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

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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. Knight learned of the legend’s abuse at the hands of Ike Turner while reading “I, Tina,” the memoir that became the basis for the biopic “What's Love Got to Do With It.” And Knight never discussed the abuse she endured at the hands of her own mother with Turner.

Holly Knight (hardcover) : Target I Am The Warrior - By Holly Knight (hardcover) : Target

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"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. Some memoirs dwell too long on unnecessary parts of the subject's lives but Holly never meanders too long in any section of her life. She gets right to the point about her youth, her difficult relationship with her mother which must have played a part in forging the force she would become and all of the personal relationships that she had too. I enjoyed reading about her personal life and escapades as a woman as well, because I think it's critical to understanding the mind and heart of the composer of the most powerful and anthemic songs of empowerment and independence for women. Songs such as The Warrior (title of her book), Invincible, Better Be Good to Me, (Simply) The Best, Never, and so many others! I personally enjoyed seeing this side of the artist. She is, after all, human. 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.

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

Pat Benatar - " Love Is a Battlefield"; " Invincible"; "Sometimes the Good Guys Finish First"; "Girl" 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.” 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.”

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 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.” Better Be Good to Me" with Tina Turner (from Miami Vice episode "Give a Little, Take a Little") (1991)

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

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’.”I loved how she constructed the book too --almost as if it were one of her songs. It had all of the elements such as a good intro, excellent lyrics (the words) and the build up and crescendos that are all hallmarks of HollySongs. It was inside of us, but we didn’t talk about it,” Knight said. “What we did focus on was positivity and, without saying it, empowerment. The home life I had made me stronger. And I think what she went through made her stronger. So we had that.” I was able to let go of some of the leftover crap from my childhood,” she said. “It was very cathartic."

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

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. Knight was “floored” by Turner’s words, she recalls in advance of a July 13 book event at Changing Hands in Tempe. She's hoping people come away from "I Am the Warrior" understanding that “you don't get through this world without your own self-belief.” 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. The one thing I'll disagree with her about is in regard to her solo CD. I was astounded to read how much she hated it, how much she couldn't see herself as a lead singer and how she wishes she could buy up every copy and destroy them. I loved the album. It was a gem of a find in my trip to Canada. "Baby Me," "Howling at the Moon," even "Sexy Boy" were fantastic pop songs. And I, for one, am glad she didn't give "Heart Don't Fail Me Now" to Darryl Hall.

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. She has been married three times, and dated Anton Fig and Paul Stanley in the 1980s. [3] Discography [ edit ] Studio albums [ edit ] The Best" was featured at the end of Joe Biden's victory speech following his election to the presidency of the United States in 2021. [ citation needed]