Desmond Child, the songwriter and producer behind dozens of Billboard hits including Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer", Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself For Loving You", Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like A Lady", and Alice Cooper's "Poison", released his first memoir, Livin’ On a Prayer: Big Songs Big Life, back in September in North America via Radius Book Group. The memoir, which includes a foreword by KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley, was released in the UK on November 2, published by Radius.
Guesting on the Shout It Out Loudcast, Child discusses how he met Paul Stanley, their writing styles and chemistry, hilarious stories about Gene Simmons, the KISS songs he co-wrote and his KISStory. He also describes his songwriting style, meeting Bon Jovi at Richie Sambora's parent's house and many other fascinating stories. Check out the interview below.
Demond Child on Paul Stanley:
"I just owe him everything because he was also generous enough to share my number with Jon Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi was one of the acts opening for KISS on tour in Europe, and they made friends, and Paul said, 'You know what? This band needs a hit.' And so he said, 'Hey, why don't you guys try writing with Desmond Child?' Unbeknownst to me – except for like, recently – that they wrote with me not to write for Bon Jovi, but because they thought that I could get them a 'pop cut' and bring money to the band, to keep funding their touring and all of that."
Book description: Desmond Child is the ultimate hitmaker, contributing to some of the biggest smash global hits that helped ignite the success of music icons KISS, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, and countless others. In Livin’ On A Prayer, he reveals how he climbed his way to the top and beyond amid extraordinary circumstances and shares his very personal and unbelievable journey that shaped him into an artist of international renown.
For over half a century, Desmond Child has collaborated with the world’s most celebrated artists creating timeless hits, such as Bon Jovi’s “Livin' On A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” as well as Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “The Cup Of Life” amongst his vast catalog. But in Livin’ On A Prayer, Desmond himself takes center stage to share his transformational story from misfit outsider to cultural pacesetter.
In collaboration with legendary music biographer David Ritz, Child recounts his unconventional upbringing as his colorful family fled Cuba in the 1960s and fell into poverty. He details his shocking discovery at age 18 that the man he called “dad” was not his biological father after all, and he courageously bares his soul about navigating the trials of being a Latino gay man in the macho world of rock and roll. His is a story of willing himself to succeed and overcome impossible odds to establish himself as one of the most influential composers and lyricists of all time.
