Cruisin' by Smokey Robinson

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 5 · Sections: 13

Form: Intro → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Transition → Solo → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus ×2

Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). This page shows that transcription 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

• E
  I

Verse 1

• E – F♯m7 (×6)
  I – ii7

Pre-Chorus 1

• E – F♯m7 (×2)
  I – ii7

Chorus 1

• E – A – D – B7 (×2)
  I – IV – bVII – V7
• E
  I

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Pre-Chorus 2

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition

• E
  I

Solo

• E – F♯m7 (×4)
  I – ii7

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Pre-Chorus 3

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• D (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0307, CC0), via ChoCo.
• Not verified: only one expert transcription of this song is available so far.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.