# Compay Segundo — Chan Chan

Compay Segundo’s Chan Chan (1987) is No. 1 in our Son Cubano ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1987
- **On one list:** Son Cubano
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Compay Segundo](https://waxonia.com/artist/compay-segundo/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/compay-segundo--chan-chan/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Son Cubano](https://waxonia.com/genre/son-cubano/)

Written by a man in his eighties who said it came to him in a dream, and then made globally famous by the Buena Vista Social Club a decade later. Four chords, and no one tires of them.

## Analysis

10 sections, no single moment the energy jumps to.

- **Tempo:** 117.5 BPM — holds throughout
- **Dynamic range:** 5.9 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 4:21

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: bass, other
- `0:41` B · **steady** (bar 20), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `1:09` A · **breakdown** (bar 34), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: bass, other
- `1:32` C · **peak** (bar 45), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `1:43` A · **breakdown** (bar 50), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: bass, other
- `1:59` C · **peak** (bar 58), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `2:10` A · **breakdown** (bar 64), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: bass, other
- `2:27` B · **steady** (bar 72), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `3:26` D · **lift** (bar 101), instrumental — a short rise that does not resolve — a fill or a transition, not a build — playing: drums, bass, other
- `3:47` B · **outro** (bar 111), sung — the closing fall — playing: bass, vocals, other

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Compay%20Segundo%20Chan%20Chan) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=smqREkY0R5g)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.