Nominated for 10 Tony Awards, the 2015 Broadway production Something Rotten is one of few wholly original musical comedies to hit the Great White Way in recent years. Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick collaborated in writing their first Broadway score for the show, receiving Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations for their work, as well as a Grammy Nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. Key change at 3:14.
Tag: soundtrack
The Blues Brothers | Rawhide
“Rawhide” was written by Ned Washington (lyrics) and Dimitri Tiomkin (music) in 1958. “The song was used as the theme to Rawhide, a western television series that ran from 1959 until 1966. According to the Western Writers of America, it was one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
The tune has been covered by Johnny Cash, The Jackson 5, The Dead Kennedys, Liza Minnelli, Oingo Boingo, Sublime, and many other artists. It was featured prominently in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, where it saved the day as as a last-second substitute opener for an R&B/Blues band haplessly booked into a Country/Western bar. Fortunately, the band had a lot more chops than luck …
The half-step modulation is at 2:13 at the start of a short guitar feature. The tune itself doesn’t begin until the 1:25 mark. Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen for this submission!
Voctave | How Far I’ll Go (from “Moana”)
Featured in Disney’s 2016 animated blockbuster Moana, “How Far I’ll Go” serves as the “I Want” song (a common device used in musical theatre and Disney movies where a character expresses their fundamental ambition) for the title character in the film. Lin Manuel Miranda, who wrote and produced the track, claimed he locked himself in his childhood bedroom for a weekend in order to force his mind back to age 16 (the same age as Moana in the film) — a time when he was facing what seemed like an “impossible distance” between the reality of his pleasant middle-class childhood which had no connection to show business whatsoever, and his dreams of a career in show business. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at both the Golden Globes and Academy Awards, but ultimately lost both to La La Land; it was awarded Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards. Performed by MotD favorite Voctave, the key change is at 2:14.
Back To Before (from “Ragtime”)
We have featured a number of songs from Ahrens and Flaherty’s Tony-winning score for the 1996 Broadway musical Ragtime here at MotD; the score is considered one of the masterpieces of the Broadway canon, integrating a diverse array of musical styles into an organic tapestry reflecting the roots of American music at the start of the 20th century. The Act 2 number “Back To Before,” performed here by the late Marin Mazzie at the 1997 Tony Awards, speaks to our current moment. Key changes at 2:15, 2:30, and 2:51.
T’aint Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do (from “Bullets Over Broadway”)
On July 5, the Broadway community lost one of its shining lights, 41-year old actor Nick Cordero, due to Coronavirus complications. Most recently, Cordero starred in A Bronx Tale and Waitress on Broadway, and prior to that he originated the role of Cheech in the 2014 production of Bullets Over Broadway, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.
“T’ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do,” one of the first blues standards from the 1920s and the splashy Act 1 tap number from Bullets, features Cordero and his cadre of gangsters. The show, based on Woody Allen’s 1994 film of the same name, boasts a score of jazz and popular standards from the 20s and 30s selected by Allen to complement the story. Key changes at 2:54 and 3:18.
Elmer Bernstein | Theme from “The Magnificent Seven”
Elmer Bernstein’s score for The Magnificent Seven (1960) was nominated for Best Score, Dramatic or Comedy at the 33rd Academy Awards, but was bested by the score for the film Exodus. The score was later ranked at #8 on the American Film Institute’s list of the Top 25 American Film Scores.
According to The Muse by Clio, the original review of the film in The Hollywood Reporter was ambivalent — although not about the film’s music: “The Magnificent Seven has the stars and the production values to open big, and probably will. But it is not a success, as a story or as entertainment…Elmer Bernstein’s music is truly memorable; the theme will stick.” The Muse continues: “Glenn Lovell’s 2008 book about the Magnificent Seven’s director, “Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges,” describes the film’s theme music as ‘arguably, after John Williams’ Jaws and Star Wars themes, the most recognizable overture in the history of the medium.’ Bernstein’s theme took on a life of its own after the film’s release, having its place confirmed as the soundtrack to American masculinity in the iconic Marlboro Man ad campaign, and even appearing in a shot of James Bond riding across a desert in Moonraker.“
The modulation hits right around 1:10. Many thanks to MotD regular Carlo Migliaccio for submitting this track!
Say No to This (from “Hamilton”)
In recognition of the live film of the stage production of Lin Manuel Miranda‘s blockbuster 2016 Broadway musical Hamilton dropping on Disney+ earlier this month, today we feature “Say No To This.” Coming in Act 2 of the show, the song outlines Hamilton’s one-year affair with Maria Reynolds, which eventually led to the first major political sex scandal in US history. Beginning in F# minor, the tune glides smoothly into the relative major for the chorus at 1:23 and continues to play back and forth between these two tonal centers. A modulation to B major occurs at 3:03.
Yesterday, the original cast recording for the show became the first cast recording to reach the #2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart since the revolutionary 1969 musical Hair, which spent 13 weeks in the #1 spot the year of its premiere.
Black Artists for Black Lives | Feeding Off the Love of the Land
As described by the performers, Black Artists for Black Lives, “This arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Feeding Off the Love of the Land’ was born out of grief, and evolved into a communal message of healing. In the midst of our grief, we sing with renewed strength and love. We sing for them… We sing for US.”
Stevie’s original appeared under the credits of Spike Lee’s 1991 film Jungle Fever, but didn’t appear on any of Stevie’s studio albums.
Starting with a gorgeous a cappella arrangement in B major, an instrumental accompaniment sneaks in at 0:30 and swells at the early modulation to D major at 0:48. The energy continues to build until the ensemble hits its fullest stride at 2:04.
Stevie’s original, which doesn’t include a modulation:
Go The Distance (from “Hercules”)
From the 1997 Disney animated feature Herculues, “Go The Distance” was written by Alan Menken and David Zippel, originally recorded by Roger Bart for the film. Michael Bolton also recorded a pop version of the track for the credits. Key change at 2:07.
The Who | Joker James
The Who, already very well-established in 1973, indulged in an ambitious adventure: the rock opera Quadrophenia. The soundtrack spanned a full double album. AllMusic reports that the plot was “built around the story of a young mod’s struggle to come of age in the mid-’60s…re-examining the roots of (the band’s) own birth in mod culture. In the end, there may have been too much weight, as Pete Townshend tried to combine the story of a mixed-up mod named Jimmy with the examination of a four-way split personality (hence the title), in turn meant to reflect the four conflicting personas at work within the Who itself.”
“Joker James” begins in D major, loses a bit of steam as it transitions to the bridge at 1:46, and then returns with renewed energy as it modulates to E major at 2:02.
Many thanks to MotD fan Aaron for submitting this tune!
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