Recording - March 2018 - 61

MARCH 2018
TAXI Road Rally 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award

Keynote Interview: Steve Dorff, Part 3
Interviewed by Michael Laskow
Editor's note: We're repeating the introduction so
readers who didn't see it
last month have some
context about our Keynote
Interview subject,
Steve Dorff.
This year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient has
done something that less
than a handful of people on
the planet have done, which
is ... he's done it all. And yet,
he's not exactly a household
name. He's always been the Steve Dorff (left) and TAXI's Michael Laskow during the Keynote Interview at the 2017 Road Rally.
man behind the curtain.
for the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I told you he's
Steve Dorff is one of the most successful songwrit- done it all, so let's have a listen to some snippets
ers and composers of the last three decades. He's
of his work.
written more than 20 Top Ten hits for Pop and
Country artists including Barbra Streisand, Celine
As I started talking to friends of mine in the indusDion, Blake Shelton, Smokey Robinson, Kenny
try, telling them that you are our honoree this
Rogers, Ray Charles, Ann Murray, Whitney Housyear, your personality came up over and over,
ton, George Strait, Dolly Parton, Judy Collins, Cher, almost to the person. I really think from my perDusty Springfield, Ringo Starr, and Garth Brooks.
spective, having read the book now and talking to
That's the short list. I edited that! Steve has creyour colleagues in the industry, that being a nice
ated scores for TV shows including the hits
guy has really done well for your career. I think
Growing Pains, Murphy Brown, Murder She Wrote,
that being honest, showing up on time, being a
and Reba. Steve has also scored 28 feature films,
pro, delivering stuff, waking somebody up in the
including Any Which Way But Loose, for which he
middle of the night to get a song done for Clint
wrote the title song. He has also started writing
Eastwood, all that goes to the pro thing, but
for musical theater, including the hit show
you've got to be a nice guy. People have to want to
Josephine. He is also a pretty decent keyboard
work with you, and I think that's maybe the thing
player, and by his own admission, a pretty terrible that's attractive.
singer. Steve has been honored with more than 40 I don't know. Maybe. I tell it like it is if someBMI awards, an American Music Award, an NSAI
one plays me a song. And if it's horrible, I'll say,
Songwriter of the Year Award, as well as three
"You know, that's horrible."
Grammy nominations and six Emmy nominations.
If all that wasn't enough, he has had 12 #1 hits,
There's a guy here today that sends me songs
over 400 songs recorded by notable artists and
quite a bit. I've known Brian forever and prosuper stars from all over the world. And in his
duced a record with him back 30 years ago, and
spare time, he conducts the occasional orchestra
we've remained friends over the years. And he is
for scoring sessions. He just released his first book
persistent, persistent; he will send me one ridicutwo days ago, and it's called I Wrote That One Too,
lous lyric after another. And then all of a
very appropriately. I just found this out right
sudden, out of nowhere, he'll show me somebefore I hit the stage-Steve was just nominated

thing that I love. So my point being is that I
think I'm honest. I know I'm honest, I don't like
to waste anybody's time, and I sure don't like to
waste mine. So I think by being upfront and
being transparent, I think that has served me
okay.
Talk about the FBI visiting you during a recording
session. Not everybody has had the FBI come in in
the middle of a session.
Well, I was doing a demo. I was actually demoing "Higher Grounds," which was a song I wrote
for Barbra [Streisand]. It was the title song of
her inspirational album. I was in the studio
doing a Fender Rhodes part and I looked
through the glass and I see these two big six
foot-four guys in black suits and I thought that
was odd. It was almost like that movie Men in
Black. And the engineer hits the talk-back button and says, "Steve, do you have a minute?" I
say, "Yeah, what's up?" He says, "These gentlemen need to speak with you for a minute." So
I'm thinkin', "OK, who are they?" So I walk into
the control room and they flash a badge, and I
go, "Oh shit, what did I do?" They introduce
themselves as special agents for the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, and can we go somewhere where we can have a chat?
Continued on page 62
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