He and Stanley became friendly and the KISS guitarist-singer suggested trying to write a song. “Paul Stanley used to come and see Rouge play at a place called Trax, which was on the Upper West Side,” says Child of the famed New York City club where George Harrison would also check out the band. His own band Rouge also released two albums that year but this song pointed the way to his future. Released in 1979, this strutting disco rocker - a hit around the globe - was a pivotal track for both the grease-painted quartet and Child. “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” KISS (co-writers Paul Stanley and Vini Poncia) They hear the music in a shopping center or whatever, and they probably like it, but I want to say, ‘Hey, I helped to write these songs, too.’” He recorded it in part, he says, because “I want to introduce all of my music to generations that probably didn’t even know who the original artists are. The prolific and voluble Child recently chatted with EW about some of his memories and thoughts on his most famous songs, and about his inspiration for the live album, on which he and guest singers perform many of those songs. He is also co-producing TransCon, a film about disgraced boy band producer Lou Pearlman, and collaborating with Davitt Sigerson on an autobiographical Broadway musical called Cuba Libre. He will be keeping quite busy after the album drops with plans to release his autobiography Livin’ on a Prayer: Big Songs & Big Life with David Ritz in 2020, more work as a solo artist, and writing new material for Rouge. It turns out there was at least one more thing: On Friday, Child releases his first-ever live album Desmond Child Live, recorded at Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York with a crack band backing him as he puts his own spin on all those songs that all those other people ended up making famous. “That’s one of my most proud achievements,” he says. Most recently, he wrote and co-produced “Lady Liberty” on Barbra Streisand’s new album Walls, a dream come true. He has worked with a murderers’ row of artists, literally from A (Aerosmith) to Z (Zedd), including KISS, Bon Jovi, Cher, Joan Jett, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Garth Brooks. Among his achievements: Credits on more than 80 Billboard Top 40 singles spanning five decades selling over 500 million records worldwide with downloads, YouTube views, and streaming plays in the billions induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008 and co-founding the Latin Songwriters Hall Of Fame. “That was an incubation period where he actually taught me how to write songs.” Following that mentorship, Child embarked on a career that has seen him amass monster stats. “I spent two years with him,” says Child. He had high hopes for his own band Desmond Child & Rouge, and they did have some minor success in the late ’70s with a song on the soundtrack to the movie The Warriors and the hit “Our Love Is Insane.” Child says, “I thought I was going to be a big stadium star, but I just didn’t have the emotional equipment to understand how thick your skin has to be.”įollowing the band’s breakup, Child made some serious lemonade, entering into an apprenticeship with the legendary Bob Crewe, who wrote dozens of hits of his own, including “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” for Frankie Valli and “Lady Marmalade” for Labelle. It’s safe to say that the 65-year-old Florida native has done quite a bit more than okay. As long as one of those words is in your song, you’re going to do okay.” Every living creature - I don’t know so much how much plants feel about things but I do know that animals have love and express their love for each other, even in the wild. ![]() Life, every living creature strives for life until its last breath. ![]() They contain a magic quality because those words have soul, and they have hope. “Well, life and love, in our language, are such strong archetypes in and of themselves,” says the Grammy-winning songwriter-producer. (It’s possible that, if you’re old enough, you sang each one of those titles as you read across the page.) The most famous of these - “Livin’ on a Prayer” to “Livin’ La Vida Loca” to “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and “I Hate Myself for Loving You” - have several important elements in common, including an unmistakable, unshakable hook. If you scroll through Desmond Child’s most successful songwriting credits, a couple of words crop up with regularity: livin’ and lovin’. The Write Stuff: Desmond Child is the first in an occasional series about songwriting. From “Livin’ on a Prayer” to “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” the songwriter discusses his new album and his biggest hits.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |