VIA PRESS RELEASE | One of the most diverse and successful songwriters and composers of the last twenty-five years, Steve Dorff has penned over 20 Top 10 hits for pop and country artists around the world, including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Blake Shelton, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles, Anne Murray, Whitney Houston, George Strait, Dolly Parton, Judy Collins, Cher, Dusty Springfield, Ringo Starr, and Garth Brooks.
He has scored for television shows, including Growing Pains, Murphy Brown, Murder She Wrote, and Reba, and many feature films, such as Every Which Way but Loose, for which he penned the titular song. More recently, he has returned to his first love, musical theater, with his forthcoming musical Josephine. In addition to winning the NSAI Songwriter of the Year award, Steve has been honored with more than 40 BMI awards, 14 Billboard No. 1s, and 15 Top 10 Hits. His songs span all genres, from contemporary sounds to haunting orchestral melodies, and he remains an integral part of today’s music scene.
Steve has now composed his next hit: I Wrote That One, Too… A Life In Songwriting from Willie to Whitney, coming out November 1 on Backbeat Books, an imprint of Hal Leonard. This memoir follows Steve from his childhood in Queens to Manhattan to Nashville to his eventual arrival in Los Angeles, sharing anecdotes, advice, and insights into his phenomenal career along the way. This book is a stargazer, as Steve recounts a host of often-hilarious behind-the-scenes stories that feature the many famous singers, musicians, producers, and lyricists with whom he has collaborated.
When Steve gets personal, it’s also a tearjerker, sharing what he has learned about strength, courage, perseverance, and unconditional love from three important women in his life: his first wife and his mother—who passed away within a few months of each other—and his big sister, who died in May 2016.
Full of heartfelt stories, hard-earned wisdom, and charming wit, I Wrote That One, Too… is an ideal read for musicians, music fans, and anyone who has chased a dream and survived the surprising (but often serendipitous) turns in the road.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS | Steve Dorff is a Grammy-nominated songwriter with a long line of hits to his credit, including Kenny Rogers’ “Through the Years” and most recently Garth Brooks’ “Baby, Let’s Lay Down and Dance.” An industry stalwart with a career spanning four decades, Dorff is the recipient of 40 BMI awards and 11 Billboard awards.
Co-writer Colette Freedman is an internationally produced playwright with over 25 produced plays. She was voted “One of 50 to Watch” by the Dramatist’s Guild. Her play Sister Cities was the hit of the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe, earned five-star reviews, and has been produced internationally. She has co-written a number of books with such best-selling writers as Jackie Collins and Michael Scott, and has written two novels, The Affair and The Consequences.
