I’m in the local pharmacy picking up a couple refills, and like many companies do, they have a radio station playing songs quietly on the PA system. A new tune starts and my initial reaction is “Ha! They’re riffing on ‘Heart & Soul’, good satirical leadoff”. But they weren’t. Someone has actually recorded a cover of Heart and Soul and it’s making the airwaves!
Maybe nobody not of my generation would understand why I was stifling giggles, but back in the day, when a high percentage of families had a piano in the house, all the kids would play this duet
Parents everywhere would wince, “oh not THAT again…”
And yes, always in C major, with exactly this arrangement in the bass, single-note melody in the treble, this rhythm, and no phrasing to speak of.
I like it because it is the easiest way to explain to some what a I-vi-ii-V chord progression sounds like…“Like Heart and Soul”
And that progression is almost as common as a ii-V-I, and shows up pretty much everywhere as a turnaround in jazzier tunes.
Aside, I’m surprised it wasn’t the Elton/Dua Cold Heart mix which seems to be played about every second or third song in retail PAs. Those hooky popworms really smooth the wrinkles on my brain.
