Last Kiss by J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 4 · Sections: 12

Form: Intro → Chorus → Transition → Verse → Transition → Chorus → Transition → Verse → Transition → Chorus → Transition → 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

Intro

• E – C♯m – A – B
  I – vi – IV – V

Chorus 1

• E – C♯m – A – B (×2)
  I – vi – IV – V

Transition 1

• E
  I

Verse 1

• E – C♯m – A – B (×4)
  I – vi – IV – V

Transition 2

Same chords as Transition 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition 3

Same chords as Transition 1.

Verse 2

• E – C♯m – A – B (×5)
  I – vi – IV – V

Transition 4

Same chords as Transition 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Transition 5

Same chords as Transition 1.

Outro

• E – C♯m – A – B (×2)
  I – vi – IV – V

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• The Chorus 1 loops E – C♯m – A – B (I – vi – IV – V), a rotation of the ’50s progression (I–vi–IV–V family).

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0054, 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.