Franklin McKay

  Every December, I pull out a chart and just stare at it for a while. It's the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, week of January 5, 2013. Rod Stewart is at number one. And there at number 24 — its peak, in its fourth week on the chart — is "This Christmas." Mine. Written with my friend Harry Hess. I want you to understand what that felt like. This is an independent release. No major label, no big promo machine — just a song Harry and I believed in, worked by people who believed in it. And there it is, sitting on the same chart as Paul McCartney. Michael Bublé. Adele. Taylor Swift. Maroon 5. Train. Kelly Clarkson. You dream about that as a kid in Sault Ste. Marie, but you don't really expect to see your name typed out between those names. I still haven't gotten over it. Harry and I wrote it to be a classic — the kind of Christmas song that doesn't sound like it was made in any particular year, the kind you could imagine hearing ten, twenty years later next t...

The back story on this one starts at my place. Marc Jordan — a master of lyric and melody — came over and I had a cool riff and chord progression — we jammed out a really cool piece, but it still needed a chorus. Days later, after me grinding away at it, I went over to Marc's house and — wait, I think I've got it — and when I played it for him he said, "Yes! That's it!" Harry produced the track and helped the song along with an epic bridge melody. It was also around this time that Bill and I had been working on a co-write on another song that's still in the vault 😉 — and he flew in for a few days. When we were cutting it at Vespa (Harry Hess's) studio, he ad-libbed those very distinct end-outro call-back lines. Bill, Marc and Harry are also in the mix making up the backing vocals. Working and hanging out with these guys has been one of the highlights of my musical journey. Another behind-the-scenes cool moment was having Bill play some of his old solo and...

In loving memory of Mike Dugas August 6, 1970 – July 24, 2022 I sat down with Harry to write a song for my friend Mike Dugas. Mike was a warm, happy person with a great sense of humour — the kind of guy who lit up a room just by walking into it. He loved the hair bands — the big glam 80s rock stuff, loud guitars, bigger choruses. So when we started writing, there was never a question about what it should sound like. It had to be an upbeat, driving rock track. Anything else wouldn't have been Mike. There are two lyrics I kept coming back to while we were writing. The first: "Don't forget to send a message, from the other side, I know that we'll be meeting so there's no need for goodbyes." That's me saying what I actually believe — that I'll see Mike again. No goodbye needed. And then the line the whole song hangs on: “Cause this ain't the end!” Simple as that. It isn't. See you on the other side Mike 💙

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Dateline: March 16, 2013 Picture it: a kid on a street corner, papers tucked under his arm, shouting the headlines to anyone who'd listen. That's how news used to travel — and this week, I've got a headline of my own. My song "More Than a Memory" just cracked the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart at #25. Now, here's something most people don't know: Billboard's print magazine only lists the Top 25. You can be #26, #27, climbing every week — and you won't see your name in ink. But #25? That's the magic number. That's print. That's permanent. This week's chart (March 16, 2013) has me sitting at #25, up from #29 last week, five weeks on the chart and climbing. And take a look at the company I'm keeping — Phillip Phillips, Katy Perry, P!nk, Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift... and right there at #25: Franklin McKay. See the full chart history on my official Billbo...

The players: - Sil Simone — guitars (Tom Cochrane, Triumph, Rik Emmett, Lee Aaron; Rock of Ages, We Will Rock You, Bat Out of Hell) - Harry Hess — programming & backing vocals (Harem Scarem) - Creighton Doane — drums (Harem Scarem; Alannah Myles, Kim Mitchell) - Franklin McKay — lead vocals Written by Franklin McKay & Harry Hess. Produced by Harry Hess. 100% CANCON. I was on a cross-country summer drive when the idea for this song hit me. I felt the spirit of it move me — and I knew right then exactly where it needed to go. Once Harry and I started working on it, it came together fast. Then Sil came in and added his magic, especially those shredding solos. The final version is big and powerful, with huge energy. Lyrically, it's about the search for what's genuine — in faith, in people, in ourselves — in a world full of performance. It opens with humanity's oldest questions: is heaven real or is it all a lie, divine creation or a roll of the dice? Then it turns its s...

  Sometimes songs are a slow build and sometimes they happen in the blink of an eye. Harry Hess and I sat down one winter weekend in early January 2024 and wrote "Give Me a Sign" start to finish. It started with a conversation, a title, a few attempts at a melody — nothing was working — and then it all came together rather quickly. Probably the fastest song I'd ever co-written. A few weeks later we were in a Toronto studio recording it, with Harry at the helm as producer. Unlike the old days most sessions are now virtual and it's rare to have everybody in the same room together. When it was finished it reminded me of a big Mutt Lange production and it's in the sweet spot, 92 bpm. I'm planning on doing a remix version featuring more of Bill's Hammond B3 vibes. The players: Bill Champlin — Hammond B3 organ (formerly of the band Chicago, 2x Grammy winner) Pete Lesperance — guitars (Harem Scarem) Russ Boswell — bass (Corey Hart, David Wilcox) Crei...

Metalworks Studios, Mississauga, November 2009. L-R: Chris Crerar, Russ Boswell, Franklin McKay, Mark Kelso.   November 2009. Metalworks Studios, Mississauga. I walked into a real recording studio for the first time since the 1980s — back when I was a kid in Sault Ste. Marie, saving every dollar I had to cut demos at Satellite Sound. This time I wasn't alone. This time I had a band. Mark Kelso on drums — first-call Toronto session drummer, four Junos, who's played with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Michael Bublé. Bernie LaBarge on guitar — fifty years in the business, a Juno nomination of his own, sessions with Ian Tyson and Kim Mitchell. Russ Boswell on bass — the guy behind Corey Hart, David Wilcox, and Serena Ryder. I played piano. And co-producing alongside me: Paul Gross, co-founder of Toronto's legendary Phase One Studios (not the actor), and Chris Crerar, Metalworks' senior mastering engineer whose credits include Prince's Musicology. That's what "...

Photography by Franklin McKay — mural by @soortattoo (Suren Davtyon), Graffiti Alley, Toronto. I love photography. Wandering Toronto with a camera is one of my favourite ways to disappear for a few hours — and Graffiti Alley never disappoints. One day the wall gave me this: a giant, hyper-realistic eye staring straight through the brick, painted by @soortattoo (Suren Davtyon). It stopped me cold. An eye that watches — it felt like the entire idea of 'Awake' captured in a single image. I tracked down the artist and asked for his blessing to use my photograph of his work as the artwork. He said yes — and I'm grateful, because this cover wouldn't exist without him. Credit for documenting the wall goes to the 'as I walk Toronto' street-photography blog (mcfcrandall.blog) — you can see the eye and its neighbours here: The alley keeps changing, but that eye is still watching. — Franklin franklinmckay.com

Close your eyes and remember the smell of a record store. The fluorescent hum. The endless bins. That thrill of flipping through CD after CD and finding something you didn't know you were looking for. Once upon a time, you could walk into HMV and find my CDs right there on the shelf — filed between Madonna and Maine, $12.99 sticker and all. The stores are gone now. HMV Canada closed its doors in 2017, and the bins went quiet. But the songs? The songs are still out there. Every stream, every playlist add, every late-night listen — that's the new record store, and you're already standing in it. Thanks for still flipping through. — Franklin franklinmckay.com