“Yacht Rock” royalty, Player’s polished southern California sound was all over the charts in the late 70s. Multiple lead vocalists, complex chords, and tight vocal harmonies were some of the band’s hallmarks.
For “Baby Come Back,” the band’s smash 1977 hit, the modulation lasts for the duration of the bridge (2:23 – 2:48) before reverting to its original key.
This 1979 release by Kenny Loggins, with co-writing, keyboards, and back-up vocals by Michael McDonald, features the harmonic complexity for which both artists are known. The bridge starts at 2:43, shows signs of a big change on the way at 2:57, and wraps up at 3:06 as the modulation hits.
According to Loggins, the melodic and harmonic ideas for the tune were finished long before the lyrics. The songwriting team had initially focused on a crossroads moment in a troubled romantic relationship. But the topic shifted to an adult son encouraging his ailing elderly father to fight hard for his health in the face of a worsening medical condition — a slice from Loggins’ own life. An unlikely hit, for sure, but it reached #11 and won a Grammy.
Harmonically, this 1979 tune is such a feast that after several decades of casually listening to it, I never caught on that it actually modulates too. In fact, multiple times: on the way out of the pre-chorus and into the chorus (first heard at 1:17) and then back to the original key (first heard at 1:50), then a second time.
Co-written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, the track hit #1 in the US — one of only a handful of non-disco releases to do so in the first half of 1979.
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