I Am the Warrior: My Crazy Life Writing the Hits and Rocking the MTV Eighties

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What strikes me is the humble tone and apparent joy as she rises to the ranks of ace songwriter. Despite the 1980s being seen as a decade of decadence, Holly Knight keeps the reader focused not only on her songwriting collaborations and meetings with artists, but her own life beyond that. The book does not have a braggadocio tone of someone who relished the decadence of the 1980s, neither is it negative.

The Woman Behind Tina Turner’s “The Best” and Many More

Better Be Good to Me" with Tina Turner (from Miami Vice episode "Give a Little, Take a Little") (1991) Defiant, purposeful, and ultimately triumphant, her work with Tina Turner, Pat Benatar, and Heart, among others, also helped pave the way for the next generation of defining female musical masters including Amy Winehouse, Adele, and Lady Gaga. It was the music and words she wrote. But it was also the visual representations on MTV that helped define Holly's work for the masses. She was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, standing side by side with the likes of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Foreigner. Full of sex and drugs and so much fun name-dropping, this is a breezy, readable look at an era that simultaneously seems distant and not that long ago. The name dropping isn't terribly gratuitous, in that there really were so many connections among people in the industry, and she clearly explains her relationships to them and each other. Her relationship to three members of KISS was of particular note!This is the story of a young girl with a dream and the story of the music scene of an iconic decade. Holly dedicates the book “to anyone who ever had a dream and was told ‘No’.” A lot of times, I sort of had to earn their trust,” she said. “So I would sneak into a corner and start to play Beethoven or something. People would listen and go, ‘Huh ... well, she can play.’”

I Am the Warrior | Book by Holly Knight | Official Publisher

Knight has written hits for some of the most successful artists in music, both on her own and in collaboration with others. For Pat Benatar, in addition to "Love Is a Battlefield", she wrote " Invincible". " The Best"—first recorded by Bonnie Tyler—became an international No. 1 single for Tina Turner. Knight wrote songs with Heart, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, and many more. Tina Turner has recorded nine of her tunes, including "The Best", "Better Be Good to Me", and " In Your Wildest Dreams" (1996). Holly Knight was voted the Best Songwriter in Rolling Stone magazine's 11th annual poll, along with Phil Collins, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen. Knight was “floored” by Turner’s words, she recalls in advance of a July 13 book event at Changing Hands in Tempe. Find sources: "Holly Knight"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( August 2017) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) She's had as amazing of a life as I'd imagined. Her willingness to be so honest about her experiences, exploits and journey to legendary status was consumed in just a couple of days. I couldn't put it down. This memoir from one of the top songwriters of the 1980s details Holly Knight’s early life in New York, her connection with Blondie producer Mike Chapman, her brief membership in the group Spider, where she wrote “Better Be Good To Me,” and her reputation as a hitmaker. There are fond remembrances of her collaboration with Mike Chapman, meetings with Heart, Jon Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart, Steve Tyler of Aerosmith, and Paul Young, but she waxes the fondest of Kathy Valentine, Go-Gos bassist, and Tina Turner, who covered “Better Be Good To Me” and “The Best”—Bonnie Tyler sung it before her. The process of songwriting and the reactions to the finalized versions of the songs are of interest here.Holly Harris worked with (and slept with) some of the biggest stars and made it to the top on her own terms at a time when women were not invited to the boys club party that was the music industry. Holly joined a list of other trailblazing women by contributing her story to the 2017 book Because I Was a Girl: True Stories for Girls of All Ages, published by Henry Holt and Company.