song: Through the Fire
artist: Chaka Khan
album: I Feel for You (1984)
writers: David Foster, Tom Keane, Cynthia Weil

Vocals: Chaka Khan
Electric Bass: Nathan East
Electric Guitars: Michael Landau

This is a complete transcription of the vocals, the bass and guitar solo parts on “Through the Fire”. (This is transcribed from the complete album version {4m49s}, as opposed to the radio version {4m07s} in which the Outro section is abridged.) Both the lead vocals sheet and the bass sheet are notated with chords, making both great as chord scores as well. For the bass players, I can really recommend this song: The bass part by Nathan East is an iconic case study in the 80s’ ambition of fusing elements of Jazz and Prog Rock into pop music. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out the predecessor to the song: It was originally written and recorded as an instrumental tune by David Foster, foreshadowingly titled “Chaka”, for his first solo album released in 1983.
Also, watch the Vertex Effects interview with bassist Nathan East (published 20 January 2025), in which he talks about the creation of the song and does a playthrough.