Chords | The Chicken
Intro/tag
||: Bb7 Eb7 :|| x4
Verse
| Bb7 (Em7b5 Dm7b5) | Bb7 | Bb7 | Bb7 |
| Eb7 (Am7b5 Gm7b5) | Eb7 | D7 | G7 |
| C7 | C7 | C7 | Bb (minor pentatonic riff) |
The Chicken Chords: Learn the progressions
To spice up the chords, you can incorporate sliding m7b5 substitutions, much like T-Bone Walker did on Call It Stormy Monday and Papa Ain’t Salty decades earlier, and B.B. King on Paying The Cost To Be The Boss around the same time.
To begin, imagine the dominant 7th chord you wish to substitute, then start your m7b5 chord on the 3rd.
For example, with a Bb7, start on the D. This creates a dominant 9th extension.
For an even more flavorful variation, start a tone above, on an Em7b5, and slide down to the Dm7b5. In relation to the Bb, this results in a Bb13b5 chord. The intervals, as illustrated in the diagram, are as follows:
| Root | 2/9 | 3 | 4 | b5 | 5 | 6/13 | b7 | root | 2/9 | 3 | |
| Bb7 | Bb | D | F | Ab | |||||||
| Dm7b5 | D | F | Ab | C | |||||||
| Em7b5 | E | G | Bb | D |
Here’s a chord chart you can bring to the gig or keep in your back pocket, thanks to your extensive practice of The Chicken’s chords!
The Chicken Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
II could have made this chart easier to read by using larger bars, but that would have meant it wouldn’t fit on one page. If you’d like to download the chart, here’s a PDF link: The Chicken chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iReal Pro. You can access the file here: The Chicken iReal Pro.
Using iReal Pro, you can change the key — a great option if you’d like to try playing it in all 12 keys!
For best results, record the chords to a loop pedal, then play the theme followed by a solo. Once you’re comfortable, try changing the key to challenge yourself!
The Chicken TAB | Course Preview
In the course, you get TAB for how to play the melody, complete with chord licks woven in—which is no easy task!
As a preview, here’s the intro bass line riff, which you can lock in with the bass before the main theme kicks in.
Jaco Pastorius’s signature song
Originally written by Pee Wee Ellis, The Chicken was first released in 1969 as the B-side to James Brown’s hit Popcorn.
Over the years, the song has been covered by various artists, with saxophonist Dave Liebman recording a version in 1977 under the title Chicken Soup. However, it was Jaco Pastorius—who famously dubbed himself “the world’s greatest bass player”—who turned The Chicken into a jazz-funk fusion standard with his 1983 live recording.
As a standard, knowing The Chicken’s chords is essential—especially if the singer suddenly steps offstage, leaving the band to carry on instrumentally. Once you’ve played it a few times with a saxophonist taking the melody and solos, challenge yourself by learning the melody and, eventually, the solo!
The Chicken Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: The Chicken (Jaco Pastorius) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy:
