Episode 454 – Songwriter Holly Knight, EV’s Killing AM Radio, And Jazz Chords For Nightmares

My guest this week is Holly Knight, who’s songs made up a good part of the soundtrack to the MTV eighties with mega-hits for Tina Turner (“The Best”), Pat Benatar (“Love Is A Battlefield”), and Patty Smyth (“The Warrior”). Holly has also worked with legends like Rod Stewart, Kiss, Heart and Aerosmith, has thirteen ASCAP Awards, her songs have won several Grammys, and in 2013 she was inducted into the songwriters Hall of Fame. Her songs have appeared in almost two dozen films and theater productions, as well as television shows like The Simpsons, 30 Rock, South Park, The Tonight Show Staring Jimmy Fallon, Stranger Things, The Voice and Saturday Night Live, among many others. Holly just released a new memoir about her life in music called “I Am The Warrior.” During the interview we spoke about getting into songwriting, the secret to song demos, how to know when a song is well-written, her view on collaborations, and much more. I spoke with Holly from her home studio in Los Angeles via zoom. On the intro I’ll take a look electric vehicles are helping to kill AM radio, and how a simple jazz chord can be successfully used to treat nightmares.