Standards
The Chicken chords & key
“The Chicken” is a jazz standard by Pee-Wee Ellis. Most bands play it in B♭ major, funk; the tune runs 15 bars in A form. In this atlas it appears on 1 album track.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — B♭ major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- B♭7×16
- E♭7×14
- C7×3
- D7×1
- G7×1
History
"The Chicken" or simply "Chicken" is an instrumental funk tune composed by Pee Wee Ellis that was the B-side to James Brown's 1969 single "The Popcorn". The tune gained greater exposure with versions by jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius, who prefaced it with an original introductory piece he composed titled "Soul Intro"; this pairing has since been adopted by many other artists performing the track.
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Recorded on these albums
| 1979 | Comme une symphonie d'amour / Malaisha / Sabelani / African Convention Miriam Makeba · “Chicken (Kikirikiki)” |
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Blue Monk 22% | B♭ major |
| Blue Sphere 22% | B♭ major |
| Bluehawk 22% | B♭ major |
| Bessie's Blues 20% | E♭ major |
| Eighty One 20% | F major |
| Misterioso 20% | B♭ major |
| St. Louis Blues 20% | G major |
| Straight No Chaser 20% | B♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is The Chicken in?
The Chicken is usually played in B♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is C major, for E♭ instruments G major.
Who wrote The Chicken?
The Chicken was written by Pee-Wee Ellis.
What is the form of The Chicken?
The Chicken has 1 sections (A) with 15 bars in total.
How fast is The Chicken played?
The usual groove is Funk.
What are the chord changes to The Chicken?
The opening bars are Bb7 Eb7 | Bb7 Eb7 | Bb7 Eb7 | Bb7 Eb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.