Very Hard to Go
Tower of Power‘s biggest US hit wasn’t one of the powerhouse uptempo funk tracks for which the band is famous. Instead, it was a ballad, “So Very Hard to Go,” which reached #17 on the pop charts in 1973. The verse and pre-chorus are in Bb major, but a modulation to G major hits at the chorus, reverting back to Bb major for the second verse, and so on.
Dolly Parton | Here You Come Again
Dolly Parton‘s biggest crossover pop/country hit of the 70s was likely this 1977 release, “Here You Come Again.” Written by NYC-based megahit composer team Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, the tune peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Modulations are everywhere, hitting at nearly every verse/chorus intersection.
Willie Nelson + Waylon Jennings | Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Chalk up another mod for MotD regular Rob Penttinen: Although it was first written and recorded in the 1950s, the signature version of the Country classic “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” was performed by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings for their 1978 album “Waylon and Willie.” The tune reached #1 on the US Country charts and crossed over to the US Pop chart as well, peaking at #42. This live version, recorded at Nelson’s own charity event Farm Aid in 1986, modulates up a whole step at 1:10.
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