Writing BDB, the song

Alice Cooper co-founder and Hall Of Fame inductee Dennis Dunaway answers your questions!

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Dannorama
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Writing BDB, the song

Post by Dannorama » Mon Aug 09, 2021 12:25 pm

Hi again, Dennis. One of my favorite stories is how you came up with the original idea for the song "Billion Dollar Babies." As I recall, you were all hanging out, trying to figure out some new material, and you said, "we ought to do something like this," and blasted out a few bars. Was it that simple? Did you feel it, or hear it in your head?

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Re: Writing BDB, the song

Post by Dannorama » Mon Aug 09, 2021 1:41 pm

Dang! Too late to edit that last post. Please replace the word "simple" with "spontaneous." My simple mind spontaneously came up with the word "simple." "SPONTANEOUS" is the word I should have used. (I don't think that anything you create is simple.)
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Re: Writing BDB, the song

Post by Ted Sallis » Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:33 pm

Dennis wrote in his book that it was actually Reggie Vinson (aka Rockin' Reggie) and Glen who came up with the original song idea for BDB. Apparently they wrote a ballad, which the rest of the ACG felt inappropriate for the title track of the album. Dennis himself provided the initial inspiration for livening the song up with an energetic bass run.

DD can elaborate on/make any corrections necessary to what I stated above when he responds.

Ted

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Re: Writing BDB, the song

Post by Dreary » Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:54 pm

Alice came up with the title for the album and we zeroed in on writing songs that supported that developing concept, which was based on us living in a mansion. Things were falling into place. Then one afternoon at rehearsal, we decided that a song called "Billion Dollar Babies" would help focus the concept.

The next afternoon, Glen and Rockin' Reggie showed up with a song they called "Billion Dollar Baby." It was a beautiful Roy Orbison style ballad, which was the type of thing that Reggie did well. It was also the kind of song Glen usually refused to do because it was, in his words, a sappy girl song. It was an exceptionally beautiful song though.

We learned the ballad and played it over and over for an hour or so. But as beautiful as it was, we just couldn't get it to sound like the title song of the album. Finally, I stood up and said, we've got to light a stick of dynamite under this song! Everybody looked at me as if to say, what have you got? I didn't really have anything but I did have the energy that was needed. So I cranked up the volume on my amp and blasted out a bass riff - Babababa bomp. I just repeated that a couple of times and then I asked Michael to play the next chord and I came up with - Bah bah bah bah-babomp. And on the spot, I went through the song creating the bass part. Then Bob Ezrin said, Neal and Alice, let's go play a game of pool while Den shows the parts to the guitar players.

Then when Neal came up with a super cool drum pattern, it inspired my bass parts to soar to the next level.
Meanwhile, Alice changed the melody and lyrics to fit our original intention for a title song. Then we wrote a bridge.

By then, Reggie's ballad was unrecognizable. He wasn't alone in having his song beat up, we did that to lots of songs. It happened to me on "Desperado" which began as a dramatic ballad called "Desert Night Storm" and, even though I was in on beating my own song up, and we wound up using my original melody, I didn't end up with a writer's credit. The question is, would "Desperado" have happened without my initial song?

Reggie eventually got a writer's credit because some of his chords made the final version and because his ballad evolved into the final song. But I'm proud to know the final version never would have happened without my bass line.

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Re: Writing BDB, the song

Post by nurserozetta » Tue Aug 10, 2021 4:53 am

Great Story thanks Dennis

Next Question is the obvious - Is there a recording of the original Billion Dollar Baby floating around somewhere ?

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Re: Writing BDB, the song

Post by Dreary » Tue Aug 10, 2021 2:02 pm

nurserozetta wrote:
Tue Aug 10, 2021 4:53 am
Great Story thanks Dennis

Next Question is the obvious - Is there a recording of the original Billion Dollar Baby floating around somewhere ?
We didn't record Reggie's original version at that rehearsal. And over the years, every time I've asked him if he remembers his original version, he sings the Babababa bomp of my bass line. He was one of the few that could keep up with Glen's all night drinking lifestyle and his memory can be sketchy at times.

Reggie has done lots of great things in his career, and he has written tons of good songs, including other ballads that are similar to his original version of "Billion Dollar Baby". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYk5zoX6F78

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Re: Writing BDB, the song

Post by Saint&Sinner » Sat Aug 14, 2021 2:01 am

Best drum riff ever in my humble estimations.

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Re: Writing BDB, the song

Post by Dreary » Mon Aug 16, 2021 3:47 pm

Saint&Sinner wrote:
Sat Aug 14, 2021 2:01 am
Best drum riff ever in my humble estimations.
I agree, Neal's drum riff is right up there with Ringo's "Tomorrow Never Knows."

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Re: Writing BDB, the song

Post by steven_crayn » Mon Aug 30, 2021 12:55 pm

Neal Smith on the inspiration of Charlie Watts and ‘Billion Dollar Babies’. “The song was already written and it was a pretty straight drum beat through the whole song. I was also impressed by Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones and the beginning of the song ‘Get Off of My Cloud’, which has a great drum intro.
As a rudimentary drummer and studying snare drum for two years before I ever even get a full set of drums - I started drums when I was a kid in elementary school and junior high school - I was very familiar with the rudiments and I loved flams. If you Google “flam on drums”, people could figure out what that is, so I created the beginning of ‘Billion Dollar Babies’, with that in mind; something original like ‘Get Off of My Cloud’ by the Stones, even more complicated and a little more catchy. That’s where the idea came from and Bob Ezrin, our producer, who I love him as my brother, he wanted a more straight beat through the whole song and he said: “If you play it perfectly, then we will use it because I want the straight beat” and of course I played it perfectly. To this day, it’s on the record and it has become my signature song. Certainly, a signature: When the fans hear that intro, they know that the song ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ is coming up.”
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