Franklin McKay

Canadian singer/songwriter Franklin McKay emerged in the 2010s and quickly gained a foothold on the Christian and Adult Contemporary charts. A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the Toronto- and Los Angeles-based musician is a six-time Billboard-charting artist — “This Christmas” (#24), “More Than a Memory” (#25), and “Destiny” (#27) on Adult Contemporary, and “I’ll Lift You Up (When You Are Down)” (#41), “Invincible” (#47), and “Breath of Life” (#45) on Christian Airplay.

Franklin McKay first found mainstream success with the release of his 2012 EP The Holiday Collection and maintained a steady presence on the charts with subsequent efforts Invincible (2016), Awake (2021), and Carpe Diem (2023). His catalog spans more than 30 original songs across adult contemporary, rock, pop, and Christian formats, earning radio play around the world. Recent releases include the singles “Don’t Forget Love” (2022), “This Ain’t the End” (2023), “A Reason to Try” (2023), “The Game of Love,” and “A World of Pretenders” (2025).

A respected figure behind the scenes as well, Franklin McKay has written and recorded with a host of notable artists, including Bill Champlin (formerly of the band Chicago, 2x Grammy winner), Harry Hess (Harem Scarem; producer for Billy Talent, Muse, Three Days Grace), Marc Jordan (Rod Stewart, Diana Ross), Greg Fitzgerald (Hall & Oates, Madonna, Kylie Minogue), Heather Rankin (the Rankin Family), and Pete Lesperance (Harem Scarem, The Trailer Park Boys, Michelle Wright).

Champlin co-wrote Earth, Wind & Fire’s “After the Love Has Gone” and George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around” — both Grammy winners for Best R&B Song — sang lead on Chicago’s “Hard Habit to Break,” “Look Away” and “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love,” and sang the theme for the TV series In the Heat of the Night.

Franklin McKay holds a publishing deal with Sony Music Japan for “The Best Day of the Year” — the Bill Champlin version of the song appears as a bonus track on Sony Music Japan’s LA Project release (SICX 30097).

Franklin McKay’s “Invincible” is featured in the film Amazed by You, a Mark Hannah film featuring Aaron Mees, Sarah Beth Short, Timothy E. Goodwin and Richard Pryor Jr. as Judge Stone. The film has streamed on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Tubi, the Roku Channel and Christian Flix.

In the studio, Franklin McKay has worked with first-call Toronto session drummer Mark Kelso, a four-time Juno winner; Juno-nominated guitarist Bernie LaBarge, with 50+ years in the business and sessions with Ian Tyson and Kim Mitchell; and bassist Russ Boswell, the bassist behind Corey Hart, David Wilcox and Serena Ryder — all three played on “This Pain,” and Boswell also played bass on “Give Me a Sign.” He cut “This Pain” at Metalworks Studios with senior mastering engineer Chris Crerar, who co-produced and engineered it alongside Paul Gross, co-founder of Toronto’s Phase One Studios.

Franklin McKay has also worked with Neil Donell, lead singer of Chicago, who sang his early demos; Juno-winning alto saxophonist Richard Underhill, a founding member of Toronto’s Shuffle Demons; Toronto keyboardist and organist Brent Barkman of The Stickmen; and guitarist Sil Simone, who played on “A World of Pretenders” and “A Reason to Try” — his solo on the latter is “a clinic in shredding” — with credits including Tom Cochrane, Triumph, Rik Emmett, Lee Aaron, and the stage shows Rock of Ages, We Will Rock You and Bat Out of Hell. Franklin McKay has also worked with Toronto saxophonist Colleen Allen, a highly in-demand Canadian session and live musician who has performed with Molly Johnson, Holly Cole, and Marc Jordan. She plays sax on his smooth-jazz single “Vindication (Instrumental).” Nashville session singer Lisa Carrie is a first-call background vocalist who has sung in the studio with Mickey Gilley, Eddy Arnold, Wayne Newton and Charlie Louvin, and for Disney, and has graced the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Her lead-artist debut, “In Another Life” (2001), was produced by Andrew Gold.

Franklin McKay served as one of 340 judges for the 47th JUNO Awards in Vancouver (2018), and was a judge again in 2023.

With new music on the way in 2027, Franklin McKay continues to build on a career defined by melody, faith, and staying power.