7 Hits You Never Knew Diane Warren Wrote (Including One Song for Milli Vanilli?)
Legendary songwriter Diane Warren is best known for writing soaring anthems and tearjerker ballads, but she also penned hits in many other genres and for stars that may surprise you. She was a favored songwriter for ’80s and ’90s hitmakers such as Laura Branigan, Michael Bolton and Celine Dion. Warren also penned hits for rock superstars Aerosmith and Meatloaf, country queens Reba McEntire and LeAnn Rimes, and even pop confections Milli Vanilli and Ace of Base.
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In a career that has produced more than 2,000 songs, Warren has earned 15 Oscar nominations, 15 Grammy noms, a Primetime Emmy win and multiple Songwriter of the Year titles at the Billboard Music Awards. Here are a few mega-hits that you may not realize were written by Diane Warren.
1“Solitaire” — Laura Branigan (1983)
Warren wrote or cowrote nine songs for the popular ’80s songbird, including this reinterpretation of a French pop hit that marked Warren’s first bona fide hit. “Solitaire” — about a lovelorn lady getting revenge on her neglectful lover — hit No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100.
2“Rhythm of the Night” — DeBarge (1985)
Though she’s famed for her ballads, this irresistible dance groove marked Warren’s breakthrough hit as a songwriter. The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
3“If I Could Turn Back Time” — Cher (1989)
Warren’s words and Cher’s signature vocal style created pop music lightning in a bottle. Add an iconic, military-approved video featuring (to the Navy’s shock) a nearly nude Cher prowling a real battleship with understandably enthusiastic sailors as her audience, and the roof-rattler quickly reached the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10.
4“Blame It on the Rain” — Milli Vanilli (1989)
“Rhythm of the Night” wasn’t the only time Warren got funky. She originally wrote “Blame it on the Rain” for the Jets, but when the family act passed, Clive Davis suggested Warren bring the dance smash to the ill-fated pop duo. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in Nov. 1989, spending a total of 23 weeks on the chart. Though Milli Vanilli was exposed as a fraud, “Rain” remains a guilty pleasure more than three decades later.
5“Because You Loved Me” — Celine Dion (1996)
Warren and the incomparable Canadian songbird Celine Dion worked together more than a dozen times, producing multiple Top 40 hits. But this heart-tugging ballad, sung from the viewpoint of a grateful lover, served as the theme song for the 1996 Robert Redford starrer Up Close & Personal, earning Warren and Dion a Grammy for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. Billboard ranked the tune its No. 14 Top Love Song of All Time.
6“How Do I Live” – LeAnn Rimes (1997)
Originally written for the action thriller Con Air, “How Do I Live” was a simultaneous hit for country songbirds Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes. Though Yearwood’s version of the love ballad appears on the film’s soundtrack and earned a Grammy, Rimes’ rendition was a massive commercial success, spending 69 weeks on the Billboard Top 100.
7“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” — Aerosmith (1998)
America’s bestselling hard-rock band of all time might seem an odd fit for Warren’s brand of emotional-wallop songwriting. But when they teamed up on this Warren-penned ballad for the sci-fi disaster film Armageddon’s soundtrack, Aerosmith scored their first No. 1 hit. Warren’s lovestruck lyrics sung in the lead singer’s sexy rasp catapulted the song to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Original Song.
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May 2019
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