I-vi-IV-V Chord Progression*

Here are a list of songs that use the familiar "1-5-6-4" or "doo-wop" chord progression:

"Stand by Me" by Ben E. King
"World" by The Bee Gees
"I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton
"Telephone Line" by Electric Light Orchestra
"Every Breath You Take" by The Police
"Theme from Beverly Hills, 90210" by John E. Davis
"Just Like a Pill" by Pink

And the list goes on and on. . .

~Ben

 

That would be a chord progression like "G - Em - C - D" I presume ...

--Geoff

 

Yes, it would. But there can be variations, though.

~Ben

 

you mean I-vi-IV-V

 

What you wrote is something like this C G am F (in the key of C)

 

I don't mind that classic doowop sequence that much but my least favourite chord sequence ever (and one that is hideously overused even now) would be for instance : G, D, Em, C..... i'm a songwriter but I would never base a song around that hackneyed sequence...

 

Thats the one I loathe! :-0

 

Ben, I'm sorry, but all the songs you've listed have a 1-minor 6-4-5-1 sequence, at least for the chorus. "Telephone Line" is a bit trickier, as Jeff Lynne throws in his patented diminished 6th to heighten the pathos at the end of that song's chorus.

Most of those you've listed are in the key of A, though. Isn't "Every breath You Take" in G sharp (aka the Lionel Richie key)?

 

These songs mostly use variants of the I vi IV V chord progression. The Doo Wop artists I've performed with sometimes refer to that progression as "ice cream changes".


The I V vi IV chord progression, although containing the same chords, has a very different feel because it doesn't resolve using the guidelines of common practice period classical music. It is currently extremely popular.

Songs that use the I V vi IV chord progression include:

"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey

"Let it Go" - from Frozen

"Someone Like You" - Adele

"Demons" - Imagine Dragons

"Take on Me" - A-ha

and the list goes on and on...

 

Yes, somewhere between G# & A, but live it is usually done in A. If you watch Sting's Behind the Music episode, you can hear a live rendition of EBYT and that is clearly heard in a clear A.

~Ben

 

I've a suspicion that they recorded Every Breath in A then slowed the tape down before adding vocals.
Exhibit A. They always did it in A live.
B. Sting always complained about Stewart playing too fast.

 

Just to see if I'm understanding this, would "Let It Be" be one?

 

Let It Be actually *is* an example of "1-5-6-4" (I V vi IV) so you're right there. See tlmusic's post above as well for others.

As pointed out already by a number of folks, the examples provided in the OP are not.

 

nothing for us in Belfast...
I always flirt with death, I look ill but I don't care about it....

 

First one that comes to mind is "When I Come Around" by Green Day.

 

It's the Little Things by Sonny and Cher has the chord progression throughout. From 1967, it was a few years after the progressions; heyday in the early '60s. I've always been a fan of these chords ...

 

The literal 1-5-6-4 chord progression (more properly, I V vi IV) can be heard in the chorus of Lust for Love by Images in Vogue:

 

it's not G#, it's Ab. there's no such key as G# major. and as others have replied, the song is played in A, the recording is slowed down

 

Well actually, there is a key of G# major.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-sharp_major

 

About that convention, what does it mean when the Roman numeral is written in lower case as opposed to upper case?

 

minor - MAJOR

 

This thread has so much potential to get real confusing real fast.

 

Thanks!

 

As the song from Grease calls it, "Those Magic Changes" ("C-C-C-C-C-C- A-A-A-A-minor F-F-F-F-F-F-G-G-G-G-seventh"). Good thing you can't copyright a chord progression.