BB King recorded The Thrill is Gone in 1969, and it’s been a blues standard ever since. It was the song that crossed blues over into jazz and pop radio — the first time all those stations played the same blues track. That crossover didn’t happen by accident. The chord progression is a modified 12-bar blues that blends minor chords with jazz voicings in a way that just sounds right, no matter what kind of music you usually listen to.

The lesson below covers the full progression, including the slick chromatic turnaround at the end.

The Chord Progression

The Thrill is Gone sits in the key of B minor. It uses four main chords: Bm, Em (or Em7), G major, and F#m7. If you know your I-IV-V relationships, you’ll notice this is a minor key version — B minor is the I, E minor is the IV, and F# minor is the V. The G major adds that extra color that gives the song its distinctive feel.

Here’s how the 12 bars break down:

*Chromatic turnaround: A → A#(Bb) → Bm

Four bars of Bm, two bars of Em7, back to Bm for two bars, then one bar of G major, one bar of F#m7, and two bars of Bm — with the turnaround filling that last bar.

Playing the Bm and Em7

Play the Bm as a barre chord at the seventh fret, using the E minor barre shape moved up. There’s a good reason for that — it lines up perfectly with the B minor pentatonic scale pattern at that position. Your solo notes sit right under your fingers when you’re playing the chord there.

For the E minor, the Em7 is the way to go. The difference is small — just lift your pinky off the barre chord shape and you get the seventh. It softens the sound and gives it that jazzy quality BB King was known for. You can play regular Em if you prefer; the song works either way.

The nice thing about these two voicings is the change between them. If you’re barring at the seventh fret for Bm, you can keep your barre finger right there and just shift your other fingers over to get Em7. Minimal movement, smooth transition.

The G Major and F#m7

G major gets one bar, F#m7 gets one bar. Play G as a barre chord at the 10th fret (root on the fifth string) so it sits close to the F#m7, which is right next door at the ninth fret. That proximity makes the change fast and clean.

These two bars are where the song shifts gears. You’ve been sitting on Bm and Em for eight bars, and then G and F#m7 come in quick — one bar each — before dropping back to Bm. It creates this sense of motion right before the turnaround brings everything home.

The Chromatic Turnaround

This is the part that really makes The Thrill is Gone sound like The Thrill is Gone. In the last bar, instead of staying on Bm, you play a quick chromatic walk-up: A major, A# major (or Bb), and then resolve back to Bm.

If you’re comfortable with barre chords, play full A and A# major chords there. If those are still tricky, just play the single notes — A and A#, then back to B — on the fifth string. Frets 0 (open A), 1 (A#), and 2 (B). Simple, effective, and it gets the job done until your barre chords catch up.

Soloing Over the Progression

One of the reasons guitarists love this song is the solo potential. You can safely use the B minor pentatonic or B blues scale over the entire progression. The seventh-fret Bm position lines up the chord and scale shapes in the same area, so you can switch between rhythm and lead without jumping around the neck.

When the turnaround comes, try to line up your solo notes with those chromatic changes. Playing single notes that walk up with the A-A#-B movement ties your solo to the rhythm in a way that sounds intentional and musical.

A Song Worth Knowing

The Thrill is Gone is one of those songs every blues guitar player should know. The progression isn’t hard once you have your barre chords sorted, and it’s endlessly fun to solo over. If you want another song where the solo and the rhythm sit in the same area of the neck, Born Under a Bad Sign does the same thing in G minor. And for more barre chord practice with a different flavor, Blue Jean Blues will keep your hand in shape. Start by getting the chord changes smooth, then experiment with the Em7 versus straight Em, try the full chromatic chords in the turnaround, and before long you’ll have a version that’s yours. BB would approve.