The Treasures were a female R&B vocal trio who appeared on The Midnight Special, a popular late-night television show focusing almost entirely on music, in 1974.
We have scoured the web and couldn’t find one piece of information on the group, other than the fact that their nearly empty IMDb page matches the date of the Midnight Special performance on the video. Not one! There may have been a studio album which featured “Right Combination,” but if so, we could find no information on it. A truly unusual problem!
Hopefully we’ll be forgiven, though, because it’s a memorable tune — performed by a trio that sounds like the Supremes and Aretha Franklin had a baby! Starting in C minor, the horn-driven arrangement shifts to Eb minor at 0:34 for the chorus. At 0:57, the verse returns in C minor.
“The Temptations released one of the enduring singles of the rock and roll era when ‘My Girl’ topped the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts,” (Seattle Post Intelligencer). “The song was propelled by the sweet tenor voice of David Ruffin. During his time with the Temptations he provided the lead vocals for such hits as ‘Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,’ ‘All I Need,’ and ‘Beauty Is Only Skin Deep.’ His time with the group was short, 1964-1968, but he would help leave a lasting legacy and be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame … While he would never be as commercially successful as during his time with the Temptations, his solo releases would sell moderately well and produce some fine music.
His debut release, My Whole World Ended, (was) released during the spring of 1969. It was more emotional and rawer than the smooth soul sound of his former group. The only song that runs counter to this formula was the hit single “My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me),” which was originally written for the Temptations. It has a smooth Sam Cooke quality as it just flows along.”
In addition to typical R&B instrumentation, smooth strings and piccolo arpeggios(!) are prominently featured on the mid-tempo title track. 2:13 brings brief instrumental chorus as well as a half-step modulation.
In honor of Quincy Jones, the singular musician, performer, producer, educator, and mentor, we’re bringing back a post from 2022 which sheds a bright light on his extraordinary gifts. Jones passed away yesterday at the age of 91. Given that his career spanned the worlds of jazz, R+B, funk, and pop over many decades, it’s likely impossible to describe its full impact. But many of our posts here on MotD featured his work as a producer, even though the names of the artists and bands in question accompanied the songs’ titles.
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“‘Quincy Jones was looking for artists for his new label, Qwest Records,” jazz/pop vocalist and guitarist George Benson remembered in a Guardian interview). ‘I’d started to cross over from jazz and Quincy asked: Do you want to make the world’s greatest jazz record – or go for the throat? I laughed and said: Go for the throat! … He said: George, put yourself in my hands. I know more about you than you do yourself. I was insulted at first, but calmed down, and things started happening.’
George was under pressure to have a crossover hit. Nobody yelled at each other but there was tension, because he wouldn’t always do what Quincy told him to. (The sessions for 1980’s ‘Give Me the Night’ were) a clash of the titans at first. ‘I asked for the same musicians he’d used on (Michael Jackson’s) Off the Wall. The sound they made inspired me. Quincy also brought in Rod Temperton, formerly of the band Heatwave … Rod was always in the background except for when something went wrong. He didn’t mind saying: George, you’re singing in the wrong key.” Patti Austin, now known for her own R+B, jazz, and pop material, was the accomplished background singer Jones hired. Austin remembers: “‘When I went into the studio, the tracks were already recorded. I used to be a jingle singer; you have to be able to walk in, sight-read, and make whatever product the jingle is plugging sound orgasmic. So I worked very quickly.'”
Built in F minor overall, the tune shifts to Ab minor for the chorus at 1:19 – 1:42, later repeating the pattern. The track crossed over with a vengeance; it wasn’t a smash hit, but managed to become a solid global presence (see below) while hitting top five on the US Pop, Soul, and Disco charts.
“When Champaign burst on the scene in 1981, it appeared to be a group that was going to be around for quite awhile,” (SoulTracks). “With strong lead vocalists Pauli Carman and Rene Jones … great production by Leo Graham, and a crossover smash hit in “How ‘Bout Us,” the group’s debut album won critical acclaim and sold well.” The septet was named for the band’s hometown of Champaign, Illinois (WBSSMedia). The track’s songwriter was Dana Walden, the band’s keyboardist.
The track, from an album of the same name, reached #5 in the UK, #4 on the US Billboard R&B chart, and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. “It was a wonderful debut — one of the best complete albums of that year. Unfortunately, that debut album would be the commercial high point for the group.”
The mid-tempo funk-infused tune starts in Bb major; the bridge (2:22 – 2:35) then shifts to the relative G minor before a final transition into Db major for the final verses.
“Known as Zoom in the UK, the Commodores’ eponymous fifth LP (1977) was … very much a transitional work, highlighting the greasy southern funk that the group so ably practiced before pianist and saxophonist Lionel Richie firmly took centre stage,” (BBC). “The album was a huge hit in the US, setting the Commodores up for their chart-topping scene stealing as the 70s became the 80s. In the UK, the reaction was a little more muted. However, ‘Easy’ paved the way for ‘Three Times a Lady’ and ‘Still,’ and Lionel Richie’s unshakeable place as a favourite artist of millions.”
Another track from the album, the midtempo “Funny Feelings,” features an intro in F# minor. At 0:15, however, the first verse settles in with B minor. At 1:01, the chorus shifts to E major. From 1:22 – 1:36, an instrumental interlude mirrors the intro; the cycle continues from there, keeping a laser focus on the funk groove throughout.
“Continuing the foray into rock begun on 1971’s Givin’ It Back, The Isley Brothers’ 10th studio album Brother, Brother, Brother serves as yet another advancement in the Cincinnati-founded R&B/soul outfit’s signature sound, which carried it to superstardom on the following year’s 3+3,” (UnderTheRadar). “Though understated and restrained in comparison to their more bombastic masterworks, Brother, Brother, Brother is an important Isley Brothers release, its crisp Midwestern soul backbone providing ample support for the group’s more ambitious rock and funk aspirations.
While less realized than much of The Isley Brothers’ future output, Brother, Brother, Brother serves as a gateway to their ’70s golden age. The following year, the band would release its monumental hit ‘That Lady’ … In retrospect, Brother, Brother, Brother feels like a blueprint of explosive greatness to come, the Isleys joining together to function as an unstoppable whole. After five decades, the album sounds unusually fresh, The Isley Brothers having remained pioneers of their genre.”
“Love Put Me On the Corner,” a ballad track from Brother, Brother, Brother, starts with a piano intro in F# minor, accompanied only by gentle mallet cymbal, that sounds like it could have been part of a Joni Mitchell interlude. At 0:22, there’s a shift to F lydian, then another (0:42) to G major with the addition of a gentle groove and a widely dynamic Hammond organ for the verse. The chorus, arriving at 2:46, pivots through 2:46-3:15 with several pairs of compound chords. The pattern continues from there.
“When ‘On Bended Knee’ reached #1, Boyz II Men became only the second act in Hot 100 history to replace themselves (‘I’ll Make Love to You’) at the top of the Hot 100,” (Stereogum). “The Beatles had done it in 1964, going back-to-back-to-back and holding the #1 spot for 14 uninterrupted weeks. (Elvis Presley had once replaced himself at #1, too, but he did that in the pre-Hot 100 era.) When Boyz II Men pulled it off, they held that top spot even longer.
… And Boyz II Men really sing that. When singers get all showy with their melismatic runs, they can sometimes lose a song’s melody or its emotional center … Boyz II Men have these rich interweaving harmonies and these big solo moments, but they always convey the gravity of this heartbreak that they’re describing … ‘On Bended Knee’ (1994) does nothing new, but the execution is immaculate.”
The nuanced Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis production never lets anything get in the way of the quartet’s beautifully balanced vocals. The fact that the track is also a Jam/Lewis composition makes all of the careful handling even less of a surprise. The single was a worldwide hit, but nowhere more than the US, where it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 (Adult Contemporary), #2 (Hot R+B/Hip-Hop), and #1 (Pop Airplay).
After an intro in Ab major, the tune settles into Eb major for the first verse. At 3:26, a bridge starts with emotion already turned up to 9.8 and ends somewhere around 14 on a scale of 10, delivering us into another verse in a new key of E major. Somehow, another ecstatic key change to F major hits at 4:32. The fever finally breaks around 5:20, dropping the tune into its final resting place of Bb major.
“It was Aretha Franklin who made Don Cornelius realise he had hit the big time,’ (The Guardian). “Just two years earlier, the impresario’s show Soul Trainhad been a Chicago thing, broadcasting local talent to local viewers. Now it was a national sensation and even the choosiest stars wanted to get on board. Franklin told him: ‘My kids love the show and I want to be a part of it.’ Stevie Wonder improvised an ode to Soul Train. James Brown, convinced that somebody, probably a white somebody, must be behind such a slick operation, looked around its Los Angeles studio and kept asking Cornelius: ‘Brother, who’s backing you on this?’ Each time Cornelius replied: ‘Well, James, it’s just me.’
He wasn’t bragging. As the host (or ‘conductor’) of Soul Train from 1970 to 1993, Cornelius was an avatar of cool, with his glorious afro, wide-lapelled suits and avuncular baritone, signing off each episode with a funky benediction: ‘I’m Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace … and soul!‘ Billed as ‘the hippest trip in America,’ Soul Train didn’t just beam the latest sounds from black America into millions of homes, but – with amateur dancers who became as integral to the show as the performers – the fashions, hairstyles and dance moves too.”
The theme for the show, “‘TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)’ is a 1974 recording by MFSB featuring vocals by The Three Degrees,” (Billboard). “It was written by Gamble and Huff … (and) was the first television theme song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.” The track also went to #1 on Billboard‘s Easy Listening chart and Hot Soul Singles chart, as well as reaching top 20 positions in many countries worldwide.
After a start in C major, the tune shifts to C minor from 0:33 – 1:07 before returning to original key. The track continues to alternate between the two parallel keys throughout, keeping the groove front and center at all times.
The daughter of jazz vocalist Ann Marie Schofield and jazz pianist Walter Davis Jr., Alana Davis made her own reputation as a singer and songwriter whose style bridges folk, rock, jazz, and R&B (AllMusic) … Although she began writing songs at the age of 18, Davis didn’t turn to music as a career until briefly attending Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, New York.
Leaving school to devote her full attention to music, she recorded a demo tape of her original tunes and was signed by Elektra. They released her debut album, Blame It on Me, in late 1997. It reached number 157 on the Billboard 200, and her first single, a cover of Ani DiFranco’s ’32 Flavors,’ became a Top 40 single in early 1998 … Drawing equally from folk and pop, Davis comes on as a refined, refashioned DiFranco — one with a stronger melodic sense and a willingness to indulge in slick production … The single’s success also led to an invitation to participate in the Lilith Fair.” Davis went on to release several other albums, most recently 2018’s Love Again.
After a start in D major, “Blame It On Me” shifts briefly to Bb minor at 1:06 before reverting to the original key (1:30) for a vamp that leads into verse 2. A break featuring a laddered series of key changes starts at 3:33, but then Davis climbs back down and once again returns to the D major for a final verse at 4:14.
“Walter ‘Bunny’ Sigler—a songwriter, singer, and producer … helped pioneer soul music’s ‘Philly Sound’ along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in the early 1970s,” (Pitchfork) … “Sigler was best known for songs such as ‘Let the Good Times Roll and Feel So Good’ and ‘Girl Don’t Make Me Wait.’ He began his recording career in 1959 and went on to work with numerous acts, including Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays, and Lou Rawls. He often performed with the funk/disco group Instant Funk.
Later in life, Sigler collaborated with the Roots on their Game Theory track ‘Long Time.’ His songs were sampled by Jay-Z, OutKast, Nelly, Kelly Rowland, and many more. ‘He wrote classics that stood the test of time,’ Questlove wrote in a remembrance … ‘He was the DEFINITION of cool, man.'”
“Sunny Sunday” (1967) starts in G minor, then shifts to Ab minor for the second verse at 0:45. A brief bridge touches on Ab major before transitioning to the next verse, this time in A minor. The tedium of the workweek and and the relative shortage of leisure time with loved ones never sounded so good!
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