Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Ep. 160 - DIANE WARREN ("How Do I Live?")

Episode Summary

Our guest is Diane Warren, an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Grammy winner with 11 Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. The Songwriters Hall of Famer and ASCAP Founders Award winner is known for a long list of hits, including “Rhythm of the Night,” “Blame it On the Rain,” “Because You Loved Me,” “Don’t Turn Around,” “Unbreak My Heart,” “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,” and “How Do I Live.” She joins us to talk about her wide-ranging career, and her upcoming first-ever studio album, The Cave Sessions, Vol. 1.

Episode Notes

Our guest is Diane Warren, an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Grammy winner with 11 Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. The Songwriters Hall of Famer and ASCAP Founders Award winner is known for a long list of hits, including “Rhythm of the Night,” “Blame it On the Rain,” “Because You Loved Me,” “Don’t Turn Around,” “Unbreak My Heart,” “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,” and “How Do I Live.” She joins us to talk about her wide-ranging career, and her upcoming first-ever studio album, The Cave Sessions, Vol. 1.   

PART ONE:
Scott and Paul chat about the Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl commercial, authenticity, Willie Nelson's reggae album, and Lady Gaga's meat dress. 

PART TWO:
The guys pay tribute to Songwriters Hall of Famer (and former Songcraft guest) Jim Weatherly who passed away recently. Hear all about Scott's connection with the "Midnight Train to Georgia" writer that goes back many many years.  

PART THREE: Our in-depth interview with Diane Warren

ABOUT DIANE WARREN
Songwriters Hall of Famer Diane Warren is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Grammy winner (with a total of 15 Grammy nominations to her credit) who has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is perhaps one of the most successful pop songwriters of all time. Her long list of Top-10 pop hits includes “Rhythm of the Night” by DeBarge, “I Get Weak” by Belinda Carlisle, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and “Set the Night to Music” by Starship, “Who Will You Run To” by Heart, “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love” and “Look Away” by Chicago, “Blame it on the Rain” by Milli Vanilli, “How Can We Be Lovers” and “When I’m Back on My Feet Again” by Michael Bolton, “I’ll Be Your Shelter” and “Love Will Lead You Back” by Taylor Dayne, “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Just Like Jesse James” by Cher, and “When I See You Smile” by Bad English.

But those are just a few highlights from the 1980s. In the ‘90s she became a five-time ASCAP Pop Songwriter of the Year, and was named Billboard Pop Songwriter of the Year for three years in a row thanks to writing hits such as “If You Asked Me To” and “Because You Loved Me” for Celine Dion, “Don’t Turn Around” for Ace of Base, “For You I Will” for Monica, “The One I Gave My Heart To” for Aaliyah, “Unbreak My Heart” for Toni Braxton, “Have You Ever” for Brandy, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” for Aerosmith, “I Turn to You” for Christina Aguilera, “Music of My Heart” for Gloria Estefan, and “How Do I Live” for LeAnn Rimes, which became the longest-running song in Billboard chart history. 

Warren has earned eleven Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song between 1988 and 2020, including “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” “Because You Loved Me,” “How Do I Live,” “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” “Til It Happens to You,” which was a collaboration with Lady Gaga, “Stand Up for Something,” which was a collaboration with Common and “I’ll Fight” from the film RBG

She has continued to have her songs recorded by a wide-range of artists in recent years, including “Born to Be Somebody” by Justin Bieber, “I Was Here” by Beyonce, “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” by Paloma Faith, and “To Get Here” by Willie Nelson. Other artists who’ve recorded her songs include Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Jennifer Hudson, Patti LaBelle, Dionne Warwick, Roy Orbison, Al Green, Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Bette Midler, Lionel Richie, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, KISS, Joan Jett, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jessie J, Demi Lovato, Carrie Underwood, Adele, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston. 

A recipient of the prestigious ASCAP Founder’s Award, Warren has recently completed her first studio album, The Cave Sessions, Vol. 1, which features John Legend, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Jason Derulo, Ty Dolla $ign, LP, and Darius Rucker who performs the lead single “Times Like This.”