The late 1960s were an era defined by a clash of textures: the psychedelic swirl against the orchestrated grandeur, the garage-band grit against the clean pop sheen. For a brief, dazzling moment in 1969, Sacramento-based group Spiral Starecase navigated this maelstrom with a piece of music so perfectly balanced it almost defies its time. It was a flashpoint of pure, unadulterated musical joy, a three-minute masterpiece that arrived with the buoyancy of a bubblegum classic but possessed the structural sophistication of a veteran R&B arrangement.
I remember first hearing “More Today Than Yesterday” not on an old vinyl record, but filtering out of an ancient console on a sweltering summer day. The song felt instantly familiar, yet utterly fresh—a sonic time capsule that still radiates a golden-hour glow. It’s the kind of song that makes you stop scrolling, close your eyes, and just listen to the architecture of the sound. This single track became the singular achievement of a group otherwise destined for regional success, and it remains a towering testament to the power of a single, well-crafted composition.
The Arc of the Staircase
Spiral Starecase—whose original members included Pat Upton (lead vocals, songwriter), Harvey Kaye (keyboards), Dick Lopes (saxophone), Bobby Raymond (bass), and Vinny Parello (drums)—had been working the club circuit, particularly in Las Vegas, under the name The Fydallions. The group eventually caught the attention of Columbia Records, but it was a crucial shift in their focus that forged their destiny. A&R executive Gary Usher encouraged Pat Upton to write original material, a suggestion that led directly to the group’s defining work.
The track, released in early 1969, was the lead single and title track from their debut and sole major-label album, More Today Than Yesterday. This wasn’t a sprawling concept album or a gritty rock statement; it was a tight, well-produced pop record designed to showcase the band’s versatility and Upton’s warm, soaring tenor. The single quickly ascended the US charts, peaking in the upper echelons of both the Cash Box Top 100 and the Billboard Hot 100, a massive success for a relatively new act on the national stage.
The song’s production was handled by Sonny Knight, with the critical orchestration and arrangement work credited to Al Capps. This specific pairing is what elevates the recording from simple pop-soul to a shimmering aural experience.
Architecture of Affection
The song opens not with a bang, but with a confident, walking bassline and a crisp, dry drum kit establishing a mid-tempo, almost lounge-jazz groove. This immediately contrasts with the heavier backbeat dominant in much of contemporary rock. The instrumentation is key to its buoyant feel. Harvey Kaye’s piano work provides a gentle, harmonically rich foundation, its chords punching in with playful, almost Stax-like precision. It’s the sound of effortless cool, suggesting a band that honed its chops in front of a sophisticated nightclub crowd.
The genius of the arrangement, however, lies in the horn section. These aren’t the chaotic blasts of funk or the rough edges of early soul. They are deployed with a cinematic sweep, providing bright, disciplined punctuation marks to Pat Upton’s vocal phrases. The horns act as a second, equally important voice, rising and falling in tight, elegant charts that suggest a deeper, more professional recording budget than a typical one-hit-wonder might receive.
Upton’s vocal delivery is the emotional anchor. His tenor is clear, bright, and carries an earnestness that sells the almost impossibly romantic lyric. When he hits the famous chorus—”Oh, I love you more today than yesterday / But not as much as tomorrow”—the arrangement seems to physically lift him. The dynamics swell, the brass section explodes with synchronized energy, and the rhythm section drives forward with renewed purpose. For those of us who appreciate the subtle details of mix and mastering, the clarity of the layered vocals and the controlled reverb on the brass are testament to the quality of the original premium audio masters.
The Contrast of Confidence
What makes this piece of music endure is the way it perfectly blends simplicity with complexity. The lyrical concept is simple: a linear, hyperbolic statement of continually increasing devotion. It’s a sentiment as old as time, reportedly echoing a French poem from the turn of the century, but Upton’s delivery makes it sound newly minted.
Against this simple message, the musical backing is dense and dynamic. Dick Lopes’s saxophone lines cut through the mix, often shadowing the lead vocal before taking short, brassy solo breaks that inject a sophisticated soul sensibility. Meanwhile, the rhythm guitar is largely a background texture, maintaining a steady, clean strum that holds the groove taut without ever calling attention to itself, a signature element of great pop production where every instrument serves the song.
“It is a pop song that wears the heart of a soul band and the tuxedo of a big-band crooner.”
Imagine a late-sixties wedding dance floor: the lights are low, the couples are moving close, and suddenly, the opening notes of this track fill the room. The transition from the slow dance to the joyous, slightly uptempo swing of “More Today Than Yesterday” is a micro-story in itself. It is the moment the shy couple finally locks eyes across the room; the sudden, electric realization that this feeling is permanent. This visceral connection to life’s big, celebratory moments is why sheet music versions of this song have graced countless musicians’ stands over the decades, becoming a standard for celebratory occasions. The sonic sparkle ensures it sounds just as crisp and celebratory when played back through modern home audio setups, defying the lo-fi tendencies of some of its contemporaries.
It’s a study in restraint. The band could have easily drifted into the indulgent, jam-band tendencies that were common in 1969, but they keep the focus laser-sharp. The arrangement is tight, economical, and focused entirely on maximum emotional impact—a masterclass in delivering a wallop of feeling in under three minutes.
A Legacy Beyond the Charts
Spiral Starecase never replicated the success of “More Today Than Yesterday.” They became, almost by definition, a one-hit-wonder, releasing a follow-up single that performed only moderately well before the group dissolved in the early 1970s. But to dismiss them based on longevity is to miss the point. A perfect single is sometimes a greater artistic achievement than a long, uneven career.
This single piece of music has enjoyed a vigorous afterlife in film, television, and commercials, its intrinsic feeling of positivity making it an industry go-to for instant emotional shorthand. It’s a song that simply refuses to fade into the background, a permanent fixture in the soundtrack of optimism. It serves as a gentle reminder that sometimes, the most sophisticated music isn’t the most experimental, but the music that speaks with the most clarity to the universal experience of love—a feeling that, as the song suggests, only continues to grow stronger with the passing of time.
Listening Recommendations
- The Turtles – “Happy Together” (1967): Shares the same buoyant, orchestral pop-rock feel and an uncomplicatedly joyful central message of devotion.
- The Box Tops – “The Letter” (1967): Features a similar tight, soul-infused horn arrangement and a powerful, clear lead vocal against a compact rhythm section.
- The Grass Roots – “Midnight Confessions” (1968): Another outstanding example of late-60s American pop-soul that uses a dynamic brass section to elevate a driving, dramatic love song.
- Blood, Sweat & Tears – “Spinning Wheel” (1969): For those who appreciate the sophisticated integration of rock and jazz-influenced horn charts, though this leans more into the progressive side.
- Stevie Wonder – “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” (1970): Exhibits the same kind of earnest, driving R&B vocal performance and a brilliant, celebratory rhythm arrangement.