Desmond Child, Orianthi, Richie Sambora (Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP
Desmond Child, Orianthi, Richie Sambora (Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAPMonday night at the 35th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards, veteran songwriter Desmond Child received the ASCAP Founders Award winner. While he’s co-written huge hits for the likes of Aerosmith and KISS, he’s best-known for the smashes he co-wrote for Bon Jovi, including “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Bad Medicine,” “Born to Be My Baby” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
Speaking of that classic song, at the event, Child told ABC Radio he and Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora had to literally beg Jon Bon Jovi to record it.
“He said, ‘Y’know, I’m not really feeling it. I’d like to rock a little harder on this record before I do something sentimental like that,'” recalled Desmond.
“And we just literally, kinda half-joking but half not, got on our hands and knees and begged him to record it and put it on the record…and that just made all the difference in the world.”
While Jon was a tough sell, Richie Sambora says he knew “Livin’ on a Prayer” was going to be huge “the minute we wrote it.” He tells ABC Radio, “I was driving in a cab back with Jon, and he went, “Eh, that’s gonna be a good movie soundtrack.” I went, “Dude…this is maybe the best song we ever wrote, so far.”
Sambora tells ABC Radio he thinks “Livin’ on a Prayer” is so enduring because, he says, “Everybody has been in that situation where you’re out on your butt and you’re tryin’ to make it through.”
He laughs, “The original lyric I came up with was “‘Richie needs a new boat for his dock.’ Didn’t make it, did it?”
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