Celebration by Kool & the Gang

Overview

Key: A♭ major · Chords used: 12 · Sections: 37

Form: Intro → B Section → B Section ×3 → A Section → A Section ×3 → C Section → B Section → A Section → C Section → B Section ×4 → A Section ×4 → B Section → Vamp → B Section → Vamp → B Section → Vamp → B Section → Vamp → B Section → Vamp → B Section → Vamp → B Section → Vamp → B Section → Vamp

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart as-is: the analysis below is generated directly from it by code, not written by AI. Consecutive repeats of a chord are shown once, and the piano voicings are our playable arrangement of each chord symbol, not a note-for-note transcription.

Section by section

Intro

• A♭5
  I5

B Section 1

• D♭/F – G♭ – D♭/F – G♭ – D♭/F – A♭ (×2)
  IV⁶ – bVII – IV⁶ – bVII – IV⁶ – I

B Section 2

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 3

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 4

Same chords as B Section 1.

A Section 1

• G♭/A♭ – D♭/A♭ – A♭ (×2)
  bVII (bass A♭) – IV⁶₄ – I

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 4

Same chords as A Section 1.

C Section 1

• D♭maj13 – Cm7 – F7sus4 – F – B♭m7
  IVmaj13 – iii7 – VI7sus4 – VI – ii7

B Section 5

Same chords as B Section 1.

A Section 5

Same chords as A Section 1.

C Section 2

• D♭maj13 – Cm7 – F7sus4 – F – B♭m7 – E♭7sus4
  IVmaj13 – iii7 – VI7sus4 – VI – ii7 – V7sus4

B Section 6

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 7

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 8

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 9

Same chords as B Section 1.

A Section 6

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 7

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 8

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 9

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 10

• D♭/F – G♭ (×2)
  IV⁶ – bVII
• D♭/F – A♭ – D♭/F – G♭ – D♭/F
  IV⁶ – I – IV⁶ – bVII – IV⁶

Vamp 1

• G♭ – D♭/F – A♭
  bVII – IV⁶ – I

B Section 11

Same chords as B Section 10.

Vamp 2

Same chords as Vamp 1.

B Section 12

Same chords as B Section 10.

Vamp 3

Same chords as Vamp 1.

B Section 13

Same chords as B Section 10.

Vamp 4

Same chords as Vamp 1.

B Section 14

Same chords as B Section 10.

Vamp 5

Same chords as Vamp 1.

B Section 15

Same chords as B Section 10.

Vamp 6

Same chords as Vamp 1.

B Section 16

Same chords as B Section 10.

Vamp 7

Same chords as Vamp 1.

B Section 17

Same chords as B Section 10.

Vamp 8

Same chords as Vamp 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
A♭5	I5	Home chord (tonic)	Intro
D♭/F	IV⁶	In the key	B Section, Vamp
G♭	bVII	Borrowed from A♭ minor	B Section, Vamp
A♭	I	Home chord (tonic)	B Section, A Section, Vamp
G♭/A♭	bVII (bass A♭)	Borrowed from A♭ minor	A Section
D♭/A♭	IV⁶₄	In the key	A Section
D♭maj13	IVmaj13	In the key	C Section
Cm7	iii7	In the key	C Section
F7sus4	VI7sus4	In the key	C Section
F	VI	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	C Section
B♭m7	ii7	In the key	C Section
E♭7sus4	V7sus4	In the key	C Section

Harmonic highlights

• G♭ (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, A♭ minor.
• G♭/A♭ (bVII (bass A♭)) is borrowed from the parallel key, A♭ minor.
• F acts as V/ii: it resolves to B♭m7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Celebration” (credited “Kool And The Gang”, style Disco Funk) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts.
• Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Celebration” (credited “Kool And The Gang”, style Pop) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 71%).
• Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
• The chart's D.S./D.C./coda jumps have been written out in playing order.
• About the song: Wikipedia.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.