Worked With:
Formal Connection With:
- Genres: Rock
- Instrument: Keyboards
Biography
A prolific songwriter, producer, and musician, Duane Hitchings has had a hand in almost every aspect of popular music since Dick Clark was a lad. After playing on the 1958 hit record "Heart and Soul" at the tender age of 15, Hitchings toured with Del Shannon and Ricky Nelson. Performing with Buddy Miles led to recording dates with some legendary artists of the '60s and '70s (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, Jeff Beck, Alice Cooper), as well as his own band Cactus.The late '70s found Hitchings working closely with Rod Stewart, co-writing the massive hit "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy," as well as helping pen "Young Turks," "Infatuation," and "Crazy ‘Bout Her." In the '80s, he focused some attention on scoring films, writing themes for Rocky IV and Iron Eagle and winning a Grammy for "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is" from the Flashdance soundtrack. The next decade was spent writing and producing dance, rap, and R&B hits for TLC, the Lox, N-Trance, M People, Notorious B.I.G., and 2Pac (although to be fair, the majority of these songs just contain sampled or reworked versions of "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy"). Hitchings now works in the Nashville area writing songs for Rod Stewart, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill. ~ Zac Johnson, All Music Guide
