This is Desmond Child, and I'm back again on
My Weekly Mixtape with Brian Colburn to talk
about more songs from throughout my career. Enjoy
the show. Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast
that takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist i'm your host brian culburn
tonight i'm beyond excited to welcome back to
the show one of my favorite songwriters on the
planet the one and only desmond child desmond
it's a pleasure to have you back on the program
sir oh it's great to be here now Back on episode
54, you and I dove into a lot of songs from your
arsenal of chart -topping hits, and we also talked
a lot about your memoir, Living on a Prayer,
Big Songs, Big Life. Tonight, we're going to
continue that dive into more songs from your
incredible songwriting career, as well as discuss
the new audiobook of Big Songs, Big Life, which
is out now. The first thing I want to do is congratulate
you as four of the songs you've written and co
-written, that being Bon Jovi's You Give Love
a Bad Name and Living on a Prayer, as well as
Kisses I Was Made for Loving You and Ava Max's
Kings and Queens have all reached over a billion
streams on Spotify. So congratulations on those
four milestones. Thank you. I love being a billionaire.
Well, starting with Bon Jovi's You Give Love
a Bad Name, since we didn't get a chance to talk
about that song on volume one, can you maybe
dive into the songwriting origins for that song
and its connection to another song you wrote,
which was Bonnie Tyler's If You Were a Woman
and I Was a Man? Yes. I had gotten a call from
Bonnie Tyler's producer, Jim Steinman, and he
was a friend of my manager, Winston Simone. Just
had a huge hit with Bonnie Tyler, Total Eclipse
of the Heart. And he was looking for material
for her next record. And so I had sent over a
song called Lovers Again, which he loved, and
recorded with her. And then said, you know, I'd
like you to write me a specially written song.
First of all, the theme has to be about androgyny.
Okay. he came to the right place. The thing is,
he says, I want the verses to sound like Tina
Turner. I want the B section to sound like Colin
Oates or the police. And then I want the chorus
to sound like Bruce Springsteen. And I said,
okay. And so I went right to work. And within
24 hours, I had come up with If You Were a Woman
and I Was a Man, which he recorded with her.
The thing is that Right at that time, there was
this kind of change at her record company at
Sony. There was a new regime and kind of all
the British stars were kind of getting short
shrifted. And so they didn't get the same promotion
that they were getting before. I mean, I'm talking
about huge stars, you know, like Neil Diamond,
Barbra Streisand, Bruce Priestley. Eurythmics,
Culture Club, Cyndi Lauper. It was a change that
happened. And they weren't using those kind of
promotional dollars on someone like Bonnie Tyler.
And it's a shame because, I mean, she's one of
the greatest rock singers of all time. And so
what was happening then, you know, so that song
was released and it was popular in France only.
And so I really... thought I had like a number
one song there for her. And so, you know, a year
went by and I was kind of mad. It's almost like
I wasted a song, you know, that could have been
a global smash. And so I went to write with,
I had solely written that song. So I went to
co -write with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.
And the very first day that I went to meet with
them, I had a title in my pocket. called You
Give Love a Bad Name. And as soon as I said the
title, John finally looked up and looked at me
and gave me that billion -dollar smile. And so
I said, you know, I also have a hook that I used
in another song that didn't make it. It was like
a stillborn. And so I kind of started playing
that melody with those chords. And, you know,
very quickly, you know... If you were a woman
and I was a man, would it be so hard to understand?
And then it became shot through the heart and
you're to blame, darling. You give love a bad
name. It was cut from really the same bolt that
Because the Night was with, you know, because
they had the similar chord structure. It's like,
but our melody went up and Because the Night
went down. Because the night belonged to lover.
Because the night, you know, I mean, like, it
was the Jersey sound, right? And so they really
took to that. And also, I had been obsessed with
two songs around that time. One was Billie Jean
by Michael Jackson. And the other one was These
Dreams Are Made of This by the Eurythmics. And
they both had the very similar undulating bass
line that I also used on Bonnie Tyler's song,
you know, it was the same thing. And I was playing
it for Richie and he said, that sounds like Michael
Jackson. We can't do that. And I said, you know,
we're a rock band. I said, no, listen, man, just
play it on, chug it on guitar. Like, you know,
right? So then we went. And the song just came
to life. But it was the kind of sister -brother
of If You Were A Woman I Was A Man. So that opened
the door because they went beyond the Call of
Duty, producing that with Bruce Fairburn, the
incredible producer in Vancouver, and Bob Brock
was the engineer. And they also did Living on
a Prayer, all for this album called Slippery
When Wet. which is now, I think we're coming
to the, is it already the 40th anniversary? I
don't know. It will be in a few short years.
But the album just made Bon Jovi the biggest
stars in all the world. So then after that, in
more recent times, the original song, If You
Were a Woman and I Was a Man, was interpolated
by Ava Max. If all of the kings put their queens
on the throne. We would pop champagne and make
a toast. It's the same chords, the same melody,
same everything. So, of course, they came to
me and I became a co -writer on that song. Awesome.
Between my years of radio as well as playing
in cover bands myself, I can't count the number
of times someone's come up to me and saying,
hey, could you play Shot Through the Heart by
Bon Jovi? And I know they clearly meant You Give
Love a Bad Name, since a lot of people had no
idea at the time that Shot Through the Heart
was a completely different song from the band's
1984 self -titled album. Growing up, I had heard
the first two Bon Jovi albums. because of my
older cousins who were into the band being from
New Jersey, I simply assumed that the shot through
the heart lyrics in bad name were a wink, wink,
nudge, nudge. If you know, you know, call back
to that first album. Was that the case? Well,
no, I think for him, it was more like he threw
it in saying, I know this is a great hook shot
through the heart. And so he has said, you know,
that I wrote a song with that title, but I want
to use it in this song. So, you know, it's like
we were finding, you know, bits and pieces from
different songs, you know, that we had written
and just made, you know, kind of Bride of Frankenstein.
Another example of that was the double callback
in Aerosmith's classic What It Takes from 1989's
Pump, the line. Girl, before I met you, I was
F -I -N -E fine, but your love made me a prisoner.
Yeah, my heart's been doing time. Right, which
I co -wrote both, fine and heart's doing time.
Yes. Now, since What It Takes was the closing
song on Pump, was that lyrical section meant
to be kind of the stamp at the end of like the
permanent vacation slash Pump era? I think you're
thinking too deeply into it. I have a tendency
to do that. That would be so cool. Like, you
know, a Paul is dead kind of like theory, you
know, with it. But no, I think it was just one
of those things, you know, it was just another
song. And Stephen likes to. you know, repeat
certain things. Like he'd love, you know, he
always is going, when he can't think of lyrics,
he always goes, yabba dabba dabba dabba dabba,
you know, like that. And so I always, my nickname
for him is yabba dabba, you know, yabba dabba
doo, you know, like Fred Flintstone, right? And
so I remember he was once trying to, like we
wrote a couple of songs and he was trying to
throw in the line, my paycheck swallowed a trout.
And it was like, what? My paycheck swallowed
a trout. What does that mean? And he said, I
just think it sounds cool. And then ultimately
he put that in a song that he co -wrote with
somebody else. And I said, there it is. There
it goes. My paycheck swallowed a trout. What
is that? Well, having written dozens of songs
with both Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, are there any
songs that maybe weren't released as singles,
album tracks, if you will, that you look back
and wonder why the song wasn't released as a
single? Because for me personally, when I hear
tracks like Bon Jovi's Blood on Blood from New
Jersey or Aerosmith's Ain't That a Bitch from
Nine Lives, I immediately think, how were these
not hit singles on the radio? I don't know. You
know, it's like one of those things, you know,
certain songs take priority and then the promotional
dollars run out or their wick of promotion runs
out. I mean, I got so lucky with Waking Up in
Vegas because I co -wrote that with Katy Perry
and Andreas Carlson. She was between record deals.
She had been in The Matrix. as the lead singer
there. And then right before she got a deal at
Columbia Records with Steve Greenberg, one of
our great friends. So we wrote Waking Up in Vegas.
And so she went on to Columbia and that was the
lead song that would have been her first single.
But then Steve Greenberg got fired from Columbia
and they let go of his three acts. Want to hear
who they were? Yeah, of course. Fountains of
Wayne. Huh. Katy Perry and the Jonas Brothers.
Wow. They just cut those three bands loose. And
so, of course, she went on to, I think, RCA.
And has had a magnificent career there. And so
that's when she got in there. She started working
with Max Martin and his team. And they came up
with unbelievable songs. Oh my God, what was
the first one? I Kissed a Girl? I Kissed a Girl,
yes. And then Hot and Cold. It was like three
number ones in a row. And Waking Up in Vegas
was like down, you know, of course, you know,
down, down, down. And I said, oh my God, that's
like a number one song too. And finally, finally,
finally, they released it as the fourth single
and it goes all the way to number one. But the
dumbest thing that happened was there was a movie
called The Hangover. And I was trying to submit
songs for it. And then I felt like, okay, Waking
Up in Vegas is the best song for this. And some
dumb music supervisor said, no, man, it's got
to be all male songs because it's all guys and
things. I said, but don't they have girlfriends?
No, man, you know, it can't be any women on this
soundtrack. And I said, but this is going to
be a number one song with Katy Perry. Put it
in your movie. They came out at the same time.
They were both, the movie and the song were hit
shows. You know, The Hangover, my God. But Waking
Up in Vegas was made for that movie. And it was
like, how dumb is that? Because then the cross
promotion would have been fantastic on a global
scale. But you know, what can I do? You know,
I can't control everything. But I can't complain
that I also... Didn't lose because it became
number one anyway. There you go. And while we
were talking about Aerosmith on episode 54, you
and I talked about Dude Looks Like a Lady and
Angel from Permanent Vacation. But I'd like to
talk about another song you wrote during those
sessions, which was their future smash hit Crazy.
Even though it was written during the permanent
vacation cycle, it was held through the pump
cycle and then finally released on Get a Grip.
And I've read that the band did that so they
could, quote unquote, spread out their ballads.
From your knowledge, was that actually the case
there? Maybe. I mean, Stephen always had this
kind of slight resentment that people like me
and Diane Warren were like pop writers, kind
of like. entering the sacred circle of rock that
they feel they lived in and we did not. And the
biggest song they ever did was I Don't Want to
Miss a Thing. They weren't able to do a show
without that song and it came from a movie. And
that's how they justified in their head. They
were not co -writers on it. It was all Diane
Warren. That song should have won the Oscar,
but some Disney diddy, they outspent whatever.
And she didn't get it. You know, she still hasn't.
She's on her like 16th Oscar nomination. And
even Steven was like kind of slagging her a little
bit in People magazine. You know, just like,
well, you know, she's a pop writer, you know,
whatever. You know, we just did it for the movie.
I mean, you know, it's not our kind of music.
I mean, and so, you know, when I came into the
picture, they had done. an album called Done
With Mirrors. Yes. And it was, you know, received
kind of disappointingly. And so John Klodner,
their epic A &R guy, forced me into their circle.
They didn't want it. And, you know, the very
first day that I met them, we wrote Dude Looks
Like a Lady. But even then, you know, Stephen,
in his autobiography, was slagging me, saying,
well, he didn't really write anything on it,
maybe just a few little words. I don't even know
why his name's on it. And he described me, well,
I actually looked more like what he described
me. He said he looked like, he walked in there
with a mustache that looked like Juan Valdez,
which was kind of like an insult to Latinos,
because I am Cuban. But I never had, okay, I
have a goatee right now, but I never sported
a 70s porn mustache, okay? On its own, you know?
And so, then Joe, in his autobiography that was
co -written by my co -author, David Ritz, before
I'd started my book, said, oh, well, you know,
Desmond came up with the title, Dude Looks Like
a Lady. And it was like, I didn't. That was Stephen's
title. Like they both had it wrong. And so I
was like, ah. So in my book, I set the record
straight. And then Stephen came over to my office
a couple of years ago and I sat him down and
said, okay, look, this is how it went down, right?
And he looked off into space and he said, yeah,
I like your story better than mine. As far as
delaying, I mean, I thought that Cryin' and Crazy
were too similar. They shouldn't have been on
the same record. But they were. And they both
were hits. What can I tell you? Cryin' Crazy.
I mean, exactly. What could I do? Yeah. I was
happy it got on the record. And I was happy it
was also a hit. By all means. Well, I want to
dive into some of these rock songs that you have
worked on. And the first one I want to touch
on is Alice Cooper's Poison, the hit track written
by you, Alice, and John McCurry. Now, from my
knowledge of the song, the opening guitar riff
was originally written and used by John. for
the John Waite track, Encircled. And I'd love
to know how it was transformed into Poison during
the songwriting process. Well, Alice and I had
already written the song Poison. And then in
the studio while we were building the track,
I said, oh, it'd be so cool if we had some kind
of freaky, angular intro. And he said, oh, well,
I got this. I didn't know it was, this is the
first time I'm hearing has anything to do with
John Waite. The first time. I never heard that
before. He didn't say it and no one's ever brought
it up before. And it's cool in a way, but he
came up with that riff and the riff was so strong.
We gave him co -writing credit on the song because
it's so signature. We couldn't not just say,
oh, well, you're just a musician. Thank you very
much. We couldn't do that. That was a class act
on both your parts then. Yes. I mean, you know,
I'm not greedy like that and I'm always a collaborator.
So what's the difference? Two collaborators,
three collaborators, or like on Kings and Queens,
for some reason, I have like 12 collaborators.
Yes. Yes. Well, let's shrink the collaborators
down to a band and one other person, that band
being Rat and Arthur Payson, where you worked
in 1990 on the band's Detonator album. Can you
talk about... That experience working with Rat
on hits like Love and Use a Dirty Job and Shame,
Shame, Shame? Now, was I a co -producer on that
or was I the executive producer on that album?
You were the executive producer. Apologies. I
don't know what happened because I was working
on my own album, Discipline, and then they kind
of asked me to come and produce that record.
And I said, well, I have to promote my own record.
which was like a two -year operation. I wasn't
successful, but I was going to give it my last
shot. I was already like 41 years old. So I wrote
all the songs except for one of them. But I did
kind of tweak that song with them for the record.
And it was a kind of difficult time for them
because King was going through a lot and then
he finally died. And so... Arthur was my engineer
and Arthur had a family, you know, and they had
moved to California when I did to continue working
with me. So they were living in New York and
they locked stock and barrel, moved to California.
And then I was like, well, why doesn't Arthur
be the producer and I'll be the executive producer?
And so that's how we worked because I wanted
to make sure that Arthur was still being employed.
Because I felt, you know, very responsible for
his family moving there. And I was going to be
out of commission for two years. So we did that
with Kane Roberts. We did that with this New
Jersey band that played a song of mine, Timeless
Love, on the Shocker soundtrack. Soraya, yes.
Kane Roberts, Rat, and there was like another
record. Oh, Mitch Malloy also. So that kept...
arthur busy for the next two years engineering
and producing those records and i was co -writing
when i could and contributing songs and then
you know kind of sometimes serving as an executive
producer well we talked about your work with
Joan Jett on volume one at a little bit of a
higher level, but I'd like to dive a little bit
deeper into your work with her as I Hate Myself
for Loving You and Little Liar are two of my
absolute favorite songs from across her discography.
Having produced I Hate Myself, I've always wondered
how Mick Taylor from the Rolling Stones came
on board to play guitar solo on that track. And
I'd love to hear what you felt he brought to
the song. Well, he brought his name. And it's
credibility. And, you know, that was important
for her at that moment, you know, for the press
and to say, yeah, you know. And so I think we
had a solo on there by Ricky Burt. And then we'd
switched it. And, you know, it came out great.
I mean, I think it sounds really wonderful. But,
you know, everybody would know he goes there.
Everybody was just willing to do whatever it
took to make Joan like explode because it was
her time. And I want to dive into that a little
bit because Little Liar was a song where Joan
was being very open and raw and vulnerable in
the track, which is a bit of a pivot from her
bad reputation days. Was that something that
you and her were looking to achieve with that
song? You know, with Joan, she's an instinctual
person. There was a lot of intellectual talking
about ideas. It was just like... the song just
kind of wrote itself in a way. And I'm sure that
she had had experiences in her life that she
related to the lyric, you know, but of course
I knew nothing about her personal life. And so,
you know, usually I can get all the artists I
work with to be little chatty Cathy's and tell
me everything because I usually like I'm writing,
sort of traditionally writing down what they're
saying. And then when we finally get around to
the songwriting, I said, well, you know, when
you were talking, you said this line. It's like,
okay, did I? Okay. And so that always can open
a door into a kind of like more authentic lyric.
But Joan is like very mysterious person. I saw
her recently at the Ryman, got to see her again
after, since 2000, I hadn't seen her in person
since 2008. when I was inducted into the Songwriters
Hall of Fame, and she inducted me. And so she
was so gracious, and she wrote the most beautiful
introductory speech. So I hadn't seen her since
then. And it was just so wonderful to see her
on stage. And, you know, she looked like she
was 16 years old. I mean, she just looked fantastic.
Her body is incredible, her movements, and just
the way she spoke to the audience was very giving
and funny. And it was a spectacular show. So
I just adore her. And we were so kind of lucky
too that it was originally Monday Night Football,
and then they became Sunday Night Football. And
so I worked on interpolating those lyrics into,
you know, can't wait for Sunday night or whatever
it turned out to be, right? Waiting all day for
Sunday night. For Sunday night. Yeah, waiting
all day for Sunday night. And so that song was
sung by Faith Hill. Pink, Carrie Underwood. And
then Carrie decided to write her own theme and
it lasted a couple of years. And then by popular
demand, it went back to the other theme. And
so then just last year, Dolly Parton recorded
the song featuring JoJet. And so I got a call
from Dolly's office that she's got a gold plaque
waiting for me over there for me to pick up.
So I'm hoping. It worked out that I could, you
know, I can have a picture of her handing it
to me. But we talked a little bit about Dolly,
me and Joan backstage. And, you know, how wonderful
she felt working with her. I mean, that's a real
star, you know, like Dolly Parton. And the good
kind, you know, so generous, so humble and self
-effacing. And she doesn't take herself so seriously.
which she always makes people feel good and comfortable.
And she's also been a tremendous supporter of
LGBTQ rights and in kind of a Southern world
where it's been going in the opposite direction.
So it's wonderful that somebody of her stature
is handing out hope, you know, putting out hope
out there for a young LGBTQ. Kids that look up
to her, they're in their small communities and
afraid to come out or, you know, just feel like
outcasts. And she just brings them all in. And
I just love that about her. And that's why Dolly's
a national treasure. Well, with all of the news
of Mike Portnoy being back in the Dream Theater
fold and their upcoming album and tour, I'd like
to touch on the song you co -wrote with the band
in 1997, You Not Me, for their Falling Into Infinity
album. Was that your first foray into writing
progressive rock? And what did you take away
from that experience? Well, it was kind of weird
because I just wrote with him and it was just
me and him. So then he goes away and then the
manager comes back and says, OK, well, Dedman's
a co -writer with the whole band. It's like,
no, I'm not. I co -wrote it with him 50 -50.
And so we struggle for that for a long time.
I don't know what the credits say, but, you know,
I got half the song because I did my work, you
know. And so sometimes bands are weird like that,
where, you know, the other members who aren't
writers want credit. Because that's their income.
See? So, I mean, I think that, you know, Aerosmith
worked it out the best because it's like Stephen
and Joe are the main writers. Sometimes they're
collaborating with other people separately, like
Joe wrote Hearts on Time with me and Stephen
wrote Angel with me without Joe. But the other
members of the band had an equal piece of the
publishing because of their musical contributions.
But, you know, fighting, you know, over, you
know, well, you know, pieces of songs, you know,
is terrible because it's business. Maybe you
could say, okay, the publishing is business,
but the songwriting, that's different because
why take credit for something that you didn't
do just to get a piece of something so that you
get more money? And it's always because the lead
singer usually is writing the songs and then
usually with the other star, which is the lead
guitarist. So that's what happened with Dream
Theater. And so he never came back to write more,
maybe because it was kind of I didn't do what
they said or what they wanted. And, you know,
it was like one of those things where, I mean,
it wasn't even in my world and they sought me
out. Maybe he did just because he thought, well,
why not? But we did come up with a good song.
That's a great song, yeah. That's that. And it's
a shame that we didn't continue our writing relationship
over a business matter. But if you're going to
do something like that, you have to say it up
front. And I would have said, okay, well, look,
if you want to split the credit, fine. But guess
what? I sell at 50 and you split your 50 with
them. Like I said, Aerosmith did it the best
because they all shared on the publishing side.
Well, I would certainly catch flack from the
My Weekly Mixtape Kiss fans if we didn't touch
on a few more songs that you co -wrote with them.
And I'd like to take a look at the pair of singles
you worked with the band on their 1988 compilation,
Smashes, Thrashes and Hits. The songs Let's Put
the X in Sex and You Make Me Rock Hard, the latter
of which was co -written with Diane Warren, someone
we talked about earlier. Now, Paul Stanley recorded.
both of those tracks on his own in 1988. Were
those songs written with the smashes, thrashes,
and hits track listing in mind? Because a lot
of the songs on that compilation kind of pull
from that same vein and that same mindset. Even
some of the songs they remixed from the earlier
albums. Wow, you know more than me. I have no
idea what you're talking about. I'm a big music
nerd, sorry. Well, somebody's gotta be. Um, I
never thought that deeply into it. And, um, let's
put the X in sex. You know, I just love that
song and you make me rock hard. It was funny
because I dragged Diane Warren into it and she
didn't even want to do the session. You know,
I say, come on, Diane, you can do this. Kiss.
I don't know anything about rock music. What
are you talking about? Come on. And so we had
coffee before we went into the session. I said,
well, let's walk in with a title. And we came
up with, you make me rock hard, which is a double
entendre. You make me rock hard or rock hard.
But we said it like, let's just throw out there
as a joke, as an icebreaker. And Paul looked
at us and said, I like that. And we looked at
each other like, you're kidding me. That's like
one of the worst titles. ever written. And so,
you know, it was kind of a novelty song. It's
like a joke because it's like so overtly sexual.
But, you know, it worked. And, you know, there
was another song like that that Paul and I had
written, I think with, I'm not quite sure it
was either Jean Beauvoir or the guitarist. It's
called All Night. Jean Beauvoir, yes. I mean,
you work all day and then you got all night.
I mean, that's like very, very sexual. And then
who did we write Reason to Live With? Because
that's really my favorite Kiss song. Was that
just me and Paul? As far as I know, yes. Because
that's like my favorite Kiss song. It's a great
tune. Now... I do want to pivot to something
a little bit outside of rock here. And this is
because earlier this year, you had some co -writing
sessions with the man responsible for writing
the first song that I, as a child, ever fell
in love with. And it's my favorite song of all
time, that being Rainbow Connection. with the
writer being Paul Williams. Seeing you two combine
forces on a song or maybe songs, it immediately
piqued my interest. And I'd love to know, is
there anything you'd maybe willing to share about
those writing sessions? Well, that came up because
we auctioned, you know, writing a song for the
ASCAP Foundation. And so I had had a fundraiser
at our New York apartment. And, you know, we
auctioned off this songwriting session and we
wrote a song called Freedom is the Dance. And
it's such a beautiful song. And the person who
bought the session, I mean, they're not co -writers
or own the song or anything, but they donated
big money so that we would write this song. And
he wanted it to have a theme about being an immigrant
coming to this country because he came here from
the Philippines. There's two versions of the
song. The one that's... more kind of about that
story. And then we wrote a second version that
was just more like the rest of the song. And
so we said, okay, well, we're going to have to
do it again for the next Ask Up Foundation auction.
And I said, okay, great. But I want to write
a song for Barbra Streisand with you. So we'll
see what happens with that. Well, I'm not sure
many people know this. And if you thought I was
a nerd before, this certainly isn't going to
help. my cause in any way, shape or form. But
you, like Paul Williams, have also written a
song for the one and only Kermit the Frog as
you co -wrote the track Everyone Matters with
David Sigerson for It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas
Movie in 2002, with that song receiving an Emmy
nomination for Outstanding Music and Lyrics.
Is there a different mindset involved when you
write a song for a quote unquote character such
as Kermit the Frog versus when you write with
or for a band or artist? Well, no. I mean, we
had the storyline and there was a moment in the
show where he sings this song and It just came
to us to write a song called Everyone Matters.
And it was a very profound song because if you
just think about what those words are saying,
so many people don't matter to the world and
we're saying everyone matters. Everyone has a
soul and everyone deserves respect. And so I
was so pleased that we got it. I got my first
Emmy nomination for writing that song. And it
was very cute because Jim Henson had already
passed away. So the guy that took over his voice
came to the studio in Miami, long, straight,
long hair, like real hippie type. And he got
behind the mic. And that was the only time ever
that our studio, which was very small. got packed
like 50 people came to see that session like
some the word went out and everybody from down
the street the other studios they all came running
to hear him sing it and it was like amazing how
he just like got in front of the mic okay everything
okay okay and then he kind of did a little cough
and then he went into the Kermit voice and it
was like wow it was like goosebumps how it came
to life But he told this sweet story. He said
that he had gone to Royal Albert Hall for a command
performance of the Queen of England and lined
up on the stage were all the people that performed
that night. You know, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir
Rod Stewart, all these people were all lined
up, the biggest stars of all time. And Kermit
was there and he was on somebody's shoulder,
right? And so she's walking by kind of, you know,
kind of coldly, kind of like nodding her head.
And then she stops, looks at Kermit and says,
and you're here too. Like she became like a little
girl. How cute is that? That's amazing. Totally
broke her spell of being the monarch. And she
became a little girl. I just love that story
so much. Well, tonight we've been talking about
songs you've written for and with other artists
and characters, but I'd like to take a moment
to talk about a song you wrote for yourself because
Desmond Child and Rouge's new single, Unpredictable,
dropped earlier this year. Was there ever a,
should I pass this on to another artist or keep
it for myself moment for you when you were writing
this track? Well, Desmond Child and Rouge, we
started performing again. you know a different
uh tributes to laura nero who was my you know
our biggest influence and an idol and everyone
said oh you guys are so great and you know why
did you do more stuff so i did a solo show at
lincoln center and they came on and we sang a
couple of laura nero songs and we just said well
let's start making records again no pressure
no nothing and We did Unpredictable. We have
two more already in the can. And we're also working
on a Laura Nero tribute album. We have four songs
recorded. And it's hard because everybody lives
somewhere different. Miriam lives in upstate
New York. I live in Nashville. Maria Vidal lives
in California. And Diana Griselli lives in the
western part of Virginia, the state of Virginia.
borders of the country. And we had my musical
director, Clay Perry, learn all of Laura Nero's
piano parts, which are very, you know, kind of
complex, cool chords. And they sang in the middle
of the room with baffled. I sang in a separate
ISO booth and the piano was in its own booth.
And so we sang live. We sang, you know, we had
learned all the parts and we sang like maybe
four or five takes of each one of the songs.
And so I've been putting that together. It just
sounds fantastic hearing our voices. And of course,
you know, loving so much the music of Laura Nero.
So much so that I named my son Nero. There you
have it. There you go. Love it. N -Y -R -O. That
is amazing. Well, before I let you go, are you
currently writing or co -writing any songs? I
know you mentioned The project you're working
on now, but stuff that maybe fans can expect
to hear from you or from other artists in the
very near future? Well, you know, I've been working
on my Broadway musical with David Sigerson called
Cuba Libre. And it's the true story of my family
before and after the Cuban Revolution. Wow. My
mother had two younger sisters who were very
beautiful. They became the It Girls of Havana.
in the late 50s, and then into the revolution.
And one of them became the mistress of the dictator,
Fulgencio Batista. And the other one ended up
being one of the lovers of Fidel Castro. So it's
two sisters, two dictators, one Aileen. Wow,
that sounds exciting. Yeah, yeah. And it's very,
very exciting. I've been working on songs for
Barbra Streisand for her next record. It's a
duet record. So I can't actually even say a title.
I signed that NDA. I'm not allowed to say anything
about anything. But, you know, if people check
in on my Instagram, Desmond .Child, there's always,
you know, news and stuff I'm doing and snippets.
And, you know, a lot of it right now is for the
release of my audio book, which is so great because,
you know, you see here all these. writing tapes
that I've mixed in there where I'm creating Live
en la vida loca, you know, with Draco Rosa. You
hear the start of the song, co -writing the very
first day I met Joan Jett, I hate myself for
loving you. You hear us coming up with the ideas
and talking back and forth. It's so exciting.
And waking up in Vegas with Katy Perry and Andreas
Carlson. We're playing that, you know, hit me
with your best shot, guitar, rhythm, done. Shut
up and put your money. So Eddie Schwartz had
written, solely written, hit me with your best
shot. And so I got to meet him many, many years
later. And I said, oh, thank you for writing
my hit. He laughed. I love using that line. I
said it to Bruce Springsteen at the Music Cares.
It was a tribute to Jon Bon Jovi. So on one side
of him was. Bruce Springsteen, on the other side
of him was Paul McCartney. So I said to Bruce,
I said, oh, thank you for writing all of my hits.
And he got a big laugh out of that. Because,
you know, basically, you know, you give love
a bad name, that chorus is because the night,
you know, kind of turned upside down. And then
I went up to Paul McCartney. And I said, I wanted
to meet you because I wanted to let you know
that your song Ob -La -Di Ob -La -Da is what
gave me my name Desmond. You know, Desmond has
a barrel in the marketplace. And the last line
of the song is, Desmond stays at home and paints
his pretty face. And at night, she's the singer
in the band. Remember, because he was the singer
in the band and Molly would stay at home. But
the she is talking about, is it Molly? The she
is talking about is Desmond. Yes. After he paints
his pretty face. And he looked at me and said,
the cutest thing. He said, I always wondered
if people understood that Desmond was gay. And
I said, I understood. That's why I named myself
Desmond. You know, it was so, so cute. And so
I gave him my phone and he shot the selfie of
me and him together. How cool is that? That is
legendary. Yeah. Like, how cool is that to be
able to say, photo. By Paul McCartney. Well,
I for one look forward to hearing what's next
for you. Living on a Prayer, Big Songs, Big Life
is available now in audio book form, or if you
prefer to read the words yourself in print as
well. Desmond, once again, this has truly been
an honor. Thank you so much for joining me again
on my weekly mixtape. Oh, thank you so much.
It's an honor and call me anytime. And to those
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for listening. And until next time, enjoy the
tunes.