Chords + Lyrics | Never Too Much
Intro
| A11 Ab11 A11 Bb11 |
||: B11 | B11 | Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 Em7 A11 |
| B11 | B11 | Gmaj7 |
| 1. Em7 A11 Bb11 :||
| 2. Gmaj7 Em7 A11 |
Verse 1
| B11 | B11 |
I can’t fool myself, I don’t want nobody else to ever love me.
| Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 Em7 A11 |
You are my shinin’ star, my guiding light, my love fantasy.
| B11 | B11 |
There’s not a minute, hour, day or night that I don’t love you.
| Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 Em7 A11 |
You’re at the top of my list ’cause I’m always thinkin’ of you.
Verse 2
I still remember in the days when I was scared to touch you.
How I spent my day dreamin’ plannin’ how to say I love you.
You must have known that I had feelings deep enough to swim in.
| Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 Em7 | 2/4 B11 Gmaj7 |
That’s when you opened up your heart and you told me to come in.
Chorus 1
||: 4/4 Em7 | Em7 Em7/F# | G | A B11 Gmaj7 :||
Oh, my love. A thousand kisses from you is never too much.
I just don’t wanna stop.
Oh, my love. A million days in your arms is never too much.
| Em7 | Em7 Em7/F# | G | A6 N.C | N.C A11 | 3/4 Ab11 A11 Bb11 |
I just don’t wanna stop. Too much, never too much, never too much, never too much.
Instrumental
||: 4/4 B11 | B11 | Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 Em7 A11 :||
Verse 3 (as verse 1)
Woke up today, looked at your picture just to get me started.
I called you up, but you weren’t there and I was broken hearted.
Hung up the phone, can’t be too late, the boss is so demandin’.
Opened the door up and to my surprise, there you were standin’.
Verse 4 (as verse 2)
Well, who needs to go to work to hustle for another dollar.
I’d rather be with you ’cause you make my heart scream and holler.
Love is a gamble and I’m so glad that I’m winnin’.
We’ve come a long way and yet this is only the beginnin’.
Chorus 2
||: Em7 | Em7 Em7/F# | G | A B11 :||
Oh, my love. A thousand kisses from you is never too much.
(Never too much, never too much, never too much) I just don’t wanna stop.
Oh, my love. A million days in your arms is never too much.
(Never too much, never too much, never too much) And I just don’t wanna stop.
Oh, my love. A thousand kisses from you is never.
Never, never, never (never too much, never too much, never too much). I just don’t wanna stop.
Oh, my love. A million days in your arms is never too much.
Never Too Much Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Never Too Much. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
In the key of D/Bm, Never Too Much is disguising that the B is minor by making it 11. COmbine this with extending the other chords and we get a slick-sounding chord progression which we must break down section per section to get to terms with.
We even have to look at how these chords could be named in different ways in order to fully understand what is going on here. Let’s start with the intro.
Intro
Similar to Sir Duke, we have the same chord moving chromatically, but instead of being a dom9, it’s a bigger chord. Depending on who you ask, these chords may be described using different names so let’s look at three possibilities.
- A11 – Ab11 – A11 – Bb11
- G/A – Gb/Ab – G/A – Ab/Bb
- A9sus4 – Ab9sus4 – A9sus4 – Bb9sus4
What’s important to understand with all these chords is that, as seen from the bass note, there is no 3rd.
Verse
Next, we have a progression that is also the verse, it looks like this:
||: B11 (VI) | B11 | Gmaj7 (IV) | Gmaj7 Em7 (II) A11 (V) :||
Remember the B11 doesn’t have a 3rd, it’s a minor chord should you want to add one. As a chord fill, make it B minor pentatonic or B Dorian.
If you were 100% locked in on music theory it should be B Aeolian but that would be less jazz and if you study the TAB, you’ll find the licks are B Dorian. Find said TAB further down this guitar lesson.
Gmaj7 could also be a Gmaj9. A11, or whatever you prefer calling it, should be played in the same way as the B11, just a tone below.
Chorus
The chorus is easier to get along with, even though there are seemingly more chords.
||: Em7 (II) | Em7 Em7/F# | G (IV) | A (V) B11 (VI) :||
The Em7 is chord II, so this chorus is in Dorian, which makes sense theoretically. When we had B Dorian it didn’t, that was a modal interchange.
The G and A chords are just simple triads. The B11 should really be a B9omit3 which could also be described as an A6/B, extremely similar to a B11, just having an F# instead of an E in it.
At first, I did insist on calling it this but then I came to my senses and just went with B11 as that’s not wrong, sometimes naming chords absolutely perfectly just becomes too much, and it’s better to leave that kind of detail to the TAB.
Anyway, the last line looks like this.
| Em (II) | Em7 Em7/F# | G (IV) | A6 (V) N.C |
| N.C A11 | 3/4 Ab11 (#IV) A11 (V) Bb11 (#V) |
We start in the same way but then play an A6, then rest, hold the A11 for two beats, and then play the chromatic 11 chords in a 3/4 bar before we repeat the intro, starting on B11.
This is a test in most bands, do you know this part then that means you’ve done this before, if not, you’re new to the game!
Here’s a chord chart (same as in the backing track videos) once you can play the TAB, this will make complete sense.
Never Too Much Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
If you’d like to download my chord chart, here’s the PDF: Never Too Much chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iReal Pro, and here’s a link to the file: Never Too Much iReal Pro.
With this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key. I’ve had to play Never Too Much in the key of Am/C a few times, and I must admit, I didn’t enjoy that!
Never Too Much | TAB
Let’s look at the three key sections that make up Never Too Much using TAB, so you can play it accurately with your band. We’ll start with the signature intro/instrumental section.
I like to play the bass note on string 6 for the first A11, but when the chords go chromatic—Ab11, A11, Bb11, and B11—I leave the bass notes to the other instruments.
If we stick with these chords for now, you’ll notice they return in different forms in bars 5, 9, and 10.
- In bars 5 and 10, we get Em7, A11, and B11 instead. The rhythm stays the same.
- In bar 9, we repeat the chords from bar 1: A11, Bb11, and B11.
It’s these kinds of subtle details that, when nailed, elevate your band from standard pub gig level to something that earns top money.
The little lick between these chords is based entirely on the D major pentatonic scale. With time, you could experiment with your own variations here.
There’s one note outside the D major mentatonic—it appears in bar 7. This suggests B Dorian rather than Aeolian. Remember, B11 isn’t a major chord—it doesn’t contain a third.
Technically, it might have been more accurate to call it A/B… but anyway.
Once again, everything here uses D major pentatonic notes—which is the same as B minor pentatonic. (Remember, B11 still doesn’t have a 3rd!)
There’s a bit more variation in the original recording than what you see here, so feel free to expand on this and come up with your own lines.
The chords in bar 4 can be played just like in the intro, if you fancy a bit of variation. The final bar acts as a little clue that we’re heading into the chorus…
I’ve chosen to go with chords here, rather than the melodic licks you hear on the original. Sometimes I play that string line live—depending on what the keyboard player’s doing.
I figured it was important to give you the chords first—just in case you’re playing without keyboards as someone’s got to cover them!
Again, those chromatic 11 chords sound best without the root note on string 6.
You’ll also spot a bar of 3/4 in there. Some people argue it’s 2/4 plus 5/4, instead of 4/4 plus 3/4—but honestly, as long as you feel the groove and play it right, it doesn’t matter.
A modern standard
Luther Vandross‘s Never Too Much is so frequently featured on cover bands’ setlists that it can be compared to classics like Respect, Mustang Sally, I Feel Good, All Night Long, and Valerie.
If you want to be a working guitarist, learning to play the correct chords for Never Too Much is essential. Study the chords alongside the lyrics and dive into the meaning behind the progression. Pair this with memorising the TAB to ensure you’re well-prepared.
Released in 1981, Never Too Much was Luther Vandross’s lead single from his debut album. It went straight to #1 and earned two Grammy nominations. On the iconic “Best 500 Songs” list, it claimed the #466 spot.
Still a regular on the radio and among DJs, it’s Soul Bands, especially those at weddings, who have truly made this song their own. If you’re a guitarist, you simply must learn how to play it.
Never Too Much Chords: Continue Learning
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