r&b – Page 24

Deborah Cox | Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here

R&B chanteuse Deborah Cox released “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” the track for which she’s perhaps best known, in 1998.

“‘The song crossed my path in early ’98. I had taken a little time off — I got married in Jamaica — and was really searching for a direction for the second album,” (Billboard). “When Anthony ‘Shep’ Crawford and Montell Jordan (the co-writers) played it for me, I immediately knew the song was a smash. I just remember hearing it and going, ‘Oh my God, this speaks to me!’ I had just gone through the same thing: I was caught off guard with the love of my life, so it really resonated.”

This gospel-infused ballad builds to a big modulation at 3:00.

Jennifer Hudson | Where You At

Here’s some JHud with “Where You At,” the lead single from her 2011 album I Remember Me. Key change at 2:48.

DJ and the Yams | Start Again

This R&B ballad, written by the track’s lead vocalist, Desmond Scaife, Jr, was recorded live on stage at Boston’s Berklee College of Music in 2016.

The track features a quick modulation at 2:25, returning to the original key at 2:30.

The Stylistics | Stop, Look, Listen

Another harmonically lush track by the Philly Soul gurus The Stylistics. “Stop, Look, Listen” (1971) packs so much into a hit song of less than three minutes’ length — including a few time signature shifts, plenty of orchestral instrumentation, and an uncharacteristically simple direct modulation at 2:21.

Hal Crook (feat. Debo Ray) | Love Me If You Can

This uptempo funk/R&B tour de force (2016) by Hal Crook, featuring powerhouse Débo Ray on vocals, leads us through many “keys of the moment” until 2:05, when we land squarely back in the original key.

Yolanda Adams | I Gotta Believe

Here’s Yolanda Adams with “I Gotta Believe” (2001). Dubbed the “Reigning Queen of Urban Gospel” by Variety and Billboard‘s #1 Gospel Artist of the 2000s, Adams has sold over 8 million albums worldwide. Modulation at 2:48.

Al Jarreau | Mornin’

Al Jarreau, the only vocalist in history to win Grammy Awards in three different categories (jazz, pop, and R&B), released his top-10 album Breakin’ Away in 1981, at perhaps the peak of his career. A standout track from the album was the feel-good tune “Mornin’,” featuring plenty of modulations in the bridge (1:55 – 2:49). Then we land back in the orignal key with an instrumental verse at the bridge’s conclusion. 3:32 features a classic direct modulation into the final verse.

Peabo Bryson | If Ever You’re In My Arms Again

Peabo Bryson is featured today with his hit “If Ever You’re In My Arms Again” (1984). A true 80s jam, with a muscular key change at 2:57.

The Temptations | My Girl

The Temptations had plenty of hits, but 1965’s “My Girl” went straight to #1 and probably remains the group’s best known release. Co-written by Smokey Robinson, the tune featured a trademark early Motown sound. The modulation is at 1:43.

Marvin Gaye | What’s Goin’ On

Marvin Gaye’s soul/R&B classic “What’s Goin’ On” (1971) modulates at 1:38 and then back to the original key at 2:06 as it transitions into another verse. Gaye’s consistent use of 7th chords only added to the track’s rich harmonic tapestry. Rolling Stone ranked the album featuring the single #6 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” From AllMusic‘s reverent review: “What’s Going On is not only Marvin Gaye‘s masterpiece, it’s the most important and passionate record to come out of soul music, delivered by one of its finest voices .. Gaye meditated on what had happened to the American dream of the past … arguably the best soul album of all time.”