Tag: holiday

Claudine Longet | I Don’t Intend to Spend Christmas Without You

Claudine Longet has had a career as a dancer, actress, and singer; born in France, she’s lived in the US since she was a teenager. She recorded several albums, mostly for A&M, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She was married to middle-of-the-road singer Andy Williams for several years, appearing on some of his recordings. After they divorced, infamously, she was convicted of negligently shooting and killing her boyfriend, Olympic skier “Spider” Sabich. After that tragedy and its lurid media coverage, she stayed out of public view.

The song here, “I Don’t Intend to Spend Christmas Without You,” was written by Margo Guryan expressly for Longet. Producer Tommy LiPuma asked her to write a Christmas song without the usual trappings of snow, mistletoe, and so on. A&M issued the song as a single in 1968, backed with (wait for it) “Snow,” written by Randy Newman. 

Guryan started her career writing songs and lyrics in the jazz tradition. Her songs were recorded by the likes of Chris Connor, Dizzy Gillespie, and Harry Belafonte; she wrote the lyrics to Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman”. After hearing the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”, the story goes, she decided to write pop songs. She recorded one sunshine pop album, “Take a Picture”, in 1968, for Bell. The album did not do well, but became something of a cult favorite in the 1990s and 2000s, particularly in Japan. After that album, she recorded occasional singles, and wrote “Chopstick Variations”, a piano education book. Margo Guryan died earlier this year (2021) at the age of 84.

The song starts out in G, with a bridge in A. At 1:45, the verse modulates to A-flat. (You can find Margo Guryan’s own version of the song here, recorded as a demo. Her voice is remarkably like Claudine Longet’s. No modulation in her version, though.

Thanks to regular MotD contributor Paul Steckler for this submission!

Meghan Trainor | My Kind of Present

“My Kind of Present” is featured on Meghan Trainor’s 2020 album A Very Trainor Christmas. The album was a family effort, with various members serving as songwriters, backup singers, producers and instrumentalists; this track was written by Trainor and her two brothers Justin and Ryan. “The record is firmly within the realm of spirited seasonal soundtrack,” wrote AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine. The track begins in Db major and modulates up a whole step at 2:09.

Thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!

Michael Biggins | Ding Dong Merrily on High

This week we will be featuring guest submissions, kicking off with our newest masthead contributor JB, who provided the write-up below:

Even though it sounds like a modern commercial jingle, the melody of Ding Dong Merrily on High is at least 500 years old, and the current lyrics are nearly 100 years old. 

While there have been many recordings of this tune over the years — including the iconic Wiggles version from A Wiggly Wiggly Christmas — it’s a safe bet that none of them has had more modulations than Michael Biggins’ version. There are key changes at 1:04 and 1:27, a full mode change from 1:50-2:14, and multiple keys-of-the-moment and other harmonic tensions sprinkled throughout.

Biggins was named the 2021 Young Traditional Musician of the Year by BBC Radio Scotland, the first pianist ever to win this prestigious award.  One of the reasons that the award had, in the past, always recognized pipers, fiddlers, and other players of melody instruments is that the piano is generally relagated to the role of a rhythm instrument in Scottish trad, playing simple boom-chuck accompaniment to support the melody players.  This role delineation is still honored in the video, where Biggins plays all the virtuosic tracks on the accordion (generally a melody instrument in Scottish trad), while keeping the piano track well below his pay grade.

Cee Lo Green | What Christmas Means to Me

Written by Allen Story, Anna Gordy Gaye and George Gordy, and first recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, “What Christmas Means To Me” has been covered by dozens of artists over the years. Green included the song on his 2012 Christmas album Cee Lo Green’s Magic Moment, and it reached the #23 spot on the R&B charts in the United States. The tune modulates from Bb up to B at 1:41.

Rob Thomas (feat. Ingrid Michaelson) | Christmas Time

“Christmas Time” is featured on Rob Thomas’s first holiday album, Something About Christmas Time, released earlier this year. “Every year, I want to do a Christmas album, and every year, it’s too late because I always think about it at Christmas,” said Thomas in an interview with ABC Audio.

“When everything started to shut down in the beginning of 2020, I was home and I had that summer to make a record. I wasn’t on the road and it wasn’t making a solo record. I wasn’t making a Matchbox [Twenty] record. And so it was the only summer that I’d ever had where there was that kind of a time.

“I knew that I didn’t want to do a lot of the traditional Christmas covers,” he adds, noting that he preferred “songs that I grew up with and the artists that I grew up listening to.”

The track, which features vocalist Ingrid Michaelson singing with Thomas, was originally written and recorded by Canadian singer Bryan Adams in 1985. It quickly became his most successful and popular Christmas tune, and is still played on Canadian radio during the holidays.

Beginning in B major, the tune modulates up a whole step to Db at 2:38.

Michael McDonald | On Christmas Morning

*We originally featured this song in 2018, and are bringing it back this year.

Michael McDonald’s “On Christmas Morning” was featured on his first Christmas album, In The Spirit, released in 2001. Co-written by David Foster and Kenny Loggins, the track modulates at 2:46.

Meghan Trainor (ft. Earth, Wind & Fire) | Holidays

“Holidays” is included on A Very Trainor Christmas, pop singer Meghan Trainor‘s first holiday album, released earlier this year. All of Trainor’s family members played a part in creating the album, as songwriters, producers, background vocalists and instrumentalists.

“I’m a Christmas baby, it’s always been a dream of mine to release a Christmas Album and to do it with my family makes it that much better,” said Trainor. “Songs featuring my family are like permanent memories that I get to replay all the time. Earth, Wind & Fire and Seth MacFarlane (also featured on the album) are two of my family’s all-time-favorites – we worship the ground they walk on – so to get them to feature on this album still doesn’t feel real. Best Christmas Present Ever!”

The key change is snuck in right at the end at 2:30.

Cyndi Lauper (feat. Alison Krauss) | Hard Candy Christmas

“Hard Candy Christmas” was written by Carol Hall for the 1978 Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, and made famous by Dolly Parton, who played Miss Mona in the movie adaptation of the show. The track is featured on singer Cyndi Lauper‘s 2016 album Detour, with Alison Krauss providing additional vocals. Key change at 3:03.

Nightnoise | The Wexford Carol

The Irish chamber ensemble Nightnoise was active from 1984 to 1997, and was known for their fusion of Irish, Celtic, and jazz styles. Their arrangement of this traditional carol is included on the Windham Hill‘s 1993 holiday compilation album Winter Solstice IV. Key change at 2:46.