Kokomo (From the Cocktail Soundtrack) by The Beach Boys

Overview

Key: C major · Chords used: 10 · Sections: 10

Form: Verse → Chorus → Interlude → Verse → Chorus → Interlude → Solo → Verse → Chorus → Outro

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

Verse 1

• C – Cmaj7 – Gm7 – F – Fm – C – D7 – G7 (×2)
  I – Imaj7 – v7 – IV – iv – I – II7 – V7

Chorus 1

• C – F (×2)
  I – IV
• Fm – C – Am – Dm – G
  iv – I – vi – ii – V

Interlude 1

• C
  I

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Interlude 2

Same chords as Interlude 1.

Solo

• C – Cmaj7 – Gm7 – F – Fm – C – D7 – G7
  I – Imaj7 – v7 – IV – iv – I – II7 – V7

Verse 3

• C – Cmaj7 – Gm7 – F – Fm – C – D7 – G7
  I – Imaj7 – v7 – IV – iv – I – II7 – V7

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Outro

• C – F (×2)
  I – IV
• Fm
  iv

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• Gm7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Fm (iv) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• D7 acts as V/V: it resolves to G7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0974, 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.