Diane Warren

Warren, the youngest of three daughters, was born to David, an insurance salesman, and Flora Warren,[3] in the Los Angeles community of Van Nuys,[4] where she said she felt misunderstood and "alienated" as a Jewish child growing up.[5] Her family's surname "Warren" was originally "Wolfberg", but her father changed the name because he wanted it to sound less Jewish.[6] Warren says she was rebellious as a child[5] and told NPR's Scott Simon that she got into trouble and ran away as a teen but returned because she missed her cat. As a child, Warren loved listening to the radio and dreamed of performing on the radio herself.[6] She was also influenced by music through her parents and her sisters who would play music.[7] She began writing music when she was 11 but took a more serious approach at 14, commenting "music saved me."[6][8] Warren has said that her mother asked her to give up her dream of a songwriting career[9] and take a secretarial job. However, her father continued to believe in her and encouraged her. In addition, he bought her a 12-string guitar and a metal shed for her to practice and took her to music auditions.[1] She wrote Celine Dion's 1996 song "Because You Loved Me" as a tribute to her father for his encouragement.[10] She attended Los Angeles Pierce College and graduated from California State University, Northridge in 1978, but largely considered her education a waste as she focused most of her time on improving her songwriting skills instead of on her education.[6][11][12]

On the February 12, 2016 edition of All Things Considered, Warren said that she had been molested at age 12, and had later experienced sexual harassment and assault by a sound engineer during her working career.[13]

Warren's first hit was "Solitaire",[4] which Laura Branigan took to No. 7 in the U.S. pop charts in 1983.[5]

She's actually more like the Emily Dickinson of Pop. As in the case of the great nineteenth-century reclusive New England poet known for her simple yet eloquent verses, Warren leads a life focused almost entirely on her art.

— Alanna Nash, Good Housekeeping, 1998

The original name for her publishing company, Realsongs, was "Warren Piece" because "War and Peace" was already taken.[14] In 1998, Realsongs and its international partner, EMI Music Publishing, distributed A Passion For Music, a six-CD box set that showcased her music. EMI Music's London office assisted in distributing 1,200 copies of the box set primarily to the film and television industry for consideration in soundtracks and other commercial endeavors. It was not marketed to consumers.[15] As of 2011, Warren's music has appeared in the soundtracks of over sixty films. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame[16] in 2001.[17]

The Diane Warren Foundation, in conjunction with the ASCAP Foundation and the VH1 Save the Music Foundation created a joint initiative, beginning in 2000, called Music in the Schools. The initiative provides sheet music, band arrangements, folios, and method books to each of the schools that are already recipients of musical instruments from the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.[18]

In 2004, Warren released a compilation album of love songs, titled Diane Warren Presents Love Songs, which includes several of her award-winning hits.

Warren continues to write hit songs for and with artists of all mainstream genres, including Celine Dion, Cheap Trick, En Vogue, Whitney Houston, Belinda Carlisle, Britney Spears, Marcia Hines, Alice Cooper, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, TLC, Aaliyah, Heart, Agnetha Fältskog, Elton John, Cher, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Selena, Jessica Simpson, Air Supply, Olivia Newton-John, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Roy Orbison, Trisha Yearwood, Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton, NSYNC, Rene Froger, Gloria Estefan, Reba McEntire, Enrique Iglesias, Paloma Faith, Russell Watson, Rod Stewart, RBD, Aerosmith, The Cult, Kiss, Ricky Martin, Faith Hill, Michael W. Smith, Meat Loaf, Sugababes, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Exposé, Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer, LeAnn Rimes, Gavin DeGraw, Kierra Sheard, Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga, Claire Richards, Starship, Westlife and so on, producing some of the songs as well. Her songs have been covered by artists including Joe Cocker, Weezer, Edwin McCain, Milli Vanilli, Mark Chesnutt, Sara Evans, among others.

Warren wrote three songs for Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts (2005) that were "Lessons Learned", "Whenever You Remember" and the title track, the latter originally written for Marshall Crenshaw.

In 2009, Warren co-wrote the United Kingdom's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest with Andrew Lloyd Webber the song "It's My Time".[19] It was sung by Jade Ewen and achieved 5th place, the best for the U.K. since 2002.[20]

In 2010, Warren partnered with Avon Products as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices,[21] Avon's first ever global online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women. For the competition, Warren wrote a special anthem which was recorded by the finalists and produced by Humberto Gatica.[22] Warren has been recognized six times ASCAP Songwriter of the Year and four times Billboard's Songwriter of the Year.[23]

In 2012, Warren wrote the song "Counterfeit" for Tulisa's debut solo album The Female Boss.

Warren wrote Paloma Faith's 2014 song "Only Love Can Hurt Like This".[24]

Warren's success in the U.S. has been paralleled in the U.K., where she has been rated the third most successful female artist.[25] Peter Reichardt, former Chairman of EMI Music Publishing UK, credited her as "the most important songwriter in the world."[26]

Warren is the first songwriter in the history of Billboard magazine to have seven hits, all by different artists, on the singles chart at the same time. Warren has had nine of her compositions hit #1 in the US Billboard Hot 100, all by different artists, and overall more than 30 of her songs have hit the U.S. top ten. Additionally, two of the top 13 hits in the Hot 100's 57-year history were written by her - "How Do I Live" (number four) and "Un-Break My Heart" (number 13).[27] She has had an even bigger success on the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts, where sixteen of her songs have gone to #1, and overall more than 40 songs have hit the top ten on that chart. In the U.K., Warren has had three #1 hits, and more than 20 top ten hits. She has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[28]

Warren has never married,[29] and does not think of herself as a person of commitment. In interviews, she has said that she believes that her lack of a romantic life makes her more peculiar as a songwriter.[6] She was in a relationship with songwriter and record producer Guy Roche that ended in 1992[6] and claims she has not had another relationship since, commenting "I've never been in love like in my songs. I'm not like normal people. I'm no good at relationships. I draw drama to me — it's the Jew in me".[30] Although she considers herself to be cynical regarding romance, Warren does not let this affect her songwriting[6] and prefers to write alone, commenting "When I write with other people, the experience is different. You have to compromise, which I have problems with. I'd rather listen to my own mind".[12]

In a 2000 interview, Warren explained that she never let go of music despite experiencing rejections, depression and poverty.[6] In 1994, Warren's house was damaged by the Northridge earthquake, causing her to be miserable and homeless, drifting from hotels to rental houses. She has stated that therapy helped her with songwriting.[6] She has also revealed that she works 12–16 hours a day, always takes her keyboard whenever she travels[14] and is "...more crazy and intense than I was at 20..."[3]

Warren does not usually allow anyone into her Hollywood Hills office,[6] which she describes as a "cluttered, airless room". In 2012, Warren stated that nothing in her office had been cleaned or moved for 17 years because she is superstitious; she prefers to think of that room as her "secret world".[3] In that room, Warren records melodies with a tape recorder on which she plays them again and chooses the songs she likes the most.[3] Warren did allow part of a 2016 interview with CBS News Sunday Morning correspondent Ben Tracy to be taped in the office.[31]

• List of songs written by Diane Warren
• Nina Sings the Hits of Diane Warren
• When a Woman Loves
• Diane Warren Presents Love Songs

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Diane Warren.

• Interview for the BBC
• Interview, HitQuarters May 2005
• Interview with Diane Warren by Paul Tingen in Sound on Sound magazine
• Theodoreandcallum.com
• Interview, CBS Sunday Morning 2016