Livin' On A Prayer: Big Songs Big Life

by Desmond Child, Paul Stanley (Foreword), David Ritz (Primary Contributor)

Desmond Child is the ultimate hitmaker, contributing to some of the biggest smash global hits that helped ignite the success of music icons KISS, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, and countless others. In  Livin’ On A Prayer , he reveals how he climbed his way to the top and beyond amid extraordinary circumstances and shares his very personal and unbelievable journey that shaped him into an artist of international renown. For over half a century, Desmond Child has collaborated with the world’s most celebrated artists creating timeless hits, such as Bon Jovi’s “Livin' On A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” as well as Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “The Cup Of Life” amongst his vast catalog. But in  Livin’ On A Prayer, Desmond himself takes center stage to share his transformational story from misfit outsider to cultural pacesetter. In collaboration with legendary music biographer David Ritz, Child recounts his unconventional upbringing as his colorful family fled Cuba in the 1960s and fell into poverty. He details his shocking discovery at age 18 that the man he called “dad” was not his biological father after all, and he courageously bares his soul about navigating the trials of being a Latino gay man in the macho world of rock and roll. His is a story of willing himself to succeed and overcome impossible odds to establish himself as one of the most influential composers and lyricists of all time.

Genres: Autobiography

400 pages, Hardcover

Published September 19, 2023

About the author

Desmond Child is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. Artists Child has worked with include Kiss, Cher, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler, Dream Theater, Roxette, Ricky Martin, Selena Gomez, and Kelly Clarkson.

Reviews

[Sushi (寿司)]

This book is written in English but I do a simultaneous translation when I read. I read in Italian on the english words.

Foreword (by Paul Stanley): A true and long friendship. When I read his words it was as if I was there with him. A 25 years old Paul, 1977, who sees this flyer on a pole and then the beginning of a long friendship.

Introduction: (David Ritz)

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this memoir because, even though I'm not a huge fan of some of his hit songs, I thought that being a singer/songwriter/producer for that vast array of artists then Desmond Child would have some interesting stories to tell. Boy, was I right! His childhood, being the son of a large Cuban-American family with a lot of historical ties to major figures in Cuba was incredibly dramatic. Not to mention his climb in the cut-throat world of the music business. Then there's his personal story of finding out he was the out-of-wedlock son of an Hungarian businessman and gradually coming out as gay. I haven't read many stories with this much drama. It's quite riveting from beginning to end. A unique memoir of a unique artist! - BH.

[Eric Zerbe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Child’s lived quite a life, but I expected more about creating the hit songs he wrote. They’re mostly just a few pages each, peppered here and there (the exceptions being his nightmare with Meat Loaf and his dream with Barbra).

[Kevin Burnett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Billed as stories about some of the world's biggest songs. In actuality it is name dropping and for every sentence on hit songs there are pages upon pages of his self esteem issues.

[Antti Iiskola · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected a lot more. The best parts of the (audio) book were the recordings of songwriting sessions, but they were brief and without any commentsry from Child.

I’m sure he has had a tough childhood, youth and some of his adulthood as well, but I just wasn’t that interested in his rags to riches story. I would’ve loved insight into his songwriting and producing, but he mostly just skips those things over in a sentence ”then we wrote this hit”.

I feel like this was more of a therapy book for Desmond, the little boy who made it. I’m still waiting on the memoirs of the songwriter.

[Θανάσης · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about his personal life, with some mentions of his professional life. I was expecting the opposite. A bit disappointed.
Maybe 3 stars, i don't know...

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crazy (like the song he wrote with Aerosmith) egotistical and the hair! OMG!! Raised in extreme poverty by his self centered mother who was a failed songwriter … when he finally makes it and has the surrogate children (Roman & Nyro: Oy!) he’s upending their lives moving and buying estates in Florida California Nashville New York City year after year. Has to have a Bentley? And WTF about the cult he was in for years and years. I hate to say it but I think he’s definitely a whacko.

[Bob Barker · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you know his track record, the book is interesting but there’s way too much family history etc. my advice is skim to the music.

[Nicole Tea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book two and a half stars but I couldn't figure out how. It's definitely interesting but halfway through you begin to notice some inherent biases and you begin to wonder whether or not the author is a narcissist or just kind of nuts. He handwaves working with Cher and sort of intimates that she needs handholding to record while simultaneously calling Barbra Streisand "the world's greatest star of all time" absolutely insane. He claims he wrote a song for Alannah Myles which was "a big hit in Canada" yet I a Canadian have never heard of it on the radio or anywhere else. He seems to have a reverence for all the Jewish artist he worked with while simultaneously insinuating that any non-Jewish people he worked with would have been somehow straggling without him. He talks of working with some of the biggest musicians in show business at the time as though they and their work are somehow insignificant while simultaneously heralding Laura Nyro (?) Barbra Streisand and his deeply annoying, narcissistic mother. I guess the biggest offense of this book beyond his bigotry towards Afro-Latinos (not even acknowledging they exist while helping to found the Latin Grammys) his absolutely ignorance towards African American musicians and their massive contributions to music (including creating several genres to which his songs are fusions of) and his absolute disregard of greats like Stevie Wonder, (he errantly declared his goal was to be a bigger songwriter than him, which he is not, while never mentioning Wonder's profound accomplishments), the way he blatantly looks down on his impoverished origins and the people in the neighborhood from whom he came (driving down the neighbourhood streets in a new Bentley to show his family the "dirty" place he came from) Amongst all of those infractions I imagine the very worst of the book is it has precious little to do with songwriting. The amount of the book that discusses songwriting, the process, the people he worked with and the songs themselves could probably fill about two chapters. At one point Child whets our appetite with a line about how one song became Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" but claims that's a "chapter for a story in another book" excuse me? what do you think we are here for. If you have the patience to listen to him prattle on about his narcissistic mother and aunt who were the architects of destruction for multiple lives than by all means read this book but to be honest, I wish I'd searched for a biography on Linda Perry, Max Martin or Stevie Wonder instead, this is 350 pages of exhaustive fluff about a man who seems to feel he is the key to the success of so many artists who, granted he has written some wonderful songs for, but were already shooting their way to superstardom anyhow. I do have to wonder how much of these stories would change if told from the other participants perspective. sigh. Glad it's over.

[Anoushka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A remarkably solid autobiography, even if it doesn’t give you much insight into the surrounding musical landscape of Desmond’s scene, and instead really just focuses on the acts that he was personally working with.

[Sped Erstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written memoir by a super-interesting guy. Worth the wait.

[Jack Northway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary Song Writer

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

He has seen a million faces, and he’s rocked them all! Desmond Child was a huge part of my youth. His songs shaped me and still define me. Reading about his early life into adulthood was interesting. What a life! I do wish there was more background on some of the songwriting. Definitely worth the read.