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

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But I love that she realizes that 22B3 was a masterpiece. It is. End to end. Still to this day, it holds up. And she's right, fans appreciate Paul's vocals much more than she gives credit. I can't speak for his personality or stage presence, but aside from the sheer 80s aspect of the album, Paul's voice helped complete just how good 22B3 is. 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. In 1980, Knight's first big break came when she played keyboards (uncredited) on Kiss' Unmasked album. [3] In the early 1980s, she helped form Spider (featuring Anton Fig of Late Show with David Letterman). Managed by Bill Aucoin ( Kiss and Billy Idol), they signed a recording contract with Dreamland Records, an RSO-distributed label. They released two albums: Spider (self-titled; 1980) and Between the Lines (1981). 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.

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

Writing songs for Turner “always came from a place of strength and being fierce and just true to oneself." I wanted to be a songwriter," Knight said. "And here I am on the road with Tina Turner and she's teasing my hair because I told her I liked her hair.”

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. 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. Tina Turner documentary: A survivor's tale of 'She wanted to just tell it and forget it' Holly Knight says she and Tina Turner were 'very simpatico'

I Am the Warrior: My Crazy Life Writing the Hits and Ro…

So I thought I would give it a shot," she said. "And as it turns out, it came very naturally to me, like it was oozing out of every pore.”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! Tina Turner - " The Best"; " Better Be Good to Me"; " One of the Living"; "You Can't Stop Me Loving You"; " Be Tender with Me Baby"; "Ask Me How I Feel"; " Love Thing"; " In Your Wildest Dreams"; "Do Something" Better Be Good to Me" with Tina Turner (from Miami Vice episode "Give a Little, Take a Little") (1991) 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’.” As to why, of all her famous songs, Holly chose I Am the Warrior as the title of her book, she says that when she first wrote this song, she didn’t know that it would be a big hit, nor did she know that it would “serve as a kind of theme song for the rest of my life. It didn’t feel autobiographical when I wrote it, but as I’ve learned, sometimes we don’t write songs – the songs write us.”

Holly Knight on songwriting for Tina Turner, Pat Benatar Holly Knight on songwriting for Tina Turner, Pat Benatar

Asked by an interviewer once why so many of her songs are about fighting or going into battle, Holly, realizing he was right, reflected: “…my songs were more about fighting for something, rather than with someone.”This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. I considered myself one of the foremost authorities about Holly Knight's music but I was pleasantly surprised by all of the new information I learned about her personal life as well as the little details that inspired many of her most iconic songs. It was truly a fun read which is why I was able to finish the book in a couple of days. I was so sad when I finished it which is always a good sign of a great book.