EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

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 Billboard page: https://www.billboard.com/artist/franklin-mckay/

The folks at Billboard's head office in New York were kind enough to mail me a stack of copies. Holding that magazine in my hands — seeing my name printed in those pages — that's a moment I'll never forget.

And there's a funny story behind this one.

When I was a teen, I was in the backseat of my mom's car with a friend, talking about my musical dreams. My cousin, listening in from the front seat, started singing "Dreamer" by Supertramp in falsetto.

Twenty-five years later, guess who got one of those Billboard copies in the mail.

To everyone at radio who played it, and everyone who listened — thank you. This one's for you.

— Franklin

Song written by Franklin McKay & Harry Hess

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Under the Hood, Episode 3: "A World of Pretenders"

Image
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...
Read more

Under the Hood, Episode 4: "Without Your Love" ft. Bill Champlin

Image
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...
Read more

This Ain't the End

Image
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 💙
Read more