3 Chord Club: 1957 One Hit Wonders
This week at the 3 Chord Club we’ll learn three smash hits from our favorite musical category, One Hit Wonders! We go back over 50 years for three big songs from 1957, including one of my all-time favorites, The Bobbettes’ Mr. Lee.
Each Friday we choose three songs from a specific artist, label or genre of music that we’ll learn by ear. All the songs will contain three chords or less (with the exception of Bonus Chord songs)! You’ll find links to the lyrics but not the chords. That’s where your ears come in. Since you know the song has only one to three chords, try to figure out the changes, or chord progression by ear while watching the YouTube video. Here’s a hint, most of the time the chords will be the I-IV & V or V7 chords. In the Key of C, that’s C-F-G or G7. Remember, the sound examples may be in various keys. As an added bonus, try to figure out the key of the recording. If you can’t figure out the original key of a song or songs refer to the Extra Credit Hints at the bottom of the post.
Mr. Lee-The Bobbettes (lyrics)
(Hint: Intro I-IV-V7)
Little Bitty Pretty One-Thurston Harris (lyrics)
(Hint: Verse I-V-I)
Marianne: Terry Gilkyson & The Easy Riders (lyrics)
(Hint: Chorus I-V7-I)
Extra Credit Hints:
Mr. Lee: Key C (Chords C-(C7)-F-G7)
Little Bitty Pretty One: Key G# (Chords: G#-D#)
Marianne: Key F (Chords F-Bb-C7)
Songs presented are for educational purposes only and used under the fair use doctrine of United States copyright law.
