3 Chords and the Truth
An oft quoted phrase coined by Harlan Howard in the 1950s which he used to describe Country music. " All I got is a red guitar, three chords and the truth." This has been the mantra for countless rock and folk icons.
As Labor Day is upon us and summer indulgences fade into the fall, I must confess a guilty pleasure of mine – I’m hopelessly addicted to making playlists. It started with a reel to reel, next came the mixed tape cassettes, CD mixes and finally all the streaming services like Pandora, Spotify etc. producing thousands of suggested mixes.
The playlists that get my endorphins snapping are the 3 chord rockers sometimes referred to as a 1-4-5 progression. Practically all rock songs are based on the 1-4-5 progression. Think of Wild Thing, Gloria, The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, everything Chuck Berry and Keith Richards.
A fun link for 3 chord is Bob Egan’s "Most Excellent List of 3 chord and 4 chord Songs" https://www.doubleestudios.com/most_excellent_songs/
What are some of your 3 chord favs?