Above – My grandaughter Kaylee with her elephant and the blanket that Grandma Dawnie made for her. (Photo – Tasha Chenard)

This article is part of a series called, “Every Song has a Story”. The series is about the stories behind the songs on my album, Go and Make Heaven Proud.

Contents

The Story. 1

Recording “I Like the Way You Shine”. 1

“I Like the Way You Shine” Credits. 1

“I Like the Way You Shine” Lyrics. 1

 

The Story

Camille had been our Thanksgiving baby and Kaylee had arrived very close to Easter a couple of years later. Dawn had completed her blanket in record time and soon we were off to the farm once again to meet and greet the newest member of the family.

In between a moose looking in the old farmhouse window, and taking lots of pics for mom, I got to spend enough time with Kaylee to get to know her a bit.

When I held Kaylee in my arms and asked God for a special song, just for her, the word that kept coming to me was, “shiny”.

Not exactly shiny like a new car – although, there was that too, but more like full of light and love that just radiated out of her.

I asked her dad, Nolan what he thought, and he agreed that she was very shiny!

So, I knew that light was a big part of her being and that her song would somehow bounce off of that theme.

At the time, I did not realize that the meaning of “Kaylee” is, “pure light”. That is kind of cool!!

I also had a sense that Kaylee was going to be full of energy and fun, so, her song had to also reflect that.

I began to just sing to her and have a lot of fun and somehow, I ended up with:

“La de da da da la de da da

La de da da da de da da

La de da da da la de da da

Kaylee I love you!”

Quite a few people have asked me how on earth I came up with such a catchy tune. Honestly, I don’t feel like I can really take full credit. I felt kind of like a receiver. I ask God for ideas and then just run with them. To me, those ideas are  gifts.

Well, this was one idea that I just loved.

(You can skip ahead and listen to “I Like the Way You Shine” in the player below this line.)

All the way back home, I hummed, drummed, slapped and slapped my way to a fun song full of energy with a cool bassline.

Soon, the idea of Kaylee buzzing around like a firefly took hold. Then, the line, “On the farm or in the city, Love will find a way!”, reflected my thoughts that someday, like all the rest of us, Kaylee would face adversity, but she would look to God, and He would lead her. He knows the beginning from the end, and He’s got this stuff.

What else is there to say? It is all like an onion, and you can unwrap it as much as you want to!

Fast forward to 2023, and Kaylee is for “Kartwheel”. She is a very bright, loving, determined, athletic and energetic five-year-old (almost six!!) with big dreams and aspirations.

Kaylee, I like the way you fly, and I like the way you shine!!!

Recording “I Like the Way You Shine”

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series, recording, “I Like the Way You Shine” for Kaylee was not at all just a matter of simply recording another song.

I had started recording this song in 2017, but I put it on the back burner as it seemed that at least one of the many eye operations I had endured actually might bear some good fruit. For a while, it really did look like my right eye had a very promising future as I even beat my friend (and long-time pool foe) Don Montgomery, in the “Match of the Ages”, in which we played 21 games straight, and the final tally was Greg 19 – Don 2.

I was ecstatic and began to lay the foundations to start my own software company, when all those hopes, and dreams came crashing down. A retinal detachment led to two more operations on that eye and by the Spring of 2020, my vision had been decimated. Pool was a thing of the past and there was no way I could see to record, or so it seemed. You can read about how I was able to solve some of these problems.

So, to pick this part of the story up where it left off in Part 1, my goal at this point in time was to just finish, “I Like the Way You Shine” and then that would be it. My grandson Spencer, who had been born in the meantime, would not have a recorded song. I just couldn’t do it.

So, our friend Corinna showed up to help me and it couldn’t be too hard. We just needed to record an acoustic track and some vocals, and we would be done. Easy peasy!

I am usually not exactly lost for words, but this is a difficult experience to communicate.

Everything that was once so easy was harder than I had imagined. With Corinna’s help, we did get an acoustic track recorded, but it was very difficult to hear well enough to play I used a device called a ComPilot which allowed me to hear the mix directly through my hearing aid, but those things are notorious for shorting out. I had to use it slung over my back, and it would short in and out as I played. Also, I could only do maybe 2 or 3 “takes” (studio jargon for recording a single track a few times until you get it right) a day and I just had to quit. My ear would get sore, and I would even start to feel sick at times.

It all was a bit trying to say the least. I was also rusty at EVERYTHING, but we did get that acoustic track recorded and it was sounding ok.

Now, all I had to do was sing!!!

Since I was somehow able to sing “Sweet Camille”, I figured I could sing this song for Kaylee too. We set up the mic and Corinna hit the big red button and… and… it was awful!!!

I was so discouraged. Because of all the eye and ear problems, my self confidence was already at an all-time low, but this really did me in.

What was I going to do?

Well, I just happened to be sitting in a room with one of the best vocalists I have ever worked with, so, I said to Corinna, “Can you do it? Can you just sing it so we can get it done?”

Now Corinna has been very kind and generous to me over the years. I worked with her on worship teams and many iterations of, “Greg’s Next Big Idea”, but to be honest, I don’t think she was impressed! Here she had been kind enough to come help her friend who had lost much of his vision and hearing to finish up just one song for his granddaughter and here he was trying to commandeer her into singing the song. It wasn’t what she signed up for and she let me know it.

She said that she would think about it and then she left and went home. I was pretty sad. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think she would sing it.

To my surprise, the next day Corinna sent a text saying that she loved the song and that she was going around the house singing it and that her family would join in.

“Greg, you would think you wrote this song just for me to sing! I will come sing it and it will be good!”.

Well, that made me pretty happy!!!

Corinna knows her stuff and if she says something is good, it is good, and it WAS amazing!!!

By the time she was done, I was just blown away! It sounded like the “Beach Girls”. She added harmony tracks, and the entire song came to life.

In addition to Corina’s vocals, she also had an idea for the cool synth (Xylophone) tracks you hear in the song. Corinna had an arm in a splint at that time and she couldn’t play, but she took her idea over to Daryl Wilson and he aced it… that is what I am told, and I believe it. I have never been able to hear those tracks. They are good examples of the kind of things I just can’t hear, including anything like cymbals, hi-hats and so on.

Later, Ken Cowie would add more backup vocals which is always a fantastic addition to any song. Ken and Corinna sound amazing together.

Ironically, this was the first song I would record, but after I was done recording the other songs for the album, I revisited “I Like the Way You shine” and replaced the guitar, bass, and added the electric guitar tracks you hear now. By that time, a year later, I had refined a lot of skills and techniques that enabled me to not only record by myself, but I also got a lot better results as time went on. You will have to read some of the upcoming articles to learn more about how that all came to be!!!

So, initially this song was “done”, and I got to deliver it to Kaylee in person just in time for Christmas that year. That was a special moment! I was a little apprehensive because it obviously wasn’t Grandpa Greg who was singing. She didn’t mention anything, and so we just let it ride. A few days later after everyone had gone home, Kaylee asked her mom, Melody who was singing her song. Melody explained to Kaylee that it was Grandpa’s friend Corinna.

Later, Melody found out that Kaylee had named her doll Corinna. That was pretty cool.

I felt quite a sense of accomplishment at successfully completing this one song. It had felt impossible, and so it was quite a victory, but it was also bittersweet.

Spencer was only 3 at the time but he understood what was going on. He said to me, “Camille song, Kaylee song, Spencer song?”

I was heartbroken!!! I had a basic idea of a song for Spencer, but recording it was out of the question. It was one thing to finish up a song that already had bass and drums completed, but starting a new song from scratch…it just wasn’t going to happen.

I had remembered hearing people say, “I am so overwhelmed”, and I had never understood that phrase. I mean, you just line things up and get ‘em done right?

Well, then I understood just what it meant to be overwhelmed.

I picked Spencer up and gave him a hug and a tear rolled down my cheek.

To be continued…

“I Like the Way You Shine” Credits

• Produced by Greg J. Gay
• Executive Producer – Corinna Montgomery
• Written and arranged by Greg J. Gay
• Recorded at Expressong Studios. (Greg’s office)
• Mixed and Mastered by The Mix Master – Daryl Wilson.

• Lead Vocals – Corinna Montgomery
• Background Vocals – Corinna Montgomery, Ken Cowie
• Drum Sequencing – Greg J. Gay
• Bass – Greg J. Gay
• Synth – Daryl Wilson
• Guitars – Greg J. Gay

“I Like the Way You Shine” Lyrics

© Greg J. Gay – 2017

Intro

La de da da da la de da da
La de da da da de da da
La de da da da la de da da
Kaylee I love you!

Verse 1

When God made the firefly
I think that he had you in mind
I like to watch the way you fly
I like the way you shine

Verse 2

When God made the sun and moon
He knew you’d be here really soon
And now we sing this little tune
I like the way you shine

Chorus

On the farm or in the city
Love will find a way
It’s just the nitty gritty
That’s all I have to say
I love you girl you make me happy all the time
I like the way you shine

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