Desmond Child Recalls His Ultimatum To Jon Bon Jovi

Desmond Child recently appeared in an interview with Jerry Braden to discuss his new book and memories with Jon Bon Jovi. The songwriter recalled the ultimatum he gave to Jon Bon Jovi when Jon’s manager offered his manager to buy Child out for a significant amount of money. He explained:

“Well, my manager got a call from Jon’s manager; he said, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about this, and how about if we buy Desmond out? 35 grand.’ Like that was going to be enticing to me, I had already written ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ way more money than that was coming in. I wasn’t that broke.”

He stated his anger and continued:

“My manager brought it to me, and I got so mad. Because it was a buyout, where my name wouldn’t be on the song. I would get no credit or royalties or anything forever, just complete buyout. I never heard of such a thing, and I think the manager probably, everybody, realized what they had. They struck gold and trying to kind of suddenly push me out of it. I said, ‘Absolutely not.’

Then the producer reflected on what he told Jon that led him to decline the offer:

“In fact, I called Jon, and I said, ‘You know what? We got this crazy offer, and I’m telling you, if you persist with this, you’ll never see me again.’ And to his credit, he went back and told them to knock it off. Ever since then, we’ve always split the songs equally.”

Desmond Child collaborated with many names, such as Kiss, Alice Cooper, Scorpions, Aerosmith, and more. He joined Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora to pen lyrics for several songs on their third studio album ‘Slippery When Wet.’

Child’s new book ‘Livin’ on a Prayer: Big Songs, Big Life’ is set to be released on September 19.

See the interview below.