Desmond Child
Desmond Child is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He is the son of Joseph Marfy and of songwriter Elena Casals.
His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's "I Was Made for Lovin' You"; Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' "I Hate Myself for Loving You"; Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer", and "Bad Medicine"; Aerosmith's "Dude, "Angel", "What It Takes" and "Crazy"; Alice Cooper's "Poison"; Michael Bolton's "How Can We Be Lovers?"; and Ricky Martin's "The Cup of Life" and "Livin' la Vida Loca".
Career
Child's career started when he formed an R&B-influenced pop rock band, Desmond Child & Rouge in 1975 with singers Myriam Valle, Maria Vidal, and Diana Grasselli, backed by hired musicians. The band was known for their inclusion on the soundtrack to The Warriors in 1979, with the song "Last of an Ancient Breed", and for the Billboard #51 hit "Our Love is Insane". Their two albums received positive reviews but sold poorly and the group disbanded in 1980. One member, Maria Vidal, had a hit in 1985 with "Body Rock".Artists Child has worked with include Kiss, Cher, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler, Dream Theater, Per Gessle, Ricky Martin, Selena Gomez, and Kelly Clarkson. Desmond is credited with discovering Troy Curtis Tuminelli and recommending him to Edgardo Diaz before Tuminelli landed in Menudo, and, eventually, on Guiding Light. He was the key partner in Alice Cooper's album Trash. He was also responsible for the majority of song writing on Ratt's comeback album Detonator.
Child scored a Billboard Top 40 hit in 1991 as a solo artist with "Love on a Rooftop," a song he had co-written with Diane Warren, originally recorded by Ronnie Spector, and later by Cher.
He produced Meat Loaf's album , and co-wrote six of its songs.
Child wrote the song "Believe in Me" for Bonnie Tyler in 2012 and one year later it was selected as the Eurovision Song Contest entry for the United Kingdom. Following the contest, Tyler received two Eurovision Song Contest Radio Awards for Best Song and Best Singer, making her the first UK representative to win the award.
Child was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2013, he co-founded the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame along with fellow Cuban-American composer Rudy Pérez. Desmond's autobiography, Livin’ on a Prayer: Big Songs Big Life with David Ritz, is being released in early 2020.
Discography
Desmond Child & Rouge
- Desmond Child & Rouge
- Runners in the Night
Solo
- Discipline
For and with other artists
| Year | Band/Artist | Song written/co-written/produced | Album |
| 1979 | Kiss | "I Was Made for Lovin' You" | Dynasty |
| 1980 | Billy Squier | "You Should Be High Love" | The Tale of the Tape |
| 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 " | 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 | "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer", "Without Love", "I'd Die For You" | Slippery When Wet |
| 1987 | Aerosmith | "Angel", "Dude ", "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 | John Waite | "These Times are Hard for Lovers" | Rover's Return |
| 1987 | Kiss | "Bang Bang You", "My Way", "Reason to Live" | Crazy Nights |
| 1987 | Jennifer Rush | "Down to You", "Heart Wars" | Heart Over Mind |
| 1987 | Ronnie Spector | "Love on a Rooftop" | Unfinished Business |
| 1988 | Kiss | "Let's Put the X in Sex", " Rock Hard" | Smashes, Thrashes & Hits |
| 1988 | Bon Jovi | "Bad Medicine", "Born to Be My Baby", "Blood on Blood", "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 former | Soul Provider |
| 1989 | Billy Squier | "Stronger", "Tied Up" | Hear & Now |
| 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 ", "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 |
| 1991 | Joan Jett & The Blackhearts | "Ashes in the Wind", "The Only Good Thing ", "Lie to Me", "Don't Surrender", "Goodbye" | Notorious |
Personal life
Child lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his husband, Curtis Shaw, and their twin sons, Roman and Nyro. Child and Shaw's struggle to have a baby via surrogacy is recounted in the documentary Two: The Story of Roman & Nyro.The track "The Truth Comes Out" from Desmond Child & Rouge's second album Runners in the Night was written about 'coming out' to his girlfriend and Rouge bandmate, 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.
Hailing from Hungarian ancestry, Child received dual American-Hungarian citizenship in 2016. Child recently released "The Steps of Champions" a song he wrote for the Hungarian government as the official anthem of the sixtieth anniversary commemorations of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.