Artist - Song

In March 1985 I got an unexpected call from Burton Cummings. We'd met briefly once or twice before, but I can't say I really knew him, so it was a surprise to hear his voice on the other end of the phone.

"How'd you like to get together and write some songs?", he asked.

"Sure, I'd love to", I replied. "When?"

"How about next week", he said. "I'm going to be in Vancouver".

Perfect.

As it turns out, my regular songwriting partner (Bryan Adams) was in Europe for a month, touring with Tina Turner ... and my wife was in California visiting her sister. So I suggested Burton come and stay in my guest room.

We had a wonderful time, playing music in my studio, going out for dinner, and getting to know each another. I'd been a fan since I was a teenager, so it was a thrill to be in the same room with "that guy" and "that voice".

I can't recall how many songs we wrote, but in any case, nothing came of it, other than a fun week hanging with one of my idols.

Then -- 40 years later -- Burton called again, to tell me that one of the songs we'd written in 1985 would be on his next album, to be released towards the end of 2024. How cool is that, I thought.

It can happen, long gestations.

For example, Aerosmith waited 20 years to release "Legendary Child" (written in 1992, released in 2012) ... and Bryan Adams waited 42 years to release "War Machine" and "Rock 'n Roll Hell", two songs we wrote for KISS, way back in 1982.

Better late than never, as they say.