Desmond Child

Desmond Child
Desmond Child
Born October 28, 1953 (1953-10-28) (age 58)
Gainesville, Florida
(Raised in Miami, Florida)
Genres Rock, pop, hard rock, heavy metal, disco, latin pop
Occupations Songwriter, producer
Years active 1975–present
Website http://www.desmondchild.com

Desmond Child (born John Charles Barrett, October 28, 1953 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Contents

Career

For nearly three decades, songwriter/producer Desmond Child has reigned as one of music's most successful creative forces. His list of accolades includes Grammy awards, 70 Top 40 singles, and songs that have sold over 300 million albums worldwide. His collaborations include Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler, Selena, Aerosmith, Ricky Martin, KISS, Kelly Clarkson, Dream Theater, Cher, Rosie Johnson and Alice Cooper. "Desmond's a chameleon," Aerosmith's Steven Tyler told Rolling Stone. "The first time we met, we wrote "Angel" in about an hour and 45 minutes - and I'm not bullshitting. The guy's a fucking genius."

Desmond Child was born in Gainesville, Florida, and raised in Miami and Ponce, Puerto Rico where his Cuban songwriter[1] mother, Elena Casals taught him to play the piano at an early age.[2] In high school, Child formed his first band. It was an acoustic collaboration with a high school friend.[1] Child went on to attend Miami-Dade College. It was in Miami that he formed the group Desmond Child & Rouge in 1973. Soon after, he moved the group to New York City to pursue their musical dreams. "My band Desmond Child & Rouge recorded two albums for Capitol in 1979 and we had a dance hit, "Our Love Is Insane", recalls Child. "But ultimately, we were doing something very different and urban. We weren't really understood by our label." "Our Love Is Insane" reached #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979.

Child’s experience as a recording artist would soon play a role in his songwriting future. His songs caught the ear of KISS guitarist Paul Stanley, who asked Desmond to co-write a track for the band's 1979 Dynasty album. The result was "I Was Made for Loving You", which is still one of the biggest hits in the KISS catalogue. Paul Stanley then passed Child's phone number to New Jersey rockers Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. Jon called Desmond and the three ended up in the basement of Sambora's parents' house, where they penned Bon Jovi's first number-one single, "You Give Love a Bad Name". The collaborations continued and they followed with two more chart-toppers, "Livin' on a Prayer" from the band's breakthrough album Slippery When Wet and "Bad Medicine" from the follow-up, New Jersey.

Child soon began duplicating the feat with other major artists. He hooked up with Aerosmith and wrote "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" & "Angel" (from the their 1987 comeback album, Permanent Vacation), "What it Takes" (Pump, 1989), and "Crazy" (Get a Grip, 1993). During the same period, he co-wrote Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and also co-wrote all of the tracks on Alice Cooper's Trash LP (including the hit single "Poison"). At this point, Child began branching out from his rock base, co-penning Michael Bolton’s "How Can We Be Lovers", as well as co-writing and producing "Just Like Jesse James" and "We All Sleep Alone" for Cher. In the midst of all of his success, he also found time to record the solo album, Discipline (Elektra, 1991), which contained his own Top 40 hit, "Love on a Rooftop". In 1993, Desmond wrote the song in Spanish titled Tú Serás la Historia de Mi Vida for Colombian singer Shakira's second studio album Peligro. But the song and the whole album itself lacked the production cohesion and it led the album as a commercial failure. In the late 1990s, Child returned to his Latin heritage via collaborations with Ricky Martin. Their efforts resulted in the number-one worldwide smash "Livin' La Vida Loca". The two also scored big with the 1998 World Cup Theme "The Cup of Life", which was a #1 hit in 25 countries.[3]

Despite having worked for nearly thirty years as a writer, producer, and artist, Child remains enthusiastic. "I was born with a certain drive and sense of destiny that keeps me going," says Child. "Maybe it was because I was born poor; I wanted to win for the family. I still put a lot of energy in what I do. I try to really live life, so I have new experiences that I can write about." More than twenty years after the number-one beginning in that New Jersey basement, Desmond Child remains as in-demand as ever. His latest projects include: The Rasmus, Joss Stone, David Archuleta, Kelly Clarkson, Scorpions, Hilary Duff, Meat Loaf, Ace Young, and his old pals in Bon Jovi. "The Desmond you don't know about," says Jon Bon Jovi, "is the one who not only taught me the next level of songwriting, but so many of the true aspects of friendship: truth, honor and loyalty. We've been through a lot together - the ups and the downs...and the ups again."

Discography

Desmond Child & Rouge

"Our Love Is Insane" (#50, 1979)

Solo

For and with other artists

Year Band/Artist Song(s) written/co-written/produced Album
1979 Kiss "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Dynasty
1982 Cher "When the Love is Gone", "Walk With Me", "The Book of Love" I Paralyze
1984 Kiss "Heaven's on Fire", "Under the Gun", "I've Had Enough (Into the Fire)" Animalize
1985 Kiss "King of the Mountain", "Who Wants to Be Lonely", "I'm Alive", "Radar for Love", "UH! All Night" Asylum
1986 Bonnie Tyler "If You Were a Woman and I Was a Man", "Lovers Again" Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire
1986 Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Without Love", "I'd Die For You" Slippery When Wet
1987 Aerosmith "Angel", "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Heart's Done Time" Permanent Vacation
1987 Cher "We All Sleep Alone", "Main Man", "Give Our Love a Fightin' Chance", "Perfection", "Working Girl" Cher
1987 Jimmy Barnes "Waitin' for the Heartache", "Walk on" Freight Train Heart
1987 Kiss "Bang Bang You", "My Way", "Reason to Live" Crazy Nights
1987 Jennifer Rush "Down to You", "Heart Wars" Heart Over Mind
1988 Kiss "Let's Put The X In Sex", "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" Smashes, Thrashes & Hits
1988 Bon Jovi "Bad Medicine", "Blood on Blood", "Born to Be My Baby", "Wild is the Wind" New Jersey
1988 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts "I Hate Myself for Loving You", "Little Liar", "You Want In, I Want Out" Up Your Alley
1988 Bonnie Tyler "Notes From America", "Hide Your Heart", "Save Up All Your Tears", "Take Another Look At Your Heart", also produced the album Hide Your Heart
1989 Aerosmith "What It Takes", "F.I.N.E." Pump
1989 Alice Cooper Entire album, including "Poison" Trash
1989 Animotion "Calling It Love" Room To Move
1989 Michael Bolton "How Can We Be Lovers?" and "Love Cuts Deep", also produced the album Soul Provider
1989 Bonfire "The Price of Loving You" Point Blank
1989 Cher "Just Like Jesse James", "Love on a Rooftop", "Emotional Fire", "Does Anybody Really Fall in Love Anymore?" Heart Of Stone
1989 Ace Frehley "Hide Your Heart" Trouble Walkin'
1989 Kiss "Hide Your Heart", "You Love Me to Hate You" Hot in the Shade
1989 Robin Beck "Hide Your Heart", "Don't Lose Any Sleep", "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)", "Hold Back the Night", "Save Up All Your Tears", "Tears In The Rain" Trouble or Nothin'
1990 Ratt "Givin' Yourself Away", "Heads I Win, Tails You Lose", "Lovin' You's A Dirty Job", "One Step Away", "Shame Shame Shame" Detonator
1991 Kane Roberts Entire album Saints and Sinners
1991 Cher "Save Up All Your Tears" Love Hurts
1991 Michael Bolton "Forever Isn't Long Enough", "New Love" Time, Love & Tenderness
1991 Alice Cooper "Dangerous Tonight", "Might as Well Be on Mars" Hey Stoopid
1992 Bon Jovi "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead", "Keep the Faith" Keep The Faith
1993 Aerosmith "Crazy", "Flesh" Get a Grip
1993 Shakira "Tú Serás la Historia de Mi Vida" Peligro
1993 Steve Vai "In My Dreams With You" Sex & Religion
1995 Bon Jovi "Something for the Pain", "This Ain't a Love Song", "Hearts Breaking Even", "Diamond Ring" These Days
1995 Chynna Phillips "I Live for you," "This Close," "Jewel in My Crown" Naked and Sacred
1995 Roxette "You Don't Understand Me" Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!
1997 Aerosmith "Hole in My Soul" Nine Lives
1997 Dream Theater "You Not Me" Falling into Infinity
1997 Robbie Williams "Old Before I Die" Life Thru a Lens
1997 Hanson "Weird" Middle of Nowhere
1998 Billie Myers "Kiss the Rain" Growing, Pains
1999 Bon Jovi "Real Life" EdTV Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
1999 Ricky Martin "Livin' La Vida Loca", "The Cup of Life" Ricky Martin
2000 Bon Jovi "One Wild Night" Crush
2000 Ricky Martin "She Bangs" Sound Loaded
2002 Bon Jovi "All About Lovin' You", "Misunderstood", "The Distance" Bounce
2002 Sakis Rouvas "Ola Kala", "The Light", "Disco Girl", also produced the album Ola Kala
2003 Clay Aiken "Invisible", "Run to Me" Measure of a Man
2003 La Ley "Más Allá" Libertad
2004 Jesse McCartney "Because You Live" Beautiful Soul
2004 Diana DeGarmo "Dreams" Blue Skies
2005 Bon Jovi "Bells Of Freedom", "Dirty Little Secret" Have a Nice Day
2005 Vince Neil "Promise Me" -
2005 Amanda Stott "Homeless Heart" Chasing The Sky
2005 Lindsay Lohan "I Live For The Day" A Little More Personal (Raw)
2006 Meat Loaf "The Monster Is Loose", "Blind as a Bat", "Monstro", "Alive", "If God Could Talk", "What About Love?" Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose
2006 Paul Stanley "All About You", "Lift", "Live to Win", "Wake Up Screaming", "Where Angels Dare" Live to Win
2007 Mika "Erase" Life in Cartoon Motion
2007 Sebastian Bach "Falling Into You" Angel Down
2007 Bon Jovi "(You Want To) Make a Memory" Lost Highway
2007 Scorpions "Hour I", "The Game of Life", "The Future Never Dies", "You're Lovin' Me to Death", "321", "Love Will Keep Us Alive", "We Will Rise Again", "Your Last Song", "Love Is War", "The Cross", "Humanity", "Cold" Humanity: Hour I
2008 Ace Young "Addicted", "A Hard Hand To Hold", "Where Will You Go", "How You Gonna Spend You Live", "The Girl That Got Away", "Dirty Mind", "The Gift" Ace Young
2008 Katy Perry "Waking Up in Vegas" One of the Boys
2008 The Rasmus Entire album, including "Livin' in a World Without You" Black Roses
2009 Bon Jovi "Brokenpromiseland", "Fast Cars", "Happy Now", "Learn to Love" The Circle
2009 Margaret Cho "I Cho Am a Woman" -
2009 Tokio Hotel "Zoom/Zoom into Me" Humanoid
2009 The Stunners "Santa Bring My Soldier Home" (Santa Bring My Soldier Home-Single)
2010 Tokio Hotel and Kerli "Strange" Almost Alice
2010 Meat Loaf "Elvis in Vegas" Hang Cool Teddy Bear
2010 Weezer "Trainwrecks" Hurley
2011 Ricky Martin All Songs of the Album Musica + Alma + Sexo
2011 Alice Cooper "I Am Made Of You", "The Underture" Welcome 2 My Nightmare

Personal life

"Dezzy" Child lives in Nashville, TN with his partner Curtis and their seven-year-old twins, Roman and Nyro.[4] He has made his home in Nashville since 1991.

The track "The Truth Comes Out" from Desmond Child & Rouge's second album Runners In The Night (1979) was written about 'coming out' to his girlfriend and band member, Maria Vidal.

The song "A Ray Of Hope", written by Don Paul Yowell, was recorded by Child as a tribute to his younger brother, Joey, who died in January 1991 of AIDS-related complications.

The lyrics to Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" were inspired, in part on Desmond's life in late 1970s New York. He was living with then-girlfriend and Desmond Child & Rouge bandmate, Maria Vidal, working as a New York taxi cab driver trying to make ends meet, whilst Vidal was a waitress nicknamed Gina. In the evening they were musicians.

Representatives

Desmond is published by Universal Music Publishing worldwide and managed by Lucas Keller at The Collective.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b [1] Biography at Song Writer Universe.com
  2. ^ [2] Biography at Starplus.com
  3. ^ [3] Biography at Musicians Guide.com
  4. ^ Someone call Benson and Stabler!'[4] Nashville Scene

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Desmond Child — (eigentlich John Charles Barrett (* 28. Oktober 1953 in Gainsville, Florida) ist ein US amerikanischer Songwriter, Komponist und Produzent. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Child als Musiker 3 Ehrungen und Auszeichnungen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Desmond Child — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda John Charles Barret (Desmond Child) (28 de octubre de 1953, Miami, Florida) es un productor y compositor norteamericano. Carrera Sus éxitos como compositor incluyen I Hate Myself for Loving You (Joan Jett), Livin on… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Desmond Child — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Child. Desmond Child Naissance 28 octobre 1953 (1953 10 28) (58 ans) Gainesville, Floride …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Discipline (Desmond Child album) — Discipline Studio album by Desmond Child Released June 1991 Recorded 1990 1991 Genre Melodic Rock, AOR …   Wikipedia

  • List of songs written by Desmond Child — This is a list of songs written or co written by American songwriter Desmond Child. Aerosmith Heart s Done Time Dude (Looks Like a Lady) Angel What It Takes Flesh Crazy Hole in My Soul Ain t That a Bitch Clay Aiken Invisible Run to Me These Open… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Desmond Child songs — This is a list of songs written or co written by American songwriter Desmond Child.Aerosmith * Heart s Done Time * Dude (Looks Like a Lady) * Angel * What It Takes * Flesh * Crazy * Hole in My Soul * Ain t That a Bitch Clay Aiken * Invisible… …   Wikipedia

  • Desmond (name) — Desmond Gender male Other names Related names Des Desmond is a given name and surname of Irish origin, from the Irish place name Deas Mhumhna (South Munster).[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Child (surname) — Child is a surname, and may refer to: Arthur Child Canadian businessman Desmond Child American musician and songwriter Francis James Child American scholar and folklorist Fred Child American radio host George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey… …   Wikipedia

  • Child — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Desmond Child (* 1953), US amerikanischer Songschreiber, Komponist und Produzent Eilidh Child (* 1987), britische Leichtathletin Jane Child (* 1967), kanadische Musikerin und Popularmusiksängerin Josiah… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Child — Le mot child signifie enfant en anglais. Il est également un nom de famille porté entre autres par : Desmond Child (né en 1953), musicien américain Greg Child (né en 1957), alpiniste australien Sir Josiah Child (1630 1699), économiste… …   Wikipédia en Français

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