Photo: Peter Matthews from New York City, United States / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Desmond Child is the secret hand behind an absurd number of songs you already know by heart. Co-writing "Livin' on a Prayer" and "You Give Love a Bad Name" with Bon Jovi alone would cement anyone, but then you find his fingerprints on Aerosmith's "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," KISS anthems and Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca," and you realize he basically engineered the anthemic rock-pop chorus as a form. I find professional songwriters endlessly compelling because their fame is invisible to most listeners. His Songwriters Hall of Fame induction is the rare public acknowledgment that the person who wrote the hook matters too.
Overview
Desmond Child is an American songwriter, composer and music producer born in 1953 in Gainesville, Florida. One of the most successful hit-makers in rock and pop, he co-wrote signature songs for Bon Jovi (including "Livin' on a Prayer" and "You Give Love a Bad Name"), Aerosmith, KISS, Ricky Martin and many others. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in recognition of his catalog.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Desmond Child
- Name (Japanese)
- デズモンド・チャイルド
- Reading
- でずもんど・ちゃいるど
- Born
- October 28, 1953 (age 72)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Snake
- Origin
- Gainesville, Florida, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Music producer / Singer / Composer / Songwriter / Musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- Songwriters Hall of Fame
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Music producer — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.