Desmond Child, Hitmaker for Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, Preps New Memoir

Desmond Child, the songwriter who’s penned hits for multiple generations of rock and pop stars — from Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” to Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” — will publish his first memoir, Livin’ On a Prayer: Big Songs Big Life, Sept 19 via Radius Book Group. 

Child’s career in music spans six decades, and he’s credited on over 80 singles that have cracked the Billboard Top 40. Among the biggest hits he’s worked on are Kiss’ “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name,” Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” Michael Bolton’s “How Can We Be Lovers?”, Sisqó’s “Thong Song,” Katy Perry’s “Waking Up in Vegas,” and Ava Max’s “Kings & Queens.” 

In Livin’ On a Prayer, Child will share plenty of music industry stories, as well as plenty about his personal life. Child grew up impoverished in Florida, raised by a family that had fled Cuba in the 1960s; when he was 18, he learned that his “dad” was not his biological father. He will also write about his early experiences of trying to prove himself as a songwriter while navigating the super-macho world of Eighties rock as a Latino gay man.

“The process of writing the book has been more than cathartic,” Child said in a statement. “It has been revelatory. Not until I went through the deep and sometimes painful experience of writing this book did I realize the great adventure I’d been living… an adventure I’m thrilled to share with the world.”

Livin’ On a Prayer — which is available to pre-order —will feature foreword from Paul Stanley, with whom Child has worked extensively over the years, both as a solo artist and a member of Kiss. Child co-wrote the book with David Ritz, who has previously co-writen books with Janet Jackson, the Neville Brothers, and B.B. King.