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Rock Ballad Progressions I-iii-IV-V

MoneyChords

Lessons

Rock Ballad Progressions
(I-iii-IV-V)

"The root notes of the last three chords in the “C-Em-F-G” rock ballad progression form a “3-4-5” ascending diatonic bass line. The use of the mediant (“Em”) in the rock ballad progression was a welcome change from the over-used “C-Am-F-G” doo-wop progression that was popular at the time. Paul McCartney commenting on the Beatles’ use of the mediant (“IIIm”) chord said, “It was a bit of a formula. We knew if you went from “E” (“I”) to “G#m” (“IIIm”) you could always make a song with those chords…that change pretty much always excited you.” Listen to the chorus of their 1964 hit I Feel Fine. A more recent example of this type of bass line is the main verse progression to Rod Stewart’s 1989 Have I Told You Lately shown below.

C / Em7 /

F / G11 /

The box below shows other examples of this type of ascending bass line.

C	Em	F	G	-	True Love Ways verse (Buddy Holly – 1959), A Summer Song verse (Chad & Jeremy - 1964), Fun, Fun, Fun chorus (Beach Boys - 1964), Mister Lonely verse (Bobby Vinton - 1964), A Lover’s Concerto verse (Toys – 1965), I Go To Pieces verse (Peter & Gordon – 1965), You Baby verse (Turtles - 1966), Georgy Girl verse (Seekers - 1967), Different Drum verse (Stone Poneys - 1967), Hurdy Gurdy Man verse (Donovan - 1968), Woman, Woman verse (Union Gap - 1968), Jean (Oliver - 1969), I Started A Joke verse (Bee Gees - 1969), Sooner Or Later chorus (Grass Roots - 1971), Crocodile Rock verse (Elton John – 1972), Ziggie Stardust verse (David Bowie - 1972), Nice To Be With You verse (Gallery - 1972), Bright Side Of The Road verse (Van Morrison – 1979), Every Time You Go Away verse (Paul Young - 1980), and Heaven verse (Warrant - 1989)
C	Em/B	F	G	-	Take My Breath Away chorus (Berlin – 1986)
C	Em/B	Dm/A	G11	-	Midnight Train To Georgia verse (Gladys Knight & The Pips – 1973)
C	Em	F	G7-G7b9	-	Live And Let Die verse (Wings - 1973)
C	Em	F	Dm7-G7	C	I Knew You When chorus (Billy Joe Royal – 1965)
C	Em	F	G7sus	-	I Can Love You Like That verse (All-For-One - 1995)
C	Em	F	G11	-	You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice verse (Lovin’ Spoonful - 1966) and Key Largo chorus (Bertie Higgins – 1982)
C	Em	Fmaj7	G	-	Weekend In New England verse (Barry Manilow - 1976)
C	Em	Fm	G7	-	I Don’t Want To See You Again verse (Peter & Gordon – 1964)
C-Cmaj9	Em	F	G	Am-G-F	Time Passages verse (Al Stewart – 1978)
C	Em7	F	G	F	Changes verse (David Bowie – 1971)
C	Em7	F	G/B	-	Love Of A Lifetime chorus (Firehouse - 1991)
C	Em7	F	G11	-	The Right Time Of The Night chorus (Jennifer Warnes - 1977)

If you insert the “Am7” chord between the “C” and “Em7” chords in a rock ballad progression you create the “C-Am7-Em7-F-G” chorus progression to All-4-One’s 1994 hit I Swear." (Excerpt from Chord Progressions For Songwriters © 2003 by Richard J. Scott).

If you want to learn more about chord progressions containing the mediant chord, take a look at the following lesson:

The iii-chord - Mediant (Olav Torvund)

Chord Stream - I-ii-iii Progression (Olav Torvund)

Chord Stream - I-ii-iii-IV Progression (Olav Torvund)