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.

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

• Desmond Child & Rouge (Capitol Records) (1978)
• Runners in the Night (Capitol Records) (1979)

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

Solo

• Discipline (Elektra Records) (1991)

For and with other artists

See also: Category:Songs written by Desmond Child

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

• List of Desmond Child songs

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

• Official website
• Desmond Child at the Internet Movie Database
• Songwriting Tips From The Man Who Penned Over 70 Top 40 Hits - Audio interview

Persondata
Name	Child, Desmond
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Date of birth	October 28, 1953
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Date of death
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