Post 148: V - I - V - I THE SWEET SUE CHORD PROGRESSION

Among the many chord progressions at the opening of famous tunes is the one known to traditional jazz musicians as the SWEET SUE PROGRESSION.

It begins on the Dominant 7th, with the Tonic as the next chord. (Often this pattern is then repeated before further developments.) To put it simply, if you’re in the key of C, you begin these tunes on G7th (usually two bars) and then move on to C. 

This progression is very useful when composers fancy bouncing back and forth between the dominant and the tonic. It is simple and therefore popular with improvisers.

Examples:

Absolutely Positively
April Showers 

Auf Wiedersehen 

Avalon 

Black Bottom Stomp [final strain] 

Blue Chime Stomp [2nd theme]
Dallas Rag
Do What Ory Say 

Gatemouth
His Eye Is On The Sparrow 

I'm Blue and Lonesome, Nobody Cares for Me
I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate 

Jealous 

Louisiana
Martinique
Miss Annabelle Lee 

My Life Will Be Sweeter Some Day
Pretty Baby 

Say Si Si 

So Do I 

South [second strain] 

Sweet Sue 

That’s A Plenty [final strain] 

Up Jumped the Devil
Way Down Yonder In New Orleans 

Willy The Weeper [second strain] 

Winin’ Boy Blues 

It is also the basis of several tunes known as 'Stomps'.