Songwriter Desmond Child, who is responsible for writing and co-writing hit songs for Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, Cher and Joan Jett to name a few, is the subject of a new EW.com feature. An excerpt is available below, with Child reflecting on some of his biggest hits.

"You Give Love A Bad Name" - Bon Jovi 

Child: "Paul Stanley had given Jon my number because Bon Jovi was opening for KISS in Europe. I went to this little wooden house in New Jersey — it was Richie Sambora’s parent’s house where he grew up — and down in the basement they had a little setup: a little electronic keyboard on a rickety formica table that had been retired down there, and washing machines and space heaters and buzzing amps. I had a title that I brought in, Bob Crewe-style — because he wouldn’t even start a song unless we had a killer title — ‘You Give Love a Bad Name'. It was the first time I saw that billion-dollar Bon Jovi smile, those teeth. He looked at me and lit up, and said, 'Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame,' and then the three of us said, 'You give love a bad name.' Then we had our first slap five, and then that song was written within an hour and a half. It was, like, channeled."

"Livin' On A Prayer" - Bon Jovi

Child: "We wrote it in New York City in a borrowed apartment on this very old, out of tune, upright piano. Everybody brought their story to it. I brought the story of me and (Rouge singer) Maria (Vidal) because she worked in a diner called Once Upon a Stove — they had singing and dancing waitresses and waiters — and her waitress name was Gina Velvet. I suggested Johnny and Gina because Johnny is my real name. Jon said, 'Well, I can’t sing Johnny because then I’d be singing about myself.' I went, 'Oh s—, right.' I just found a quick sound alike, Tommy, and the story of Tommy and Gina was born."

Read the complete rundown here.

Desmond Child received the ASCAP Founders Award at the performance rights organization’s annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards, held in Beverly Hills on April 23rd, 2018.

Said ASCAP President Paul Williams of Childs: “Desmond is one of the most respected and successful songwriters in the world. His unique ability to capture the essence of our lives through song — whether we’re livin’ la vida loca or livin’ on a prayer - is simply unequaled. We are honored to present Desmond with the ASCAP Founders Award in recognition of his towering achievements. With #1 hits spanning five decades now, Desmond surely has many more milestones still to come.”

Added longtime collaborator Jon Bon Jovi: “The Desmond you don’t know about is the one who not only taught me the next level of songwriting but so many of the true aspects of friendship: truth, honor, and loyalty.”