# Rock/pop #1 singles without a chorus **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018 "2010-10-13T16:23:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/1 "2010-10-13T16:23:26Z")
Most hit rock and pop songs feature a chorus which alternates with the versus, sometimes with a bridge or instrumental solo thrown in. It’s comparatively rare for a #1 single not to have a chorus. I can think of only two: **“Bohemian Rhapsody”** by **Queen** and **“The Wreck of the _Edmund Fitzgerald_”** by **Gordon Lightfoot** (though it’s arguable whether the latter can be considered a rock or pop tune – I’ve seen it classified as folk). Can anyone else think of any rock or pop singles without a chorus which topped the pop charts? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/2 "2010-10-13T16:44:46Z")
Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)” “The Loco-Motion” by either Little Eva or Grand Funk John Denver’s “Annie’s Song” ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/3 "2010-10-13T16:49:12Z")
I don’t listen to rap, but could it be said that a lot of those songs don’t have a chorus? Googling around, I found these: Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road David Bowie - The Width of a Circle Queen - The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke, Bijou Pink Floyd - Time Deep Purple - Fools Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird Black Sabbath - Supernaut Neil Young - Thrasher Elton John - Indian Sunset Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/4 "2010-10-13T16:53:58Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > I don’t listen to rap, but could it be said that a lot of those songs don’t have a chorus? > > Googling around, I found these: > > Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road > David Bowie - The Width of a Circle > Queen - The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke, Bijou > Pink Floyd - Time > Deep Purple - Fools > Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird > Black Sabbath - Supernaut > Neil Young - Thrasher > Elton John - Indian Sunset > Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit Don’t think any of these were #1. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/5 "2010-10-13T18:18:26Z")
Yesterday (unless you consider a single line a chorus). Paperback Writer ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/6 "2010-10-13T18:28:39Z")
_Stairway to Heaven_ doesn’t have a chorus, though it apparently wasn’t released as a single. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/7 "2010-10-13T19:08:30Z")
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey Hey Jude (verse, bridge, coda; nothing I’d call a chorus, I think) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/8 "2010-10-13T19:11:09Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Paperback Writer I think I might consider the “Paperback writer, writer, writer” part a chorus, albeit a pretty minimal one. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/9 "2010-10-13T19:13:54Z")
I’ve got a real cheapie: **"The Miami Vice Theme," by Jan Hammer.** Yes, it hit #1. And of course, it has no chorus, because it has no lyrics at all. There’ve been a lot of instrumental #1s, though none recently, including the “Chariots of Fire” main title theme, “Rise” by Herb Alpert, the theme from SWAT, and the disco version of the Star Wars Theme/Cantina Song. Limiting it to songs that hit #1 - though these days there’s a lot of “#1” positions a single can get to - is what really makes this a toughie. It may surprise many of you to hear that these songs were all Billboard #1 hits: “Here Comes The Hotstepper” by Ini Kamoze (Who?) “The First Night” by Monica “Wild Wild West” by The Escape Club “This Is the Night” by Clay Aiken ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/10 "2010-10-13T19:27:57Z")
Did the Beatles _Day in the Life_ reach #1? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/11 "2010-10-13T19:30:56Z")
Scanning through a list of 80s #1 hits, these jump out at me: “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” by Billy Joel “Every Breath You Take” by the Police You might consider “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits to be chorus-less, as well ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/12 "2010-10-13T19:34:50Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > Did the Beatles _Day in the Life_ reach #1? I would almost say that “I’d love to tuuuuuurn youuuuu ooooon” counts as a chorus. Almost. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/13 "2010-10-13T19:42:26Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > Did the Beatles _Day in the Life_ reach #1? It was never really a single at all. It only appeared as a B-side on a 1978 rerelease of “Sgt. Pepper,” and that disc never climbed the charts. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/14 "2010-10-13T19:42:36Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > > > Did the Beatles _Day in the Life_ reach #1? > > I would almost say that “I’d love to tuuuuuurn youuuuu ooooon” counts as a chorus. Almost. It’s not repeated (or long) enough, really, to be a chorus, though. It’s just a conclusion to the verse sections of the song. I’d count it as chorus-less. ETA: But it doesn’t show up on any Billboard charts I could find. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/15 "2010-10-13T19:44:02Z")
Maggie May – Rod Stewart In the Year 2525 – Zager and Evans Something – The Beatles ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/16 "2010-10-13T19:48:30Z")
_ **The Sound of Silence** _ by Simon & Garfunkel has no chorus. Neither does Bobbie Gentry’s _ **Ode to Billie Joe.** _. Nor Jeannie C. Riley’s #1 version of “Harper Valley PTA.” Nor Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” Theme. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/17 "2010-10-13T19:49:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Scanning through a list of 80s #1 hits, these jump out at me: > > “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” by Billy Joel > “Every Breath You Take” by the Police > You might consider “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits to be chorus-less, as well “Money for Nothing” pretty unambiguously has a chorus. _We got to install microwave ovens Custom kitchen deliveries We got to move these refrigerators We got to move these colour TVs_ ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/18 "2010-10-13T19:53:02Z")
Every Breath You Take’s got a standard one too, _Oh can’t you see… You belong to me… Etc_. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/19 "2010-10-13T19:54:44Z")
I should add, though, that a lot of Beatles tunes (Eight Days a Week, Lady Madonna, A Hard Day’s Night, etc.) don’t have what would be traditionally considered your typical chorus or refrain. In fact, dedicated Beatles musicologist [Alan W. Pollack](http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/awp-alphabet.shtml) considers all those songs to be in verse with bridge format, and I agree with him. (Which is why I originally checked in to see how he classified those particular songs, because I don’t consider those repeating lyrical and musical hooks to be choruses per se.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018/20 "2010-10-13T19:55:47Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > Every Breath You Take’s got a standard one too, > _Oh can’t you see.. > You belong to me… > Etc_. That’s a bridge, not a chorus. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-pop-1-singles-without-a-chorus/557018.md?page=2)