Hear Diane Warren Tell The Wild Stories Behind Her Greatest Hits

Diane Warren is such a prolific — and relentless  —  songwriter that she was right in the middle of working on a new composition when she paused to join us for the latest episode of our Rolling Stone Music Now podcast. Warren, who has her first solo album, Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1, due later this year (with lead vocals from Darius Rucker, Celine Dion, John Legend, Mary J. Blige, and more), joined host Brian Hiatt to tell wild stories from more than three decades of hit-making. She touched on songs ranging from Kiss’ “(You Make Me) Rock Hard” (the title was her idea!) to Lady Gaga’s “Why Did You Do That?” (in which the “ass like that line” was also Warren’s idea), while also delving into her biggest hits: Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing,” Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart,” Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” (which Warren had to beg Cher to consider recording), and even Milli Vanilli’s “Blame It on the Rain,” among many others.

Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on iTunes or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), and check out three years’ worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Neil Young, Phoebe Bridgers, the National, Dua Lipa, Alicia Keys, Questlove, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle,  Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, Gary Clark Jr., and many more — plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear Rolling Stone Music Now broadcast on SiriusXM’s Volume, channel 106.