Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Episode 106: Desmond Child is one of the greatest songwriters and producers of all time. With more than 80 Top 40 hits to his name, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
We recorded this episode of Go With Elmo Lovano in Athens, Greece, sitting in front of the Acropolis at our dear friends home.
Desmond takes us inside the stories behind some of the biggest songs in rock and pop history. From Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and "You Give Love a Bad Name," to Aerosmith's "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" and "Angel," KISS's "I Was Made for Lovin' You," Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca," "La Copa de la Vida" (the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem), and "She Bangs," Cher's "Just Like Jesse James," and so many more.
Desmond opens up about growing up in the Miami projects as the son of Cuban bolero songwriter Elena Casals, shares a wild and unforgettable story with Michael Jackson, breaks down his songwriting philosophy and the craft behind decades of hits, and talks about his deep love for Greece.
We also discuss his brand-new documentary, Desmond Child Rocks the Parthenon, which recently had its world premiere at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. This is the story of the man behind the soundtrack of a generation. Let's go!
Shot during the Panathenea Innovation Festival in Athens, Greece.
Big thank you's to Lars Rasmussen, Elomida Visviki, Curtis Shaw, George Stampolis and the great producer/songwriter Phoebus for bringing us all together.
Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!
Many thanks to the folks at Ace Studio for supporting the show! Check them out acestudio.ai
Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. patreon.com/gowithelmo
0:00:00 - TRAILER
0:04:41 - INTERVIEW STARTS, ATHENS GREECE
0:07:17 - KISS, “I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN’ YOU,” PAUL STANLEY
0:10:43 - “YOU MAKE ME ROCK HARD”
0:12:15 - CYNDI LAUPER, WRITING "INSECURIOUS" WITH DIANE WARREN
0:13:34 - EARLY LIFE IN MIAMI
0:20:38 - DESMOND CHILD AND ROUGE
0:25:09 - “RUNNERS IN THE NIGHT", SNL
0:25:58 - MEETING PAUL STANLEY, GEORGE HARRISON
0:27:39 - WRITING KISS' "I WAS MADE FOR LOVING YOU" WITH PAUL STANLEY
0:33:40 - WHEN ROCK BANDS BRING IN SONG WRITERS
0:34:45 - STUDIO 54
0:35:18 - BON JOVI
0:37:11 - BON JOVI, “YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME,”
0:41:50 - BONNIE TYLER, “IF YOU WERE A WOMAN (AND I WERE A MAN)”
0:43:45 - AVA MAX
0:45:25 - "LIVIN' ON A PRAYER"
0:46:16 - CHER, "WE ALL SLEEP ALONE," RICHIE SAMBORA, ALICE COOPER
0:48:02 - "LIVIN' ON A PRAYER" WRITING SESSION
0:54:25 - WORKING WITH JON BON JOVI, RICHIE SAMBORA
0:55:57 - WHY "LIVIN' ON A PRAYER" IS HARD TO SING
0:57:57 - HOW MASSIVE HIT SONGS CHANGED DESMOND'S LIFE
0:59:54 - WHAT JON BON JOVI LIKE AS A FRIEND
1:01:30 - GREATEST LESSON FROM JON BON JOVI
1:02:30 - AEROSMITH
1:04:17 - WRITING "DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY"
1:10:11 - EARNING RESPECT WITH AEROSMITH
1:11:43 - NICKNAMED "DEMON CHILD" BY CHER
1:14:41 - RICKEY MARTIN
1:18:58 - “LIVIN’ LA VIDA LOCA”
1:20:55 - FIRST SONG TO GO #1 COMPLETELY DIGITAL
1:23:53 - CHANGING THE COURSE OF LATIN MUSIC
1:25:09 - WRITING APPROACHES FOR DIFFERENT ARTISTS
1:29:40 - MICHAEL JACKSON
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: elmolovano.komi.io
Follow Desmond:
instagram.com/desmond.child
Follow Go With Elmo:
instagram.com/gowithelmo
tiktok.com/@gowithelmo
https://x.com/gowithelmopod
Follow Elmo Lovano:
Instagram.com/elmolovano
https://x.com/elmolovano
Follow Jammcard:
youtube.com/@jammcard
instagram.com/jammcard
jammcard.com
Follow Panathenea:
youtube.com/@Panath%C4%93nea
instagram.com/panathenea.festival
instagram.com/panathenea.festival
linkedin.com/company/panath%C4%93nea
panathenea.org
#desmondchild #bonjovi #kiss
Episode 106: Desmond Child is one of the greatest songwriters and producers of all time. With more than 80 Top 40 hits to his name, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
We recorded this episode of Go With Elmo Lovano in Athens, Greece, sitting in front of the Acropolis at our dear friends home.
Desmond takes us inside the stories behind some of the biggest songs in rock and pop history. From Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and "You Give Love a Bad Name," to Aerosmith's "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" and "Angel," KISS's "I Was Made for Lovin' You," Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca," "La Copa de la Vida" (the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem), and "She Bangs," Cher's "Just Like Jesse James," and so many more.
Desmond opens up about growing up in the Miami projects as the son of Cuban bolero songwriter Elena Casals, shares a wild and unforgettable story with Michael Jackson, breaks down his songwriting philosophy and the craft behind decades of hits, and talks about his deep love for Greece.
We also discuss his brand-new documentary, Desmond Child Rocks the Parthenon, which recently had its world premiere at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. This is the story of the man behind the soundtrack of a generation. Let's go!
Shot during the Panathenea Innovation Festival in Athens, Greece.
Big thank you's to Lars Rasmussen, Elomida Visviki, Curtis Shaw, George Stampolis and the great producer/songwriter Phoebus for bringing us all together.
Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!
Many thanks to the folks at Ace Studio for supporting the show! Check them out acestudio.ai
Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. patreon.com/gowithelmo
0:00:00 - TRAILER
0:04:41 - INTERVIEW STARTS, ATHENS GREECE
0:07:17 - KISS, “I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN’ YOU,” PAUL STANLEY
0:10:43 - “YOU MAKE ME ROCK HARD”
0:12:15 - CYNDI LAUPER, WRITING "INSECURIOUS" WITH DIANE WARREN
0:13:34 - EARLY LIFE IN MIAMI
0:20:38 - DESMOND CHILD AND ROUGE
0:25:09 - “RUNNERS IN THE NIGHT", SNL
0:25:58 - MEETING PAUL STANLEY, GEORGE HARRISON
0:27:39 - WRITING KISS' "I WAS MADE FOR LOVING YOU" WITH PAUL STANLEY
0:33:40 - WHEN ROCK BANDS BRING IN SONG WRITERS
0:34:45 - STUDIO 54
0:35:18 - BON JOVI
0:37:11 - BON JOVI, “YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME,”
0:41:50 - BONNIE TYLER, “IF YOU WERE A WOMAN (AND I WERE A MAN)”
0:43:45 - AVA MAX
0:45:25 - "LIVIN' ON A PRAYER"
0:46:16 - CHER, "WE ALL SLEEP ALONE," RICHIE SAMBORA, ALICE COOPER
0:48:02 - "LIVIN' ON A PRAYER" WRITING SESSION
0:54:25 - WORKING WITH JON BON JOVI, RICHIE SAMBORA
0:55:57 - WHY "LIVIN' ON A PRAYER" IS HARD TO SING
0:57:57 - HOW MASSIVE HIT SONGS CHANGED DESMOND'S LIFE
0:59:54 - WHAT JON BON JOVI LIKE AS A FRIEND
1:01:30 - GREATEST LESSON FROM JON BON JOVI
1:02:30 - AEROSMITH
1:04:17 - WRITING "DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY"
1:10:11 - EARNING RESPECT WITH AEROSMITH
1:11:43 - NICKNAMED "DEMON CHILD" BY CHER
1:14:41 - RICKEY MARTIN
1:18:58 - “LIVIN’ LA VIDA LOCA”
1:20:55 - FIRST SONG TO GO #1 COMPLETELY DIGITAL
1:23:53 - CHANGING THE COURSE OF LATIN MUSIC
1:25:09 - WRITING APPROACHES FOR DIFFERENT ARTISTS
1:29:40 - MICHAEL JACKSON
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: elmolovano.komi.io
Follow Desmond:
instagram.com/desmond.child
Follow Go With Elmo:
instagram.com/gowithelmo
tiktok.com/@gowithelmo
https://x.com/gowithelmopod
Follow Elmo Lovano:
Instagram.com/elmolovano
https://x.com/elmolovano
Follow Jammcard:
youtube.com/@jammcard
instagram.com/jammcard
jammcard.com
Follow Panathenea:
youtube.com/@Panath%C4%93nea
instagram.com/panathenea.festival
instagram.com/panathenea.festival
linkedin.com/company/panath%C4%93nea
panathenea.org
#desmondchild #bonjovi #kiss
