Examples of AABA Form

To play any of these examples, simply click on the Flash icon "" next to the song title. I would like to express my appreciation to Eric Yates, who assisted in creating these examples from a template I created in Flash.

• Fats Domino - "I'm Walkin'"
  • live recording for comparison
• Frank Culley - "Cole Slaw"
• Willis Jackson - "Gator's Groove"
• Solomon Burke - "Cry to Me"
• Ruth Brown - "Teardrops From My Eyes"
• Ray Charles - "Drown in My Own Tears"
• LaVerne Baker - "Play It Fair" and "Tweedle Dee"
• Otis Redding - "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"
• Aretha Franklin - "Respect"
• Percy Sledge - "When a Man Loves a Woman"
• The Clovers - "One Mint Julep" and "Lovey Dovey"
• The Cardinals - "Shouldn't I Know," "The Door is Still Open," and "Wheel of Fortune"
• The Coasters - "Charlie Brown" and "Poison Ivy"
• The Drifters - "Dance With Me," "Save the Last Dance for Me," "This Magic Moment," and "Up on the Roof"
• Carla Thomas - "Gee Whiz"
• Doris Troy - "Just One Look"
• Esther Phillips - "And I Love Him"
• Barbara Lewis - "Baby I'm Yours"
• Ben E. King - "I (Who Have Nothing)"
• Chuck Willis - "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes" and "What Am I Livin' For?"
• Gerry & the Pacemakers - "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
• Freddy & the Dreamers - "I'm Telling You Now"
• The Searchers - "Needles & Pins"
• Peter Gordon - "A World Without Love"

Other examples (practice hearing on your own):

• Hank Williams - "Hey, Good Lookin'" and "Your Cheatin' Heart"
• The Penguins - "Earth Angel"
• Rolling Stones - "19th Nervous Breakdown" (A section is a 16-bar blues!)
• Aretha Franklin - "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
• Clint Black - verses of "Put Yourself in My Shoes"

Altered versions (can you hear it?):

• Fats Domino - "Blueberry Hill" (begins with AABA presentation, then alters form)