Audio Autopsy, 1979: The Creative Birth of Hit-Songwriter, Desmond Child, on Capitol Records

🌈Livin' on a Flair: The "male Diane Warren" has given hard rock a desperately-needed melodic sheen, which has resulted in re-shaped careers, while mercifully re-tooling a dull, ponderous genre.🎶

Desmond, late-'70s, as a budding pop star, and (r), as an internationally successful (and award-winning) songwriter.

John Charles Barrett was born in Florida in 1953. Known professionally as singer/songwriter/producer, Desmond Child, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008, and has been nominated for 4 Grammys, a Primetime Emmy, and has won a Latin Grammy Award.

Sometime in the ‘80s: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the depositors of half the total assets of Bank of America’s brand new Beverly Hills branch (l-r): Jon Bon Jovi, Cher, and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler surround Desmond, who just managed to grab the very last Grand Opening Tote Bag and souvenir cap!

I’ve had over 70 Top 40 hits, and my songs have sold over 300 million records. At one point, I had 5 songs in the Top 20.—Desmond Child

His hits as a songwriter (and co-writer) read like a hard rock weekend playlist, or the core of SiriusXM’s heavy rotation tracks on Hair Nation: Kiss’ “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 (Looks Like a Lady)”, “Angel”, and “Crazy”; Cher’s “We All Sleep Alone” and “Just Like Jesse James”; Alice Cooper’s “Poison,” and Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ la Vida Loca.”

Desmond’s Parallel Conflicts: Artistic and Personal

In the late-‘70s, during the 2-album Desmond Child & Rouge tenure on Capitol Records, Desmond was dating fellow Rouge member, Maria Vidal (always seen to Desmond’s right in photos and on stage).

At the same time, he was composing music that seemed to be tickling the edges of hard rock, while the girls, their producer (Richard Landis, Capitol’s East Coast Director, Talent Acquisition), and Capitol were all working overtime to fashion records with a hard pop, if not daringly full-on disco sheen to their output. Celebrated composer/conductor/producer, Charlie Calello, was their pistol-packin’ lone arranger.

While Desmond was working through his hard rock proclivities (that would eventually prove to be both lucrative and emotionally satisfying for decades), he was also grappling with just where, precisely, to direct his love, affections, and emotions…men or women.

He even wrote at least one song (and I’m asserting two) reflecting those feelings. He and Rouge recorded it, but let’s take things chronologically:

1979: An outtake from the group’s debut-album cover-shoot (l-r) Maria Vidal in Desmond’s arms, Diana Grasselli, and Myriam Valle.