White Ripple Community Band August 8th, 2016: The Fabulous (Frightened) Fifties

Hi folks, in our last class we took a look at one chord progression and how it was used in three different hits from the 1950s.

Here it is: the I, vim, IV, V  chord progression. In the key of C, which is the key we used in all three songs, the I chord is C. From there we count up six places-- C, D, E, F, G, A. Since it's a sixth up from the root, we know it's going to be a minor chord, so A minor it is. (More music theory stuff you can ask us about in class.) All that's left is F, our IV chord, and G, our V chord.

 

Here you are, the Fifties in four chords:

C, Am, F, G

 

 

These are the three songs we played:

 

Song 1: Earth Angel, by The Penguins. We got lots of practice with 12/8 time on this one.

 

 

 

 

Song 2: Runaround Sue, by Dion

 

 

 

 

Song 3: Why Do Fools Fall in Love, by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. I haven't heard it in ages, and I absolutely love it. Maybe it has something to do with the impossibly high vocals, I don't know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's it! Hope to see some of you fine folks at the Second Saturday jam at the White Ripple Gallery or the Band 101 Ice Cream Social at my house this Wednesday. Have a great week!

 

p.s. One of my favorite songs from the 1950s does not have the above mentioned chord progression, but gosh it sure is pretty.