Rikki Don't Lose That Number by Steely Dan

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 20 · Sections: 13

Form: Intro → Verse → A Section → Chorus → B Section → A Section → Chorus → B Section → A Section → Bridge → C Section → Chorus → B Section

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

• E7sus4
  I7sus4
• E – E/B (×2)
  I – I⁶₄
• E9 – E9/B (×3)
  I9 – I9 (bass B)

Verse

• E9 – E9/B
  I9 – I9 (bass B)

A Section 1

• D – A – E (×2)
  bVII – IV – I
• C♯ – B – D – A – E – F♯m – A
  VI – V – bVII – IV – I – ii – IV

Chorus 1

• B7
  V7

B Section 1

• E – G – A – G – D – Cmaj9 – Em – C – D – A
  I – bIII – IV – bIII – bVII – bVImaj9 – i – bVI – bVII – IV
• E – E/B (×3)
  I – I⁶₄
• E
  I

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

B Section 2

Same chords as B Section 1.

A Section 3

• D – A – E – D – A – G – Fmaj7 – Gmaj7 – Fmaj7 – Em – D – A – E
  bVII – IV – I – bVII – IV – bIII – bIImaj7 – bIIImaj7 – bIImaj7 – i – bVII – IV – I

Bridge

• E
  I

C Section

• Amaj7 – G♯m7 – Amaj7 – C♯m – F♯m – A
  IVmaj7 – iii7 – IVmaj7 – vi – ii – IV

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

B Section 3

• E – G – A – G – D – Cmaj9 – Em – C – D – A
  I – bIII – IV – bIII – bVII – bVImaj9 – i – bVI – bVII – IV
• E – E/B (×2)
  I – I⁶₄
• E9 – E9/B (×3)
  I9 – I9 (bass B)
• E9
  I9

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
E7sus4	I7sus4	Borrowed from E minor	Intro
E	I	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section, B Section, Bridge
E/B	I⁶₄	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, B Section
E9	I9	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, Verse, B Section
E9/B	I9 (bass B)	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, Verse, B Section
D	bVII	Borrowed from E minor	A Section, B Section
A	IV	In the key	A Section, B Section, C Section
C♯	VI	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B	V	In the key	A Section
F♯m	ii	In the key	A Section, C Section
B7	V7	In the key	Chorus
G	bIII	Borrowed from E minor	B Section, A Section
Cmaj9	bVImaj9	Borrowed from E minor	B Section
Em	i	Borrowed from E minor	B Section, A Section
C	bVI	Borrowed from E minor	B Section
Fmaj7	bIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Gmaj7	bIIImaj7	Borrowed from E minor	A Section
Amaj7	IVmaj7	In the key	C Section
G♯m7	iii7	In the key	C Section
C♯m	vi	In the key	C Section

Harmonic highlights

• E7sus4 (I7sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• D (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• G (bIII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• Cmaj9 (bVImaj9) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• Em (i) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• C (bVI) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• Gmaj7 (bIIImaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Rikki Don't Lose That Number (Steely Dan)” (credited “Becker-Fagen”, style 116 bpm) 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 “Rikki Don't Lose That Number” (credited “Dan Steely”, style Rock 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 73%).
• 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.
• 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.
• 1 chord was simplified to the closest symbol our player supports (for example, an unusual added tone dropped).
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.