Coming up with a decent chord progression is a difficult task for some songwriters. Some take the easy way out and just use tired, clichéd progression that we've heard a thousand times before (I'm looking at you, every artist in this Wikipedia article I found), while others make the odd decision to do away with progressions entirely, playing one chord and nothing else. Here are six great songs written with just one chord.
1. Aretha Franklin - "Chain of Fools" (1967)
The opening hook to Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" is so iconic and genius that you don't even notice the absence of chord changes through the song. Though there are some great bass lines and guitar riffs complementing the melody, the whole song is based around a single C minor 7 chord.
2. Yo La Tengo - "Ohm" (2013)
Yo La Tengo is famous for its extended noise rock jams, and the band opened its most recent album Fade with one of its best jams ever, the seven-minute "Ohm," played in the unusual DADF#AD tuning with completely open strings. Though a seven-minute song with one chord might sound boring (it's definitely hypnotic), the gorgeous melody and noise soloing keep it from going stale.
3. Harry Nilsson - "Coconut" (1971)
Harry Nilsson prized simplicity in his songwriting, and his 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson takes this simplicity to an extreme. The seven-minute "Jump Into the Fire" (covered excellently by LCD Soundsystem) contains just two chords, and his hit "Coconut" is even simpler, featuring a single arpeggiated C7 chord for four minutes.
4. Bonnie ‘Prince' Billy - "Madeleine-Mary" (1999)
Will Oldham is known for his dark, raw interpretation of Americana, which includes experimenting with songwriting techniques. His early Palace Brothers song "(I Was Drunk At the) Pulpit" is a stark country tune played on just D major, but his most accessible single-chord song is "Madeleine-Mary" from I See A Darkness, an eerie song in A minor with a surprisingly infectious melody.
5. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Run Through the Jungle" (1970)
While researching songs for this list, seeing "Run Through the Jungle" mentioned took me totally by surprise. Though the song has the typically bouncy CCR bassline and twangy guitar riffs, the entire song is basically D major. This wasn't the first time CCR did this, either: the eight-minute Bayou Country jam "Keep On Chooglin'" is also based around D and nothing else.
6. The Beatles - "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966)
The fundamental difference between Paul McCartney and John Lennon's songwriting was an interest in experimentation. McCartney was prone to writing relatively traditional but melodically rich songs like "Here, There, and Everywhere," while Lennon was fine with just playing a C major, singing a simple melody, and going wild with bizarre studio effects. Revolver's closing track "Tomorrow Never Knows" is just that, a three-minute raga-inspired psychedelic masterpiece.
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