The musical theater cover band Third Reprise released their arrangement of “Defying Gravity” from the musical blockbuster Wicked earlier this year. Featuring vocalist Amanda Barise, the tune is filled with reharmonizations and set to a funk groove that provides a sharp contrast to the original. A film adaption of Schwartz’s musical opens in theaters tomorrow.
The track begins in Db major and modulates down a half step to C near the end at 3:39.
Originally written by Jule Styne (music), Betty Comden and Adolph Green (lyrics) for the 1960 musical Do Re Mi, “Make Someone Happy” subsequently became a jazz standard, and has been recorded by dozens of singers. Singer/actress Audra McDonald concluded her latest studio album, Go Back Home, with the song. McDonald will be taking on the role of Mama Rose in the upcoming Broadway revival of Gypsy, opening next month.
The track begins in Eb and sneakily modulates up a half step to E at 2:24.
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.
“Heartbeat” is the third track on the 2022 album Heroes by The Midnight, an Atlanta-based indie/synthwave band. The group, founded by singer-songwriter Tyler Lyle and producer Tim McEwan, has been active since 2012 and released five studio albums.
The track starts in B and shifts up a step to Db at 2:45.
“In 1965, We Five was near the top of the charts, with a great tune, ‘You Were On My Mind’ … I’d rate it among the best songs of the 60s,” (Brad’s All-Vinyl Finds). ” The band had a few other minor hits, but nothing else like this … (Lead singer Bev) Bivens’ voice starts out rather quietly; then there is the signature strum … Folk-rock was about to begin.
… singing the song took everything (the band) had. The released version … is take 13, with an earlier take of the shout-out-loud ending vocals spliced on from an earlier, less fatigued take … Today’s bands can multitrack and digitize their way to an essentially perfect song. But in 1965, We Five keep singing it until they exhausted themselves. They performed.“
After a start in E major, the tune shifts up a whole step to F# major at 1:25. Originally written by Sylvia Fricker and perfomed by her duo, Ian + Sylvia, in 1961, the tune was subsequently covered several times by artists in several countries. But We Five’s version was by far the most prominent version of the tune, hitting #3 on the Hot 100 chart and reaching #4 on Billboard’s year-end list of 1965’s best songs.
Many thanks to Paul G. for reminding us about this distinctive tune!
Made famous by country singer George Strait, “Amarillo by Morning” was written by Terry Stafford and Paul Fraser in 1973. The song, sung from the perspective of a rodeo cowboy, has appeared in lists of the best country songs ever written, and reached #4 on the Hot Country songs Billboard chart.
The tune begins in D and modulates up to E for the last chorus at 1:38.
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.
“Till We Reach That Day” closes the first act of the show. It flips back and forth between Bb major, its relative G minor, and G major throughout until a final modulation up a half step to Ab major at 3:03.
The show is currently in a limited revival at City Center in New York City.
“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.
Today we feature Celine Dion’s classic rendition of “God Bless America.” It starts in D, shifts to Eb at 1:27, and then up another half step to E at 2:23.
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.
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