pop

Donna Summer | This Time I Know It’s For Real

“Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco, but had a number of hits well into the ’80s, including ‘She Works Hard For The Money’ in 1983,” (Songfacts). “She hit #21 with a cover of ‘There Goes My Baby’ in 1984, but that was her last US Top 40 until ‘This Time I Know It’s for Real’ five years later.

To find the contemporary dance sound, she enlisted Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, the UK team responsible for some of the biggest upbeat hits of the era, including ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley and ‘Venus’ by Bananarama. The trio wrote the song with Summer and produced the track along with the rest of her Another Place and Time album, giving her a solid comeback song and her last big hit. The video was done by the Swiss director Dee Trattmann, whose other clients included Cliff Richard and the Thompson Twins.”

After an intro in G major, there’s a shift to E major just before the first verse starts (0:24). At 0:53, the chorus shifts back to G major, then back to E major at 1:09 at the tail end of the section. The pattern continues from there. Sure enough, once you know about the tune’s shared origins with Rick Astley’s sound, you’ll hear it around every corner!

The Kinks | You Really Got Me

“There are very few records whose influence can be so strongly felt after 45 years as the Kinks’ ‘You Really Got Me.’ It is the song that has been widely touted as the blueprint for hard rock and heavy metal, long before the likes of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin came along,” (SoundOnSound). ” … the jarring, distorted two‑chord riff that opens the track and continues behind the lead vocal, and the fierce, deliberately sloppy guitar solo … paved the way for punk rock.

A UK chart‑topper in September 1964, and a number seven hit in America at the height of the so‑called British Invasion, ‘You Really Got Me’ was not only the breakthrough number for North London outfit the Kinks, but also a landmark recording that inspired the Who’s Pete Townshend to compose ‘I Can’t Explain’, and whose influence resonates to this day. All of which was quite an achievement for a group of teenagers who had only formed the previous year, and their innovative producer, who hadn’t been around a whole lot longer.

… In his 1984 book The Kinks: The Official Biography, author Jon Savage wrote, ‘What (producer) Shel Talmy and the Kinks did … was to concoct the perfect medium for expression of the adolescent white aggression that has been at the heart of white popular music …’ Those involved in its creation apparently agree. ‘When I left the studio I felt great,’ recalled Ray Davies, whose fruitful efforts on behalf of the song established him as the chief composer and — at least in his eyes — the leader of the Kinks. ‘It may sound conceited, but I knew it was a great record… I said I’d never write another song like it, and I haven’t.'”

The colorless guitar power chords don’t give any indication of the track’s tonality, but at 0:21 the slightly uptuned G-based two-chord riff shifts to a riff centering around A. It’s the vocal melody, using a major third degree of each chord, which gives away both the G and A chords as major. At that point, it’s spelled out that the A chord isn’t actually a ii chord within the context of G major, but rather a new tonic chord (a key change from G major to A major). More changes continue from there.

Astral Drive | Parallel Universe

“Astral Drive, aka (the UK’s) Phil Thornalley, is a lot of things. Producer (The Cure, Prefab Sprout, Pixie Lott), one-time member of aforementioned Cure, and co-writer of Natalie Imbruglia’s mega hit ‘Torn,’ with loads of other credits under his belt,” (PickingUpRocks). “He is also completely infatuated and crushing hard on Todd Rundgren. On his self-titled album (2018), the Todd influence is so overt, so brazen, so unabashed in its love and reverence that it’s nearly impossible to cast a critical eye … delivered so earnestly, so heart-on-the-sleeve, that complaining about them seems nonsensical.

… The entire LP is just melodic to the core, full of pretty glorious, un-cynical piano pop-soul, and hooks, hooks, hooks (of course). Want to mention that things get even more meta on tracks like ‘No One Escapes’ and the fab lead single ‘Summer of ’76,’ where the respective choruses brush shoulders with those of another wondrous artist who himself was openly influenced by Todd, namely New Radicals’ Gregg Alexander…and so if you dig that stuff at all, you will very likely be susceptible to the charms on display here.”

“Parallel Universe” is set in a fast but gentle 6/8, accompanied by a soft yet insistent clock-like ticking on the weak beats. Replete with a poignant hook and dense textures, the track seems like it might have fallen from the sky millennia ago, fully formed. Built in F# minor overall, the tune moves through two verses and two choruses before an unprepared shift up to A minor (2:08) for an extended hook-driven instrumental outro.

The Cars | Panorama

“Fans were expecting more upbeat new-wave hits on The Cars’ 1980 LP Panorama. What they got was something far darker and more exciting,” (Goldmine). “After achieving commercial success with their first two albums, The Cars (1978) and Candy-O (1979), American new wave/pop combo The Cars decided to take a left turn when it came time to begin work on their third album, 1980’s Panorama … while the music still had its inherent pop-iness, it was much darker in sound and lyrical matter … the band won the ears of both fans and critics alike with their first two albums … but fans and critics were left scratching their heads, particularly with the more avant-garde sounds on Panorama that were unlike anything heard on the band’s previous outings.

… Around the same time as the band began working on the album … synth pop was in its infancy and would soon come to dominate the early 1980s climate, with bands such as Ultravox, Devo, and Gary Numan all leading the charge in experimenting with the new sounds of synthesizers. The Cars were tapping into the zeitgeist; Panorama would see Easton’s previously upfront guitar take a back seat to the keyboard and synthesizer sounds of The Cars’ Greg Hawkes … Panorama was released August 15, 1980 … and reached #5 on the Billboard chart in September of that year … it was systematically panned by critics … (But as guitarist) Elliot Easton affirmed, ‘I look at it as our third album. Honestly, we just made this stuff up as we went along. There was no grand plan beyond making the best music we could.'”

Right out of the gate, the title track’s harmonies teeter between Bb major (with an emphasis on the flatted seventh degree of the chord, Ab, in the guitar line) and a colorless G chord during the intro — with no clues as to which chord should predominate. The verse then falls down into F# minor at 0:27. The brief chorus arrives at 1:11 in B mixolydian, followed by the next verse (1:22) in F# minor. The pattern continues from there. A long outro starts at 3:24 with a few shifts back and forth between B major and Bb major. The track ends by dropping off a cliff with a colorless E chord at 5:39. But these key changes, low in traditional harmonic progressions, speed by without much impact. Instead, the relentless groove, angular melody, and uniquely American slice of New Wave’s sonic palette and visual style were clearly the stars of this show.

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.

Sting | All This Time

“On the singer/songwriter side (to use the term in a strictly idiomatic sense), The Soul Cages (1991) marks the first time Sting fully divorced himself from his Police-era approach to writing,” (RockAndRollGlobe). “Sure, there were plenty of arty, harmonically sophisticated pieces on his first two solo records, but there were also songs with more groove-based settings that you could imagine as part of the Police continuum. There are none of those holdovers from Sting’s previous life here. Opinions will vary as to whether that’s a good or bad thing, but Sting stands or falls here as a man owing nothing to his past. And even his artiest applications of craft oThe Soul Cages feel more organic than they did his previous couple of times at bat.

Stylistically, Sting’s M.O. seems closer to the contemporaneous output of Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell or even Leonard Cohen than anything else. The free-flowing phrasing and poetic language spilling out over a solid rhythmic base on the album’s biggest single, “All This Time,” sure seems to suggest some quality time spent assimilating Simon’s Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints … A strong case can also be made for The Soul Cages as a sneaky sashay into prog territory. First of all, it’s a freakin’ concept album. Something about Sting’s late father always wanting to be a sailor — don’t worry about it, he probably made more sense of the maritime themes when he wrote his musical, The Last Ship, a couple of decades later. It makes more sense than Jethro Tull did on Thick as a Brick, and that’s a masterpiece, so there you go.”

All this time / The river flowed / Endlessly to the sea …
If I had my way / I’d take a boat from the river …

The cheerful feel and relentlessly major-key tonality of “All This Time” belie the tune’s existential weightiness. At 3:15, there’s an unprepared whole-step upward shift in key.

Aztec Camera | Good Morning Britain

“‘When I was 13 years old, I was a real Mick Jones, Joe Strummer freak. I used to go and see them in the Glasgow Apollo and stand in the front row,’ pipes Aztec Camera singer, songwriter, and all around chief Roddy Frame,” (KillermontStreet). The Scottish songwriter reported “‘Recently I got to meet Mick because we played the same kind of festivals together and we got to hang out. He was just such a positive guy, I called him guru Mick and we talked a lot about the state of the nation,’ he continues. ‘I was quite negative about the things in Britain and he was saying yeah, but there’s more to life than that.

So I went home and wrote this song for him in about 45 minutes. I said, Mick, this sounds so much like the Clash that you’re either gonna sue me or you’re going to wanna sing on it, and he wanted to sing, so it was fantastic.'” Aztec Camera’s 1990 release Stray features the resulting single, “Good Morning Britain.”

The pop/rock track, which certainly sounds like The Clash (or its younger cousin, Big Audio Dynamite) shifts up a full step at 2:25.

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.

The Chuck-a-Lucks | Dingbat Diller

“The Chuck-A-Lucks … first started singing together at Amarillo College immediately after World War II, and then moved to Denton, TX, where the three of them enrolled in North Texas State College,” (AllMusic). “They were known as the Dipsy Doodlers for a time, and turned semi-professional after becoming popular on the North Texas State campus.

… By 1953, the trio were forced to give up the name Dipsy Doodlers, owing to the large number of other acts using it by then. They chose the Chuck-A-Lucks, and they began working around Texas and building a following for their mix of vocalizing and comedy, which made them very popular. The trio was working the area around Ft. Worth when they were discovered by Joe Leonard and signed to his Lin Records label out of Gainesville, TX. The Chuck-A-Lucks eventually evolved into a duo … and kept working a very lucrative string of gigs in clubs throughout the United States right up through 1972. Their act was much more oriented toward comedy than music, especially as time went by, being a kind of a country/right-wing version of the Smothers Brothers as satirists — their 1967 live album, cut for Shannon Records, the label owned by Mary Reeves, the widow of Jim Reeves, is notable today for its jokes at the expense of hippies, homosexuals, and others considered ‘alien’ to the southern/western audience they appealed to. The group reunited in 1996 for a 50th anniversary show in Texas.”

Their 1963 track, “Dingbat Diller,” was released on Motown Records. The tune shifts up a half step at 1:19 and 1:33, but the fast swing feel and the tight vocal harmonies are the main features.