When I was learning Twist and Shout way back at the beginning, Justin said that the hard part would be changing from D to E on an up-strum. He was right, of course. Several modules later, when I got to La Bamba, he said that the hard part would be the āpushā at the transition from F to G - and he was right again.
I couldnāt help but notice how similar the two songs are, not just the chord progressions and strumming patterns, but the riffs, too. I searched for anything noting the similarity and quickly learned that Medley and Berns were āinspiredā by La Bamba when they wrote Twist and Shout.
Are there significant differences between the two? I canāt believe Iāve never noticed the similarities until I learned to play them.
Then there are Cocaine and Sunshine of Your Love. Again, Iāve known the songs for decades but never put together how much alike they are.
With the band at work we made a mashup of Twist and shout and la bambe, purely because the singer spontanuously began to sing it mid song. Yeah it is nearly the same ^^
There a lot of songs that cycle though either F or C to G, Am and F or C again. I often give them the same kind of treatment but I try to bring variation in them
Even with as much as I appreciate what they did with those blues classics, Iāll always see it as straight-up theft. Iām glad Willie Dixon eventually got something out of them, but he shouldnāt have had to sue to get it.
I noticed the same similarity, and when I learned what the rhythmic push was, it made sense to me why I had sooo much trouble with Twist and Shout when I was in grade 1 (when I was attempting the version in the key of D, with the push on the change to A).
I do think that because I spent a little time struggling with it in grade 1, that the push came a little more easily once I got to grade 2 and properly attempted to learn it.
Iām sure plenty have seen this before, but this is a pretty funny video highlighting how similar so many popular songs are
(caution, these guys are comedians so there is the occasional colourful word )
Hint: La Bamba and Twist and Shout are basically I-IV-V chord progressions. You can toss in other chords and embellishments as you see fit. Get the I-IV-V under your fingers in a number of different keys and the blues and rock songbook are your personal playground.
I completely understand that there are (very) common chord progressions, but the similarities Iām talking about are beyond that. Itās the rhythm and other aspects, too. Theyāre essentially the same song.
Hereās another example. Covered by a great South American band called
Milkān Blues. Well worth following. Some great vocals and harmonica playing too.
What about the chord progression and melody in Radioheadās āCreepā and The Hollies āThe Air That I Breatheā? If youāve not noticed this before, prepare to be shocked!
)
