Gregg
We lost another soldier — my friend and so many of yours — Gregg Sutton. When I met him in the 90s Gregg schooled me. He showed me the ropes. He pulled me out of the safety of my tidy world. He was sloppy. Dangerous. I was his passenger. It was such a good ride. I will miss you beyond words.
She Rocks Rocked!
At The She Rocks Awards 2023 I was being given the ‘Dream Out Loud Award.’ They got THAT right! I dream out loud all the time. It doesn’t matter that the dreams don’t always come true. I continue because hope is good for the heart.
Funny Girl
Lea Michele’s delightful, adorable qualities were the very things that Barbra’s legendary Fanny Brice was not. Barbra’s Fanny was outrageous. An odd beauty. A lovable clumsy anomaly. That’s what made ladies-man Nicki Arnstein’s attraction to her so unlikely. Lea’s Fanny was someone you could imagine just about anyone falling in love with.
Both Sides Now
When Joni sings “Both Sides Now’ at 78 people might try to help her remember the lyrics but Joni doesn’t need help. If you sing a song 10,000 times, even if you lose your mind (which Joni hasn’t), you remember the song. The words just come. Muscle memory. Her voice an octave lower. Her tone, vintage. It might seem like she’s going to forget. But the woman is simply taking her time.
25 Years Later
For me “Bitch” was a term of endearment for all the complicated and lovable hypocrisies women present. At the time of conception Meredith and I were both going through some kind of metamorphosis unbeknownst to each other and when we got in the same room all those feelings exploded. That’s my favorite kind of Songsex: Confessional. Organic. Un-calculated.
Catching Up With Curtis
I met a 25-year-old Curtis Stigers in 1991 when Clive Davis selected a song I wrote with Gregg Sutton for Curtis’ debut record. Then all 3 of us wrote “You’re All That Matters To Me” which Curtis JUST re-recorded for a new album dropping this week. How on earth does someone stay in the game for so long? Creativity lives loudest in those who never stop envisioning what’s next. 💯💪🔥
The Way We Were
We’ll always have plenty of talented tasty, clever ear-worm-worthy songsmiths. Topliners. Beat Makers whose delicious material I enjoy immensely. It’s just that when we lose all our Marilyns who’s going to write “The Way We Were”? How do you keep THAT music playing?
Splits Before Hits
How do you measure a contribution — a catchy title vs. an entire first and second verse? What if Jack writes 90% of the lyric on the hook but the room was stuck on the pay-off line until Will spouted it in one fell swoop after being verbally MIA the whole session? Suddenly the whole song comes to life. Is there some objective scale on which to weigh a song? Let’s discuss.
Her Name Was Xtina
January 1, 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of “What A Girl Wants” becoming the first No.1 song of the century. Quite a thrill for a songwriter. I thought this would be an opportune time to share with you the story of how the song came to be. Ready?
