Rock and Roll Never Forgets by Bob Seger

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 8 · Sections: 9

Form: Intro → Verse → Verse → Chorus → Solo → Interlude → Chorus → Solo → 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 – A – Em/G (×2)
  I – IV – i⁶
• E
  I

Verse 1

• F♯7 – E (×2)
  II7 – I
• A – E (×3)
  IV – I
• B7 – F♯7 – F♯ – B – E
  V7 – II7 – II – V – I

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 1

• A – E (×3)
  IV – I
• B7
  V7

Solo 1

• F♯7 – E (×2)
  II7 – I
• A – E (×3)
  IV – I
• B7 – F♯7
  V7 – II7
• F♯ – B – E (×3)
  II – V – I

Interlude

• E – A – Em/G (×2)
  I – IV – i⁶
• E
  I

Chorus 2

• E – A (×2)
  I – IV
• E
  I

Solo 2

• E – A (×6)
  I – IV
• E
  I

Outro

• C
  bVI

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• Em/G (i⁶) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• C (bVI) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• F♯ acts as V/V: it resolves to B.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 1071, 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.