r&b – Page 5

Boyz II Men | On Bended Knee

“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.

MFSB feat. The Three Degrees | TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)

“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 Train had 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.

Alana Davis | Blame It On Me

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.

Bunny Sigler | Sunny Sunday

“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!

The Spinners | Working My Way Back to You

“The holiday season of 1979 was in full swing when Detroit legends The Spinners released their version of the Four Seasons’ 1966 classic, ‘Working My Way Back to You'” (Rhino Records). “… The Spinners retooled the tune with a symphonic disco-funk groove, and the interpolation of Michael Zager’s ‘Forgive Me Girl.’ Showcasing the booming bass vocals of singer Pervis Jackson, the energetic track was a hit on the holiday airwaves across pop and R&B stations.

As the track rang up those radio spins, ‘Working My Way Back to You’ danced up the charts to peak at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the weeks of March 29, 1980, and April 5, 1980. The song that kept the Spinners from #1? Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2).’ Over on the Hot R&B Songs chart, the tune hit #6 over the week of March 22, 1980. The #1 song on the chart that week: The Whispers with ‘And the Beat Goes On.'”

After the multi-section tune begins to draw to a close, an unexpected and extremely late modulation (up two whole steps, from C major to E major) hits at 3:48. On the final fade-out, the tracks’s energy refuses to recede, but the lead tenor’s vocal line launches into the stratosphere!

Gladys Knight | The Way We Were

For the 1973 film The Way We Were, Barbra Streisand served in the role of leading lady and also a mainstay of the soundtrack. “Marvin Hamlisch came up with the melody; he was asked to write in the minor mode, but instead wrote in the major.” (SuperSeventies.com). “‘If I’d written in a minor mode, it might have told you too much in advance,’ he said, ‘that Streisand and Redford were never going to get together. So, I wrote a melody that was sad, but also had a great deal of hope in it.’ The tune was completed by a husband-and-wife songwriting team, Marilyn and Alan Bergman.

Streisand’s single broke in late November 1973, and reached number one in mid-February 1974. It was her first number one hit, and first single to stay on the charts for more than five months. It earned an Academy Award as the Best Film Song of 1973, Billboard ‘s award as the Top Pop Single of 1974, and a Grammy as Song of the Year.” The powerful ballad served as fodder for covers by a range of performers including Andy Williams, Doris Day, Bing Crosby, Beyoncé, and more.

But the tune’s most memorable cover might have been Gladys Knight’s 1974 version from her album I Feel a Song. Mixing in extensive quotes of “Try to Remember” from Broadway’s The Fantastiks before adding a half-step modulation (3:00) not found in Streisand’s original, Knight leaves her distinctive signature on the tune.

Glenn Lewis | Fall Again

“Fall Again” was written and originally recorded by Michael Jackson in 1999, and subsequently covered by Canadian R&B singer Glenn Lewis for the 2002 film Maid in Manhattan. Lewis makes a brief appearance performing the song in the film, which starred Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes.

The track begins in E minor and modulates up a half step to F minor at 3:06.

Dusty Springfield | Son of a Preacher Man

Included on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, “Son of a Preacher Man” has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Joss Stone, and Foo Fighters, among others.

English singer Dusty Springfield’s cover, included on her 1968 album Dusty in Memphis, is by far the most well-known. The song tells the story of a young girl who runs away with and falls in love with the preacher’s son. The industry magazine Cash Box wrote in 1968 that “the track is “brim-full of the special southern-combo sound and a vocal strongly influenced by Aretha [Franklin].”

The song begins in E and modulates up to A for the last chorus at 1:44

Kings Return | So Amazing

“The members of the Dallas group Kings Return boast such perfect four-part harmonies they don’t need instruments, gadgets or electronics,” (Dallas Morning News). “They do, however, gravitate to one natural effect: Stairwell reverberation. Formed in 2016 to perform for bass vocalist Gabe Kunda’s graduation recital, Kings Return didn’t get serious until 2019, when videos of the band singing on a staircase at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington (TX) went viral. ‘That stairwell had such excellent reverb … it’s a huge part of our success: We joke that it’s the fifth member of the group,’ says baritone singer Jamall Williams.

Since its first video, King’s Return has racked up millions of views for its a cappella renditions of songs by everyone from Schubert to Shania Twain to Boyz II Men. Last fall, its recording of the Bee Gees’ ‘How Deep is Your Love’ earned Matt Cusson a Grammy nomination for best arrangement.”

Originally released by Dionne Warwick in 1983, “So Amazing” was co-written by Luther Vandross and bassist Marcus Miller. In 1986, Vandross covered his composition for his hit album Give Me the Reason. The a cappella version by Kings Return, released only a few days ago, starts in B major, drops a quick fake-out diversion from the key, and then lands decisively back in B major — within the first 16 seconds! The track transitions to G# major at 1:01, then F# major at 2:07; the closing sequence (starting at 2:37) drops the groove in favor of multiple overlapping harmonic footings which (surprise!) deliver us back to F# at the end.

Many thanks to Steve Travis for the submission of this beautifully re-imagined a cappella cover — his first contribution to MotD.

John Stoddart (feat. Lalah Hathaway) | Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

**This is the third installment in a three-part series featuring covers of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”**

American R&B/gospel singer John Stoddart featured five-time Grammy winner Lalah Hathaway (and daughter of Donny Hathaway) for this tune on his 2013 album Only On Christmas Day.

There are too many modulations to count in this cover, and throughout the album.