So what's the big deal with Desmond Child? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Swish
03-25-2005, 01:54 PM
I was driving to Atlantic City on Tuesday and had the radio on one of the better stations in the Philly area, WXPN. They were playing some decent tunes and then had a taped interview with this guy. He was talking about how he helped Bon Jovi write such "great" songs as "Living on a Prayer" and Aerosmith's "Dude Look Like a Lady". Then he talked about how "good rock and roll was taken over by Alternative Rock...that had a lot of negative content" and so forth. So Bon Jovi was "good rock 'n roll"? And how about "Dude Look Like a Lady". He said they had this line "Cruisin' for the ladies" and he didn't like it and told them so. Later that day, the title just popped in his head but Joe Perry told him it would probably upset the tgay community so he was against it. Well, DC tells him "I'm gay and it's not offensive, so go with it".

He went on to say that Alternative Rock drove him to Nashville where he writes country songs for others and that he will never leave. I say "good riddance". Country got what it deserves.

Swish

MindGoneHaywire
03-25-2005, 02:30 PM
I don't recall his resume completely, but I recall him having written some tunes for KISS as well, although it might've been during their Dynasty/disco period. He also had a hit under his own name--Desmond Child & Rouge? Can't recall the tune, but I remember it was very, very commercial, during the late 70s. As for his comments...if he wants to claim this credit for having contributed to an Aerosmith song, great. What an accomplishment. Bon Jovi? High art. Alternative music is no good, of course, though he's coming at it from the 'negative content' angle. Unlike hair metal which was so worthy...reminds me of Lita Ford complaining about alternative rock, how nobody wanted to 'rock' anymore. Indeed.

nobody
03-25-2005, 04:01 PM
Don't know squat about the guy, just thought it was funny how he don't like post-a-certain-era rock and went to Nashville. Reminds me of more than one fella I've known who was into old time rock stuff but is into country these days. A guy I know who played in some rock bands in the 50s listens to nothing but country now...says it sounds more like rock 'n' roll to him than what people consider rock nowadays. He'll still pull out the buddy holly from time to time, but if it's newer stuff, it's all country.

Swish
03-25-2005, 04:15 PM
I don't recall his resume completely, but I recall him having written some tunes for KISS as well, although it might've been during their Dynasty/disco period. He also had a hit under his own name--Desmond Child & Rouge? Can't recall the tune, but I remember it was very, very commercial, during the late 70s. As for his comments...if he wants to claim this credit for having contributed to an Aerosmith song, great. What an accomplishment. Bon Jovi? High art. Alternative music is no good, of course, though he's coming at it from the 'negative content' angle. Unlike hair metal which was so worthy...reminds me of Lita Ford complaining about alternative rock, how nobody wanted to 'rock' anymore. Indeed.

This guy really hammers him but good! Enjoy.


I've Got My Six String In Hock

By DragonAttack

Well, looky what I have here. I have two articles from my local newspaper. One is dated June 5, 1987, and the other is dated June 8, 1987. You have five seconds to guess what both of the articles are about! Do you know? Of course you do! Both articles are about Bon Jovi. Because 15 years ago this week, Bon Jovi came through town on the Slippery When Wet tour. (Two sold out shows, of course.)

So, the article from the 5th was picked up from the Baltimore Sun, and it tells us all about the sensational Bon Jovi. How the group went from average band to superstardom thanks to Top 40 radio. The article from the 8th is a review of the concerts by my local music critic. He, by the way, is, always has been, and always will be, a jackass.

Anyway, the article about the sensational Bon Jovi tells us that one of the reasons that You Give Love A Bad Name is so huge is because of the catchy chorus. (The article calls it, "the persistent selling of the chorus.") Jon Bon Jovi states that early on, an A & R guy told him the phrase, "don't bore us, get to the chorus," and apparently Jon Bon Jovi took that as law. I don't know if that is a very good law. You know, I'm pretty sure Bob Dylan doesn't get to choruses very often, and he doesn't seem to bore people. But comparing Jon Bon Jovi to Bob Dylan is like comparing someone marginally talented to someone who is pretty good, so I'll just stop right now.

The article about "don't bore us, get to the chorus," neglects to mention one thing. The fact that both of the catchiest, most chorus-heavy songs on the Slippery When Wet album were not just written by Jon and Richie. There was a third hand in the mix. That's right. When you hear that drum kick in right before the chorus of Livin' On A Prayer, you know that the hitmaking hand of Desmond Child was nearby.

Can we discuss, briefly, the evils of Desmond Child? Bon Jovi was a pretty good rock band until Desmond Child stepped into the picture. The first two albums are fairly solid rock and roll. And then Desmond Child appeared. And the era of fringy leather jackets was ushered in not long after that. Why would anyone hire Desmond Child? Oooh! Oooh! Because he co-wrote the KISS disco hit, I Was Made For Lovin' You? Because he was in that tremendously successful group Desmond Child and Rouge? Because he would later grow up to write Livin' La Vida Loca? These answers are all incorrect.

The correct answer is, you would never hire Desmond Child for any reason. Do you hear me? No reason! The man wrote Livin' La Vida Loca! He's a jackass! He ruined Bon Jovi, he helped ruin KISS, he helped ruin Aerosmith, and he was in a group called Desmond Child and Rouge. He wasn't good enough to be in Tony Orlando and Dawn! He had to be in a cheap knockoff group. And why is it that two of his biggest hits both start with the word livin'? Is it his lucky word? Or is he out of ideas? That's just great. Just when I thought music could not get any worse, Desmond Child has started borrowing ideas from Desmond Child.
June 7, 2002

Slosh
03-25-2005, 09:42 PM
. . . not just anyone can act as a barometer of truly awful music. I mean, Kiss and Bon Jovi sucked a<a>ss loooong before Desmond came along, and yet they proved they can suck even more with a little help :D

Swish
03-26-2005, 10:19 AM
. . . not just anyone can act as a barometer of truly awful music. I mean, Kiss and Bon Jovi sucked a<a>ss loooong before Desmond came along, and yet they proved they can suck even more with a little help :D

and after hearing his list of "accomplishments" and how he despised alternative music (I'm sure he was referring to the initial Seattle grunge sound of bands like Nirvana), I just had to post something. Then I decided to Google his name and came up with this gem of an article. I think the title sums it up very nicely:

Desmond Child Continues Great String Of Hits, From Aerosmith & Bon Jovi to Ricky Martin

By Dale Kawashima

Desmond Child has been one of the most successful, versatile songwriters in the music business for more than two decades. This consummate hitmaker first enjoyed success as an artist (with his group, Desmond Child & Rouge), then went on to co-write numerous hits for KISS, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Joan Jett, Michael Bolton and Cher. Most recently, he has co-written and produced several hits for Ricky Martin, including the breakthrough single, "Livin’ La Vida Loca." Over the course of his career, Child has remarkably written forty, Top 40 chart hits.
In a new interview, Child recalled moments from his entire career, including his early years as a writer/artist in Florida and New York, and which artists have inspired him. He talked about many of his hit songs, including how he established collaborations with KISS, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith. Lastly, he offers words of advice to aspiring songwriters and artists who are trying to break into the business.

Growing up in Miami Beach, Child was first inspired by his mother, Elena Casals, a Cuban songwriter who has had cuts with Latin artists. "My mother loved music, and she was always writing songs," explained Child. "As soon as I was able to sit on the piano, I started imitating her. I learned how to play piano, and started writing songs at a young age."

When he was 14, his friend Lisa Wexler (daughter of legendary, R&B producer Jerry Wexler) would play him albums by Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin that her father had produced. Then one day, she played him Laura Nyro’s debut album, More Than A New Discovery (on Verve Records), which immediately had a profound impact on him.

"I was deeply moved by her music," explained Child. "The album (which contained such classics as 'Stoney End,' 'And When I Die' and 'Wedding Bell Blues') inspired me to take my songwriting very seriously, and I began writing songs which were influenced by her. It was a tremendous thrill for me, many years later, when I had the chance to meet with her."

In high school, Child formed an acoustic/folk duo called Night Child with singer/guitarist, Debra Walls. They drove north and performed gigs in Woodstock (NY), Boston and Montreal. The duo ended up recording demos with Van Morrison’s band at Bearsville Studio near Woodstock, and were almost signed by label executive Seymour Stein in 1971.

However, Night Child subsequently disbanded, and Child attended Miami-Dade College, where he met singers Maria Vidal and Diana Grasselli in 1973. The trio formed the group, Desmond Child & Rouge, and moved to New York City to pursue their music aspirations. Playing the club circuit, the group gradually developed a major following, and was signed to Capitol Records by A&R exec/producer Richard Landis in 1978.

"We recorded two albums for Capitol (both released in 1979), and we had a dance hit called "Our Love Was Insane," recalled Child. "However, we were doing something very different and urban, combining dance and Latin rhythms, rock and roll, punk, all with singer/songwriter-style lyrics. We weren’t understood by our label, and there was a lot of pressure on us at the time, so we ultimately broke up in 1980."

From that point on, Child primarily focused on his songwriting career, which had begun auspiciously in 1979, when he started collaborating with Paul Stanley of KISS. The duo wrote "I Was Made For Loving You" for the group’s Dynasty album, which became a Top 10 hit. Child went on to co-write 16 songs for KISS, including the hit "Heaven’s On Fire" from the group’s Animalize album in 1984.

When Jon Bon Jovi heard and loved "Heaven’s On Fire," he called up Child to collaborate with him. "I got together with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, and the first song we wrote was ‘You Give Love A Bad Name,’" said Child. "I ended up writing at least 10 cuts with them, including the hits ‘Livin’ On A Prayer,’ ‘Bad Medicine’ and ‘Keep The Faith.’"

During the late ‘80s, Child established a hit collaboration with another, multi-platinum band, Aerosmith. "A&R exec John Kalodner introduced me to Aerosmith, bringing me in to write with the group for their Permanent Vacation album," explained Child. "Steven Tyler and I wrote ‘Dude (Looks Like A Lady)‘ and ‘Angel,’ with Joe Perry co-writing ‘Dude’ with us. We also wrote [the Top 10 hit] ‘What It Takes’ for their Pump album, plus [the Grammy-winning hit] ‘Crazy’ for Get A Grip."

Throughout this period, Child collaborated with (or wrote songs for) many other artists, including Cher, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Ratt, Chicago, Alice Cooper and Cinderella. Child co-wrote two additional, noteworthy hits: the rock classic "I Hate Myself For Loving You" for Joan Jett, and the hit "How Can We Be Lovers" for Michael Bolton.

After living for several years in both New York and Los Angeles, Child moved back to Miami in the mid-90s. He built a new studio in his home garage, utilizing ProTools studio equipment. In fact, as a producer, Child made history in 1999 when he produced, recorded and mixed the worldwide smash, "Livin’ La Vida Loca," completely on ProTools equipment.

Co-writing and producing "Livin’ La Vida Loca" was a tremendous achievement for Child, because the song helped establish Ricky Martin as an international pop star. In addition, Child has co-written and produced several other hits for Martin, including "She Bangs," "Shake Your Bon-Bon," "Cup Of Life," and "Nobody Wants To Be Lonely" (featuring Christina Aguilera).

Besides living and working in Miami, Child has also purchased a home in Nashville, where he works regularly. "I came to Nashville in 1993, and I immediately felt a kinship with country music, because country has lyrics that tell stories," explained Child. "I’ve since built a house there, and I love coming to Nashville every month to collaborate and produce. Right now, I’m collaborating with Jo Dee Messina."

Despite having worked for more than two decades as a writer, producer and artist, Child remains energized and enthusiastic, ready to keep creating the hits indefinitely. "I think I was born with a certain drive and sense of destiny that keeps me going," said Child. "Through all the ups and downs, I believe that’s something you can’t learn. 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 work the phones, work in the studio, and travel regularly. I try to live a lot, so I have new experiences that I can write about."

"For any aspiring songwriter who might be reading this article, my advice would be to live life to the fullest, and then write about it. Dare to suck and put your music out there, and just keep on going."

It's hard for me to think about the money this guy had made off the dreck he helped write over the years.

Happy Easter,
Swish

Finch Platte
03-26-2005, 07:24 PM
I loved this line, "But comparing Jon Bon Jovi to Bob Dylan is like comparing someone marginally talented to someone who is pretty good."

Lol.

fp

mad rhetorik
03-28-2005, 07:06 PM
Thanks for making pop music sh<a>ittier than it already was, Dez. Find a hole to die in.

Mr MidFi
03-30-2005, 11:56 AM
I remember, back when I was a pimply-faced teenager, seeing Desmond Child & Rouge on Saturday Night Live. I remember it because I made a special mental note of the occasion. "This is the lamest band I've never heard of," said my head. And my ears and eyes agreed enthusiastically.

Little-known fact: If Desmond Child were to co-produce a comeback album from Air Supply along with Aldo Nova and Neil Diamond...the sheer suckage would actually rip the fabric of space/time and implode the known universe.

Dusty Chalk
03-30-2005, 07:28 PM
Hey! Leave Neil Diamond out of that equation...