A Teenager In Loveby Dion And The Belmonts

A Teenager in Love is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, co-writers of many rock and roll hits. It was originally recorded by Dion and the Belmonts, and released in 1959.

It was covered by many different artists such as Marty Wilde (father of singer Kim Wilde), Bob Marley and the Wailers, Sha Na Na, Connie Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel and even the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

The I-iv-IV-V progression couldn’t be easier and is done in the key of C (Capo I). 

We take a look at the strumming, with swing feel, as done on the original recording. One could also go for the sound of the bass player by strumming it and alternate bass notes. 

The emphasis of this lesson is how to transition from chord to chord in a smooth way, by using strokes with open strings. We break down several examples, which also include how to do so when alternating bass notes. 

G7 appears every four measures and it sounds really great to use an ascending bassline back to C. So we go over that as well.