| 1 | A {{chord progression}} and SubTrope of TheFourChordsOfPop, very commonly used in {{Doowop}}, hence the name, consisting of the following: I-vi-IV-V. If that didn't make sense to you, try playing the following chords: C major, A minor, F major, G major. Repeat. |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Also known as the "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50s_progression 50s progression]]". Possibly most famously occurring in the songs "Heart and Soul"--which starred for years on the TV commercials of Quaker Oats--and "Stand by Me". In fact, the progression is also called either the "'Heart and Soul' chords" or the "'Stand by Me' changes" because of its famous use in these songs. The 1934 hit "Blue Moon" may well be the TropeMaker and probably inspired a lot of the examples listed below (which makes composer [[Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein Richard Rodgers]] sort of an unexpected secret Father of RockAndRoll). |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Closely related to the HumoresqueProgression, which instead has I at the end. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ---- |
| 8 | !!Examples: |
| 9 | |
| 10 | * Music/AceOfBase - "The Sign" |
| 11 | * Music/AirSupply - "Making Love out of Nothing at All" |
| 12 | * Music/{{AJJ}} - “Brave as a Noun” |
| 13 | * Music/AlanJackson - "Remember When" |
| 14 | * Albert Hammond (CoveredUp by Rockell) - "When I'm Gone (verses) |
| 15 | * Alice Deejay - "Back in My Life" |
| 16 | * Music/AliciaKeys - "Girl On Fire" |
| 17 | * Amber - "[[https://youtu.be/inW6Ab-RsBY Above The Clouds]]" (chorus) |
| 18 | * Anders Lundqvist - "Stratosphere" (second phrase of C-section), "Unknown Destination"(B-section, substitutes VII♭ for IV) |
| 19 | * Music/AuraQualic (DJ Lizz) - "Moon Light, Stars in Heaven" |
| 20 | * Music/BarryManilow - "Mandy" |
| 21 | * Barry Mann - "Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" |
| 22 | * Barry [=McGuire=] - "Eve of Destruction" |
| 23 | * Bay City Rollers - "Saturday Night" |
| 24 | * Music/TheBeachBoys: "Surfer Girl" (although Brian Wilson extends it to I-vi-IV-V-'''iii-I-IV-iv'''), the intro to "In My Room". |
| 25 | * Music/{{The Beatles}} - "Octopus's Garden", "Oh! Darling" (from ''Music/AbbeyRoad''), "I'm So Tired", the final section of "Happiness is a Warm Gun" (from ''Music/TheWhiteAlbum''), "I've Just Seen a Face" (from ''Music/{{Help}}''), "This Boy" (from ''Music/PastMasters''), "Free as a Bird" (from ''Music/TheBeatlesAnthology'') |
| 26 | * Music/{{BeForU}} - "[[https://youtu.be/ZnCzOCuZXj8 Graduation]]" from ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution Extreme''(intro) |
| 27 | * Ben E. King - "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbg7YoXiKn0 Stand By Me]]" |
| 28 | * Music/JustinBieber - "Baby" |
| 29 | * Music/BillyCurrington - "Love Done Gone" |
| 30 | * Music/BillyJoel - "Uptown Girl"— the first four bars of the B section |
| 31 | * BJ Thomas - "As Long As We Got Each Other" from ''Series/GrowingPains'' (chorus) |
| 32 | * Black Eva - "Spirit in the Dark"(first half of synthesizer riff) |
| 33 | * Blue Monster and Bikki - "Motorcycle" |
| 34 | * The chorus to Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover" |
| 35 | * Bobby "Boris" Pickett - "Monster Mash" |
| 36 | * The chorus to Bonnie Tyler's "Music/TotalEclipseOfTheHeart." |
| 37 | * Brand New - "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" |
| 38 | * Brian [=McKnight=] - "Back at One" |
| 39 | * Music/BuddyHolly - "Everyday" |
| 40 | * Music/BurtBacharach - "Magic Moments" (verses) |
| 41 | * ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie'' - "One Boy" (as a recurring tag only; note the GirlGroup-style harmonizing) |
| 42 | * Captain & Tennille - "Do That to Me One More Time" |
| 43 | * Music/CarlyRaeJepsen- "Call Me Maybe" |
| 44 | * The Casinos — "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" |
| 45 | * The Chords - Sh-Boom (was also a hit for The Crew Cuts) |
| 46 | * Charles Trenet - "La Mer" also covered by Music/DjangoReinhardt and CoveredUp in English as "Beyond The Sea" by Bobby Darin |
| 47 | * Christopher Tin - "Baba Yetu" (Civilization IV title music) (chorus) |
| 48 | * Chubby Checker - "Let's Twist Again" |
| 49 | * ''Theatre/CloserThanEver'' - "Miss Byrd" (the A section of each ABAC verse, and under the ad lib. {{scatting}}) |
| 50 | * ''Concrete Blonde'' - "Joey" |
| 51 | * In the ''Pinball/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' pinball machine, the music that plays after the MatchSequence does this, in keeping with the "1950s drive-in theater" theme. |
| 52 | * Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival - "Looking Out My Back Door" |
| 53 | * Music/DavidBowie - "Ashes to Ashes" (from ''Music/ScaryMonstersAndSuperCreeps'') |
| 54 | * Music/DeadKennedys - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgpa7wEAz7I "Kill the Poor"]] (from ''Music/FreshFruitForRottingVegetables'') |
| 55 | * Die Toten Hosen - "Verschwende deine Zeit" |
| 56 | * Dion and the Belmonts - "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c49klxPex-k Runaround Sue]]", "A Teenager in Love" |
| 57 | * Music/DollyParton - "I Will Always Love You" (chorus) |
| 58 | * Drifters - "Up on the Roof", "This Magic Moment" |
| 59 | * Dusty Springfield - "I Only Wanna Be with You" |
| 60 | * ''VideoGame/EarthboundBeginnings'' - "Wisdom of the World" features this progression twice for the first half of the chorus. |
| 61 | * The Edsels - "Rama Lama Ding Dong" |
| 62 | * Music/EdSheeran -- The verse in "Perfect". The chorus also uses the minor version of TheFourChordsOfPop. |
| 63 | * Music/ElectricLightOrchestra - "Don't Walk Away"[[note]]During the "Don't walk away / Don't say goodbye" part.[[/note]] from the movie Film/{{Xanadu|1980}} |
| 64 | * Electric Youth - "Tomorrow", "A Real Hero" |
| 65 | * Music/EltonJohn - "Crocodile Rock" (during the verses and the "la la la la la" part) |
| 66 | * Music/EmilieAutumn - "Find Me a Man" |
| 67 | * Music/{{Erasure}} - "She Won't Be Home" (chorus), "Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me" (chorus) |
| 68 | * Eric Clapton - "I've Got a Rock & Roll Heart" (chorus) |
| 69 | * Series/EureekasCastle has segments in its episodes intended to fill in the time between other segments (with the animated "winding key" segment being the most frequently used one), but there are at least two of them featuring the Fishtones (a group of singing fish statues) that sing brief doo wop like jingles that use this progression. |
| 70 | * Eurhythmics - "Shame" |
| 71 | * Music/TheEverlyBrothers - "Love Hurts" |
| 72 | * Music/FaithHill — "I Can't Do That Anymore" (first half of verses) |
| 73 | * Music/FleetwoodMac - "Sara" (verse) |
| 74 | * Frank Zappa - "Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder" (from ''Music/FreakOutAlbum'' and ''Music/CruisingWithRubenAndTheJets'') |
| 75 | * Music/{{fun}} - "We Are Young" |
| 76 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teYy2UaHI7Y "Gary's Theme" (aka Gadget Room)]] from Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force |
| 77 | * Gene Chandler - "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2gvaDTpKMk Duke of Earl]]" |
| 78 | * Gerard Joling - "Love is in Your Eyes", "Read My Lips", "Together Again" |
| 79 | * Gouryella - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wp7xMwfS3M "Walhalla"]] |
| 80 | * The score of ''Film/{{Grease}}'' is a homage to 1950s rock 'n' roll, so of course this progression turns up in such songs as "Mooning," "We Go Together," "Beauty School Dropout" and "It's Raining On Prom Night." "Those Magic Changes" introduces it with a great big [[LampshadeHanging lampshade attached]]: |
| 81 | -->C-C-C-C-C-C,\ |
| 82 | A-A-A-A-minor,\ |
| 83 | F-F-F-F-F-F,\ |
| 84 | G-G-G-G-seventh... |
| 85 | * Hal Ketchum — "Stay Forever" (first half of verses) |
| 86 | * The chorus to the ''Series/HappyDays'' theme |
| 87 | * The theme to the animated version ''Fonz and the Happy Days Gang'' also does this. |
| 88 | * "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x8trg3Eyto#t=1m15s Heart and Soul]]" |
| 89 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Heathcliff}}'' - Main theme, except for the bridge |
| 90 | * Music/TheHoldSteady - "Don't Let Me Explode" |
| 91 | * Inner Circle (of [[Series/{{Cops}} Bad Boys]] fame) - Sweat (A lalalala Long) |
| 92 | * Iron & Wine - "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" |
| 93 | * J. Frank Wilson - "Last Kiss" |
| 94 | * J.D. Souther - "You're Only Lonely" (chorus) |
| 95 | * Music/JimCroce - "Lover's Cross," "Alabama Rain" |
| 96 | * Music/JohnLennon - "God" (verse) (from ''Music/JohnLennonPlasticOnoBand'') |
| 97 | * Music/KennyChesney — "The Tin Man" (verses) |
| 98 | * La Bouche (CoveredUp by No Mercy) - "Where Do You Go?" (chorus) |
| 99 | * Music/LanaDelRey - "Prom Song (Gone Wrong)" (verses) |
| 100 | * ''Series/LazyTown'' - "Cooking by the Book" |
| 101 | * Music/LedZeppelin - "D'yer Mak'er" (from ''Music/HousesOfTheHoly'') |
| 102 | * The music that plays during the "lucky" sections of the arcade version (but not the NES version) of VideoGame/LegendaryWings does this. |
| 103 | * Music/LemonDemon - "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ka7r9CwXek When He Died]]" |
| 104 | * Music/LeonaLewis - "Bleeding Love" |
| 105 | * "Gardens [=IntMusic=]" from ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' Uses a I-I-IV-V chord progression for its first eight bars, before switching to vi-IV-I-V for eight more bars, followed by an extra, asymmetrical bar with the VI chord, and from then on uses typical I-vi-IV-V progression. |
| 106 | * Limahl - "Never Ending Story" (second half of bridge) |
| 107 | * "Dentist!" from ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'' (first half of chorus) |
| 108 | * Madleen Kane - "Crying My Heart Out" |
| 109 | * Music/{{Madonna}} - "True Blue" |
| 110 | * Part of the Tennis Machine music from the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version of ''Mario Tennis'' |
| 111 | * The Marvelettes - "Please Mr. Postman" |
| 112 | * This happens in the prom song from "Two Guys for Every Girl", an episode of ''WesternAnimation/MaxiesWorld''. |
| 113 | * The [=McGuire=] Sisters - Sincerely |
| 114 | * ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' - "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" |
| 115 | * ''Franchise/TheMuppets'': |
| 116 | ** The ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies'' theme |
| 117 | ** The song "I'm Gonna Always Love You" from the "Muppet Babies" section of ''Film/TheMuppetsTakeManhattan''. |
| 118 | ** Except for the chorus, the song "Good Things Happen in the Dark" from the show itself does this this along with "Rocket to the Stars" (which does it throughout most of the song). |
| 119 | ** The verses of "We're Doing a Sequel" from ''Film/MuppetsMostWanted'' use a variation with a major VI dominant seventh chord. |
| 120 | * Music Instructor - "Dream a Little Dream", "Stay By Me"(both alternate with iii-vi-IV-V) |
| 121 | * The verses of "Disenchanted" by Music/MyChemicalRomance use this progression. |
| 122 | * The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4TedkQP_hM Sea Ponies song]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyRescueAtMidnightCastle'' |
| 123 | * "Nothing Can Stop the Smooze" from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986'' |
| 124 | * Music/NeilSedaka - "Oh! Carol" |
| 125 | * Music/{{NOFX}} - "Murder The Government" |
| 126 | * Music/NeutralMilkHotel - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcgyKo7vbm4 "In The Aeroplane Over the Sea"]] |
| 127 | * Olsen Brothers - "Fly on the Wings of Love" (chorus) |
| 128 | * Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfcHjZ1qJf8 Enola Gay]]" |
| 129 | * Both versions of the theme that plays throughout [[VideoGame/PacMan Pac]] & Pal[[note]]a little known installment in the Pac-Man franchise[[/note]] do this. |
| 130 | * ''VideoGame/PanelDePon'' - Lip's Theme (particularly obvious in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' remix) |
| 131 | * Papa Roach - "Still Swingin'" (chorus) |
| 132 | * Paperboy - "Ditty" |
| 133 | * Paul Anka - "Diana" |
| 134 | * Music/PearlJam - "Last Kiss" |
| 135 | * The Penguins - "Earth Angel" |
| 136 | * Pete Seeger - "If I Had a Hammer" |
| 137 | * P!nk - "Just Like a Pill" |
| 138 | * Music/PinkFloyd - "The Thin Ice" (from ''Music/TheWall'') |
| 139 | * Music/ThePolice - "Every Breath You Take" (from ''Music/{{Synchronicity}}'' (and, by extension, Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You")) |
| 140 | * ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' does this in at least one of the chase scene songs; namely the one with the Iceman. |
| 141 | * Pretenders - "Don't Get Me Wrong" |
| 142 | * Music/{{Queen}} -- "Bohemian Rhapsody". About half the ballad section is in this chord progression. Also, the first verse ends with a variation of TheFourChordsOfPop ending with a vi chord instead of a VI. |
| 143 | * Rachel Platten - "Stand By You" (chorus) |
| 144 | * The Rays -- "Silhouettes," which also incorporates a TruckDriversGearChange. |
| 145 | * Music/RebeccaBlack - "Music/{{Friday}}" |
| 146 | * ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven'' - The music for the "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjEhS_7QjHM Moai Doo-Wop]]" minigame, as well as its sequel. |
| 147 | * Rick Trevino — "Running Out of Reasons to Run" (first half of verses) |
| 148 | * Ricky Nelson - "Poor Little Fool", "Donna" |
| 149 | * Music/{{Ride}} - "Twisterella" |
| 150 | * The Righteous Brothers - "Unchained Melody," an instrumental piece from the fifties featured in the 1990 film Ghost. |
| 151 | * Music/RitchieValens: "Donna". |
| 152 | * Robert Hazard - "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (intro) (later CoveredUp by Cyndi Lauper) |
| 153 | * Rodney Atkins - "In a Heartbeat" (verses) |
| 154 | * The Ronettes - "Be My Baby"(chorus) |
| 155 | * Music/RoyOrbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" and Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" have a variation. First bar is I-vi, second bar is I-vi, third bar is IV, fourth bar is V. |
| 156 | * The Rodgers and Hart standard "Blue Moon", a hit doo-wop cover of which was done by the Marcels in 1961. |
| 157 | * Music/SamCooke - "Wonderful World," "Twistin' The Night Away", "Chain Gang"(verses) |
| 158 | * Santo & Johnny - "Sleep Walk" (a #1 {{Instrumental}} hit from 1959 that was later featured prominently in the Music/RitchieValens biopic ''Film/LaBamba'', which, since Valens' own "Donna" used the progression, qualifies as a musical CallBack). |
| 159 | * Music/SaraBareilles - "Gonna Get Over You," (chorus) "Brave," "I Choose You." She uses this progression frequently. |
| 160 | * Sarah Vaughn - Broken Hearted Melody |
| 161 | * Sean Kingston - "Beautiful Girls" (which samples "Stand By Me"), "Me Love" (which samples "D'yer Mak'er") |
| 162 | * Simple Plan — Untitled (chorus) |
| 163 | * Sin of Sebastian - "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi1nVH2yVwc Shut Up (and Sleep with Me)]]" |
| 164 | * Music/{{Slipknot}} - Psychosocial |
| 165 | * [[Music/SmileDK Smile.dk]] - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keAy8uVjTv8 "Moshi Moshi"]] (chorus; the verse is [[TheFourChordsOfPop vi-IV-I-V]]) |
| 166 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SKcTZNeRnQ Endless Mine]] from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3'' |
| 167 | * Music/BritneySpears - "Lucky" (bridge and chorus) |
| 168 | * Music/SpandauBallet - "True" (chorus) |
| 169 | * Music/SpiceGirls - "Too Much" |
| 170 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmA0xfaNNfs "Specter Circus"]] from Ape Escape |
| 171 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' - "Ripped Pants" |
| 172 | * Starship - "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" |
| 173 | * Technotronic - "Move This" |
| 174 | * The intro and A-section of "[=McLarty=] Party People (Cotton Alley)" from ''VideoGame/SuperMeatBoy''. |
| 175 | * Ted Poley - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyUBuCfg5vA "Escape From the City"]] (verses) from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. |
| 176 | * Thomas Howard Lichtenstein - "Silent Hill", from the '' VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' series |
| 177 | * Music/TimMcGraw and Music/TaylorSwift — "Highway Don't Care" |
| 178 | * Music/TobyKeith — "Big Blue Note" |
| 179 | * Todd Duncan - "Unchained Melody" (later CoveredUp by the Righteous Brothers) |
| 180 | * Music/MeghanTrainor - "Dear Future Husband" |
| 181 | * Marc van Linden - "Another Dimension" |
| 182 | * The main title theme of ''VideoGame/VibRibbon'' does this. |
| 183 | * Music/VillagePeople - "YMCA" |
| 184 | * Volbeat - "Black Rose" ft. Danko Jones |
| 185 | * ''Waratte Iitomo'' (loosely, "It's Okay to Laugh"), a long running Japanese TV variety show does this with its theme song "Uki Uki Watching". |
| 186 | * Music/{{Weezer}} - parts of "Butterfly" and the choruses of both "Why Bother"and “Buddy Holly” |
| 187 | * Music/WeirdAlYankovic - "Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me" (chorus) |
| 188 | * Music/WhitneyHouston - "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" |
| 189 | * Music/TheWho - "I Can't Explain" (bridge) |
| 190 | * The English [[https://youtu.be/kCL3JWkRyCI theme tune]] of ''WesternAnimation/TheWorldOfDavidTheGnome'' uses this for its A-section, while the B-section uses IV-V-I-vi (subdominant variation). |
| 191 | * Music/ZacBrownBand — "As She's Walking Away" (verses) |
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