Examples of songs that use the eight-bar blues include “Key to the Highway” by Big Bill Broonzy, “How Long Blues” by Leroy Carr, “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” by Bessie Smith, “Worried Life Blues” by Big Maceo, “Trouble in Mind” and “Heartbreak Hotel.” The eight-bar blues is a blues chord progression with eight bars to each verse instead of twelve. Music writers have described it as “the second most common blues form,” found in folk, rock and jazz blues alike.
The form is looser than the twelve-bar blues. The move to the IV chord usually comes at bar 3 rather than bar 5, and a jump from the I chord to the V chord in the second bar is one of its signatures. Here are the songs most often used to show it, with what makes each one a useful example.
1. “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” (Sara Martin, 1922)
Sara Martin’s 1922 recording is one of the earliest eight-bar blues standards. Later performances added their own twists: as Freddie King played it, the song runs a I–III–IV–iv progression through the first four bars.
2. “Trouble in Mind” (Bertha Hill, 1926)
Bertha Hill recorded this standard in 1926. Nina Simone’s 1965 version opens with the same four-bar move as Howlin’ Wolf’s “Sitting on Top of the World,” I to I7 to IV to iv, but with a more uptempo beat.
3. “How Long Blues” (Leroy Carr, 1928)
Leroy Carr’s 1928 song is another early eight-bar blues standard, also known as “How Long, How Long Blues.”
4. “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” (Bessie Smith, 1929)
Bessie Smith recorded this eight-bar standard in 1929. Put it next to any twelve-bar blues and you can hear how much sooner the eight-bar form comes back to the top.
5. “It Hurts Me Too” (Tampa Red, 1940)
Tampa Red recorded this blues in 1940. It is another of the early eight-bar blues standards and a good one to learn the form on.
6. “Key to the Highway” (Big Bill Broonzy, 1941)
This 1941 song is the classic example of the V chord arriving at bar 2. The pattern is I7, V7, IV7, IV7, then I7, V7, I7, V7. J. B. Lenoir’s “Slow Down” uses the same variation.
7. “Worried Life Blues” (Big Maceo, 1941)
Big Maceo’s 1941 song gives its name to what is probably the most common eight-bar blues progression: I, I, IV, IV, I, V, then I–IV and I–V in the last two bars.
8. “Heartbreak Hotel”
“Heartbreak Hotel” is a variation that stays on the I chord for the first four bars, then moves IV, IV, V, I.
9. “Get a Haircut” (George Thorogood)
This is the simplest version of the form: four bars of I, two bars of IV and two bars of V. It is an easy one to play along with if you are learning the progression.
10. “Walkin’ By Myself” (Jimmy Rogers)
Jimmy Rogers’ song is a somewhat unorthodox example. It holds I7 for four bars, then moves IV7, V7, I7, V7.
11. “Sitting on Top of the World” (Howlin’ Wolf)
Howlin’ Wolf’s version is actually a nine-bar blues, because it adds an extra V chord at the end. It also moves between major and dominant seventh chords and between a major and a minor IV chord.
12. “Great Balls of Fire” (Jerry Lee Lewis)
Here an eight-bar blues melody is paired with a different eight-bar blues bridge. The result is a blues variant of the standard 32-bar song. T-Bone Walker’s “I Want a Little Girl” is built the same way.
What Makes an Eight-Bar Blues
- Eight bars per verse: often written in 4/4 or 12/8 time.
- Early IV chord: the move to IV usually happens at bar 3, not bar 5 as in the twelve-bar blues.
- Quick V chord: going from I to V in the second measure is a hallmark of the form.
- Many variations: the eight-bar blues is far less fixed than the twelve-bar format, which is why the songs above all sound a little different.
- A shortcut: you can make an eight-bar progression by dropping the first four bars of a twelve-bar blues, as in the solo section of Bonnie Raitt’s “Love Me Like a Man” and Buddy Guy’s “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
Final Thoughts
Start with “Key to the Highway” and “Worried Life Blues,” since they show the two most common versions side by side. To compare the longer form, see these songs that use the 12-bar blues, these songs that use the blues scale and these songs with blue notes.
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