You're All I Need To Get By

This weeks contribution is a wonderful song about just plain good love. Whew! Enough about broken hearts, lost love and all that! No sorrow nor blues here, but rather just plain tons of good vibes:

"Like an eagle protects his nest, for you I'll do my best,

Stand by you like a tree, dare anybody to try and move me."

The Composers

Written by real-life couple Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, You're All I Need To Get By became one of the few Motown recordings of the 1960s that was not recorded with the familiar "Motown sound". Instead, it had a more soulful and gospel-oriented theme surrounding it that was influenced by the writers, who also sang the background vocals on the original recording.

The Covers

That first recording by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Soul Singles chart for five weeks, becoming one of the longest-running number one R&B hits of 1968 and the most successful duet recording of Marvin Gaye's entire career. Other covers:

Dionne Warwick 1969

Diana Ross 1970

Aretha Franklin 1971

Michael McDonald 2004

Structure, structure, structure....

And chords, and counter melodies. This arrangement pulls a lot of my tip sheet together in one place. You see some of the counter melodies here in the bass line, giving it interest but also adding interplay against the main melody. Delightful chords, with well-led voice lines lend a smooth sound bringing out wonderful colors. Notice the bass line variation - 4 measures one way, and then 4 measures another way.

There are always several things going on, changing in a fluid manner but held together by structure, structure, structure. The basses exhibit a bit of fun diggity here and there. Meanwhile, their patter progresses - what I need, what I want, all, I, need....

It was a big holiday week and I got to share it across several traditions. Hope you enjoyed it and I hope the creek near you is subsiding....

Next week: Nowhere To Run

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby!

This weeks entry is a song composed by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who also composed "Let's Go Get Stoned", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need To Get By", and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". Clearly, this is one of the great song writing teams of all time. It was originally recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1968 and reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.

A Song With A History

The song has been covered many times since the first release. Here's a little history:

1969 Diana Ross and the Supremes with The Temptations

1970 The Supremes & The Four Tops

1972 The Jackson 5

1974 Aretha Franklin

1976 Donnie & Marie Osmond

1993 Elton John & Marcella Detroit

1994 Gladys Knight & Vince Gill

2003 Michael McDonald

2007 Boyz II Men

What's Good About This Song for A Cappella?

Everything! First, it's beloved for generations. Next, it's a well crafted composition, with a great lyric. It moves through a lot of stuff - a rather busy piece of solo work - with mountains of harmonic interest. The song is often a boy/girl duet but Michael McDonald proved works fine as a male solo with some harmonizing on the chorus.

Plus, the contrapuntal melodies and patter just flow like honey. You can fit lyrics to the bass line like no tomorrow, and echo effectively with the other voices, as I did here in the C section:

Have A Listen

This week I figured out how to install Windows Movie Maker and make a video so you can hear the whole thing. It's piano and saxophone - simple MP3 output from Finale, hooked up with a picture to make it a movie. Hey, whatever works!

P.S. This blog is posted at http://acappellanation.blogspot.com. The embedded video/music player does not show up in Facebook, and possibly some other sites subscribed to the blog. Click the link to the blog if you want to listen.