'50s progression

The '50s progression is a chord progression and turnaround used in Western popular music. The progression, represented in Roman numeral analysis, is: I–vi–IV–V. For example, in C major: C–Am–F–G. As the name implies, it was common in the 1950s and early 1960s and is particularly associated with doo-wop.

A 50s progression in C

It has also been called the "Heart and Soul" chords, the "Stand by Me" changes,[1][2] the doo-wop progression[3]:204 and the "ice cream changes".[4] The first song to use the sequence extensively might have been "Blue Moon", written in 1933 by Richard Rodgers, and first released, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, in 1934.

Theory

In Western classical music during the common practice period, chord progressions are used to structure a musical composition. The destination of a chord progression is known as a cadence, or two chords that signify the end or prolongation of a musical phrase. The most conclusive and resolving cadences return to the tonic or I chord; following the circle of fifths, the most suitable chord to precede the I chord is a V chord. This particular cadence, V–I, is known as an authentic cadence. However, since a I–V–I progression is repetitive and skips most of the circle of fifths, it is common practice to precede the dominant chord with a suitable predominant chord, such as a IV chord or a ii chord (in major), in order to maintain interest. In this case, the 50s progression uses a IV chord, resulting in the ubiquitous I–IV–V–I progression. The vi chord before the IV chord in this progression (creating I–vi–IV–V–I) is used as a means to prolong the tonic chord, as the vi or submediant chord is commonly used as a substitute for the tonic chord, and to ease the voice leading of the bass line: in a I–vi–IV–V–I progression (without any chordal inversions) the bass voice descends in major or minor thirds from the I chord to the vi chord to the IV chord.

Variations

As with any other chord progression, there are many possible variations, for example turning the dominant or V into a V7, or repeated I–vi progression followed by a single IV–V progression. A very common variation is having ii substitute for the subdominant, IV, creating the progression I–vi–ii–V (a variant of the circle progression) and thus the ii–V–I turnaround.

Variations include switching the vi and the IV chord to create I–IV–vi–V, as is used in "More Than a Feeling" by Boston[5] and "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals. This is also similar to the I–V–vi–IV progression.

The harmonic rhythm, or the pace at which the chords occur, may be varied including two beats (half-measure) per chord (Play ), four (Play ) (full measure or bar), eight (Play ) (two measures), and eight beats per chord except for IV and V(7) which get four each (Play ).[3]:206

"Sleep Walk" by Santo & Johnny uses a similar progression, with the IV replaced by its parallel minor iv for an overall progression of I–vi–iv–V.

This is a partial list of recorded songs containing the '50s progression. The list does not include songs containing the progression for very short, irrelevant sections of the songs, nor does it include remade recordings of songs by other artists.

Song NameArtistYearProgression
"A Teenager in Love"Dion and the Belmonts; Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman (writers)1959I–vi–IV–V
"Angel Baby"Rosie and the Originals1960I–vi–IV–V
"All I Have to Do Is Dream"Everly Brothers1958I–vi–IV–V
"Baby"Justin Bieber2010I–vi–IV–V
"Baby Doll"The Buttertones2016I–vi–IV–V
"Bad Girl"The Detroit Cobras1996I–vi–IV–V
"Baby, I'm an Anarchist!"Against Me!2002I–vi–IV–V
"Beautiful Girls"Sean Kingston2007I–vi–IV–V
"Beyond the Sea"[6]Jack Lawrence and Charles Trenet1946I–vi–IV–V
"Bleeding Love"Leona Lewis2007I–vi–IV–V
"Blue Moon"The Marcels1961I–vi–IV–V
"Brave as a Noun"Andrew Jackson Jihad2007I–vi–IV–V
"Bristol Stomp"The Dovells1961I–vi–IV–V
"Brokenhearted"Karmin2012I–vi–IV–V
"Burberry Headband"Lil Mosey2018I–vi–IV–V
"Capital Radio"The Clash1977I–vi–IV–V
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)Darlene Love1963I–vi–IV–V
"Chain Gang"[7]Sam Cooke1960I–vi–IV–V
"Close Your Eyes"Meghan Trainor2014I–vi–IV–V
"Coney Island Baby"The Excellents1962I–vi–IV–V
"Cradle RockThe Heartbreakers (Ray Collins/ Frank Zappa)1963I–vi–IV–V
"Crocodile Rock"[8]Elton John1972I–vi–IV–V
"Da Doo", "Dentist"Little Shop of Horrors (musical) Original Broadway Cast1982I–vi–IV–V
"Dance with Me Tonight"Olly Murs2011I–vi–IV–V
"Dear Future Husband"Meghan Trainor2015I–vi–IV–V
"Donna"[9]Ritchie Valens1958I–vi–IV–V
"Don't Dream It's Over"[10]Crowded House1986IV–V–I–vi
"Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)"The Swingin' Medallions1966I–vi–IV–V
"Duke of Earl"[11]Gene Chandler1962I–vi–IV–V
"Dura"Daddy Yankee2018I–vi–IV–V
"D'yer Mak'er"Led Zeppelin1973I–vi–IV–V
"Earth Angel"[9][12]The Penguins1954I–vi–IV–V
"Enola Gay"Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark1980I–vi–IV–V
"Epiphany"BTS2018I–vi–IV–V
"Eternal Flame"[13]The Bangles/Atomic Kitten1989/2001I–vi–IV–V
"Every Breath You Take"The Police1983I–vi–IV–V
"Eyes of Blue"[14]Paul Carrack1995I–vi–IV–V
"Eyes on Me"Faye Wong1999I–vi–IV–V
"Flightless Bird, American Mouth"Iron & Wine2007I–vi–IV–V
"For Your Precious Love"[15]Jerry Butler1958I–vi–IV–V
"Friday"[16]Rebecca Black2011I–vi–IV–V
"Give a Little Love"[17]Bay City Rollers1975I–vi–IV–V
"Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder"Mothers Of Invention1966I–vi–IV–V
"Girl on Fire"Alicia Keys2011I–vi–IV–V
"God Is in the Rhythm"King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard2015I–vi–IV–V
"Happiness Is a Warm Gun"[11][18]The Beatles1968I–vi–IV–V
"Heart and Soul"[19]Larry Clinton feat. Bea Wain1938I–vi–IV–V
"I'll Make Love to You"Boyz II Men1994I–vi–IV–V
"I'm Not Edward Cullen"Hank Green2009I–vi–IV–V
"I'm the One"DJ Khaled2017I–vi–IV–V
"I Always Knew"The Vaccines2012I–vi–IV–V
"I Love You Too Much"The Book of Life (soundtrack)2014I–vi–IV–V
"In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"[20]Neutral Milk Hotel1998I–vi–IV–V
"In The Shape Of A Heart"Jackson Browne1986I–vi–IV–V
"In the Still Of the Night"The Five Satins1956I–vi–IV–V
"I Wanna Be With You"The Raspberries1974I–vi–IV–V
"I Will Always Love You"Dolly Parton / Whitney Houston1974 / 1992I–vi–IV–V
"Jesus of Suburbia"[21][22]Green Day2005I–vi–IV–V
"Joey"Concrete Blonde1990I–vi–IV–V
"Just One Look"Doris Troy1963I–vi–IV–V
"Just like a Pill"[23]Pink2002I–vi–IV–V
"Just the Way You Are (song)"Bruno Mars2010I–vi–IV–V
"Kimberly"Patti Smith1975I–vi–IV–V
"Last Kiss"[24]Wayne Cochran1961I–vi–IV–V
"Looking for an Echo"Kenny Vance / Ol' 551975/1976I–vi–IV–V
"Lollipop"[25]Ronald & Ruby1958I–vi–IV–V
"Lonely This Christmas"[26]Mud1974I–vi–IV–V
"Lovable"[27][28]Sam Cooke1956I–vi–IV–V
"Making Love Out Of Nothing At All"Air Supply1982I–vi–IV–V
"Mama I'm A Big Girl Now"Hairspray (musical) Original Broadway Cast2002I–vi–IV–V
"Mandy"Barry Manilow1974I–vi–IV–V
"Marathon"Tennis2011I–vi–IV–V
"Marvin Gaye"Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor2015I–vi–IV–V
"Me!"Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie2019I–vi–IV–V
"Messin' Around"Pitbull2016I–vi–IV–V
"Don't Dream It, Be It"The Rocky Horror Picture Show1975I–vi–IV–V
"Hangin' Out with Jim"GG Allin1988I–vi–IV–V
"Million Reasons"Lady Gaga2016I–vi–IV–V
"Monster Mash"Bobby Pickett1962I–vi–IV–V
"No Hay Pedo"Banda Los Recoditos2014I–vi–IV–V
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"Starship1987I–vi–IV–V
"Octopus's Garden"The Beatles1969I–vi–IV–V
"Oh True Love"Everly Brothers1960I–vi–IV–V
"Bobby Brown"Frank Zappa1979I–vi–IV–V
"Hang Fire"The Rolling Stones1981I–vi–IV–V
"Saturday Night"The Misfits1999I–vi–IV–V
"Oliver's Army"[29]Elvis Costello1979I–vi–IV–V
"Perfect"[30]Ed Sheeran2017I–vi–IV–V
"Please Mr. Postman"The Marvelettes1961I–vi–IV–V
"Pretty Little Angel Eyes"Curtis Lee1961I–vi–IV–V
"Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache" Warren Smith1957I–vi–IV–V
"Rinky Dink"Dave "Baby" Cortez/ Booker T & the MGs1962I–vi–IV–V
"Runaround Sue"Dion1961I–vi–IV–V
"Stand by Me"[31][32]Ben E. King1961I–vi–IV–V
"Telephone Line"Electric Light Orchestra1976I–vi–IV–V
"Tell Me Why"The Beatles1964I–vi–IV–V
"The Man Comes Around"Johnny Cash2002I–vi–IV–V
"The Thin Ice"Pink Floyd1979I–vi–IV–V
"This Boy"The Beatles1963I–vi–IV–V
"This is Me"Keala Settle2018I–vi–IV–V
"This Magic Moment"[33]The Drifters1960I–vi–IV–V
"Those Magic Changes"[34]Sha Na Na1978I–vi–IV–V
"(Tired Of) Toein' The Line"Rocky Burnette1980I–vi–IV–V
"Total Eclipse of the Heart"Bonnie Tyler1983I–vi–IV–V
"Twistin' the Night Away"Sam Cooke1962
"Mr. Bass Man"Johnny Cymbal1961I–vi–IV–V
"True Blue"[35]Madonna1986I–vi–IV–V
"Unchained Melody"Righteous Brothers1955I–vi–iv–V
"We Almost Had A Baby"Emmy the Great2009I–vi–IV–V
"We Are Young"Fun ft. Janelle Monáe2011I–vi–IV–V
"We Go Together"[36]John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John1972I–vi–IV–V
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone"Pete Seeger1955I–vi–IV–V
"Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)"Barry Mann1961I–vi–IV–V
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love"Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers1956I–vi–IV–V
"You Don't Own Me"[37]Lesley Gore1963I–vi–IV–V
"Your Reality"[38]Dan Salvato2017I–vi–IV–V

Examples in classical music

Instances of the I–vi–IV–V progression date back to the 17th century, for example, the ostinato bass line of Dieterich Buxtehude's setting of Psalm 42, Quem admodum desiderat cervus, BuxWV 92:

Buxtehude, Psalm 42 "Quem ad modum desiderat cervis"

The opening of J. S. Bach's Cantata "Wachet Auf":

J. S. Bach Cantata BWV140, orchestral introduction to the opening chorus

The progression is found frequently in works by Mozart, such as his A minor Piano Sonata:

Mozart, from first movement of Piano Sonata in A minor K310

The opening of his Piano Concerto 22, K482 extends the progression in a particularly subtle way, making use of suspensions:

Mozart Piano Concerto K482, opening bars

Eric Blom (1935, p. 227) hears this passage as "the height of cunning contrivance resulting in what is apparently quite simple and obvious, but what could have occurred to nobody else."[39]

See also

Sources
  1. Moore, Allan (May 1995). "The So-Called 'Flattened Seventh' in Rock". Popular Music. Cambridge University Press. 14 (2): 185–201. doi:10.1017/s0261143000007431. ISSN 0261-1430.
  2. Cole, Clay (2009). Sh-Boom!: The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll (1953–1968). Garden City, NY: Morgan James. p. 56. ISBN 1-60037-638-X.
  3. Scott, Richard (2003). Chord Progressions for Songwriters. New York: Writers Club Press. ISBN 0-595-26384-4.
  4. Austin, D.; Peterik, J.; Lynn, C. (2010). Songwriting For Dummies. Wiley. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-470-89041-7. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  5. Bennett, Dan (2008). The Total Rock Bassist. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 0-7390-5269-1.
  6. "Beyond the Sea", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  7. "Chain Gang", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  8. "Crocodile Rock", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  9. Hirsh, Marc. "Striking a Chord", The Boston Globe, December 31, 2008.
  10. "Don't Dream It's Over", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  11. Scott (2003), p. 206.
  12. Harwood, Dane (September 1982). "Review: [untitled]". Ethnomusicology. University of Illinois Press on behalf of Society for Ethnomusicology. 26 (3): 491–493. doi:10.2307/850712. ISSN 0014-1836. JSTOR 850712.
  13. "Eternal Flame", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  14. "Eyes Of Blue chords & lyrics - Paul Carrack". Jellynote. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  15. "For Your Precious Love", MusicNotes.com.
  16. Lewis, Randy (March 31, 2011). "Rebecca Black's 'Friday': There are a million good reasons you can't get it out of your head". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  17. "Give a Little Love", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  18. Riley, Tim (2002). Tell Me Why: The Beatles: Album by Album, Song by Song, the Sixties and After. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 269. ISBN 0-306-81120-0.
  19. "Heart and Soul", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  20. "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Rebuttal". University of California. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  21. "Acoustic Lesson 11B: Basic Chord Progressions". GuitarLessonInsider.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  22. "Jesus of Suburbia", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  23. "Last Kiss", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  24. "Just Like a Pill", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  25. "Lollipop", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  26. "Lonely This Christmas Chords", E-Chords.com
  27. Guralnick, Peter (2005). Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke. New York: Little, Brown. p. 157. ISBN 0-316-37794-5.
  28. "Lovable", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  29. "Oliver's Army", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  30. Robert Joffred (24 November 2017). "Weekly Billboard Theory — Perfect". Medium. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  31. Moore, Allan (May 1995). "The So-Called 'Flattened Seventh' in Rock". Popular Music. Cambridge University Press. 14 (2): 185–201. doi:10.1017/s0261143000007431. ISSN 0261-1430.
  32. "Stand by Me", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  33. "This Magic Moment", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  34. "Those Magic Changes", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  35. "True Blue", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  36. "We Go Together", MusicNotes.com. (subscription required)
  37. "YOU Don't OWN ME Chords - Lesley gore | E-Chords".
  38. "Misc Computer Games - Doki Doki Literature Club - Your Reality (Chords)".
  39. Blom, E. (1935, p.227) Mozart. London, Dent.
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