Oscar-winning music composer says tenacity pays off in song writing

Agoura Hills resident Joel Hirschhorn, who’s won two Academy Awards, says tenacity is the key to success for songwriters.

Hirschhorn, 58, has written a book, "The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting." It summarizes his knowledge and advice from several decades of music composition success in both motion pictures and Broadway plays.

Hirschhorn won two Oscars in 1973 and 1975 respectively for "The Morning After" from "The Poseidon Adventure" and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from "The Towering Inferno."

"A lot of people don’t know how to build their careers and avoid pitfalls," Hirschhon said. "Since I’ve lived it all, I thought I could give a firsthand account. It’s a very practical book."

He’s worked alone on projects or with partners, and he writes both music and lyrics.

Working with another writer, Hirschhorn said, has advantages because a team can maximize its strengths and creativity. "It gives a fresh point of view."

He enjoys composing words and music equally, he said, and he also likes switching back and forth on a project, alternately doing just music and just words.

Writing lyrics, according to Hirschhorn, is a discipline of constant change. "You can’t just say ‘I love you’ anymore."

Music composition is a matter of rhythm. A song’s popularity, he said, is often decided by its beat.

Music composers are sometimes directly involved in understanding the script for a movie, but sometimes they’re not. In "The Poseidon Adventure" for example, he was told that a group of shipwrecked survivors are desperately trying to save themselves. Hirschhorn was instructed to write a positive love song that contrasted with the dire circumstances. And theater-goers who saw the movie will always remember "The Morning After."

Hirschhorn was nominated twice for "Best Musical Score" Tony Awards. He’s taught extensively at both USC and UCLA, and 93 million of his songs have been sold to the public.

He even gets credit for a song performed by the King. "I desperately wanted an Elvis Presley record," Hirschhorn said. He wrote song after song, and finally hit the jackpot when "Your Time Hasn’t Come Yet, Baby" was included in the soundtrack for the movie "Speedway."

Tenacity, just like he advises in his book, paid dividends for Hirschhorn, too.

"The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Songwriting" is available at Barnes and Noble and Borders bookstores and at amazon.com.