Freddy Wexler Opens Up About Working With Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi's Incredible Catalog & More | MusiCares Person of the Year 2024 - video Dailymotion

Billboard

Freddy Wexler caught up with Billboard's Katie Bain at MusiCares Person of the Year 2024.

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00:00 Okay, let's talk about Bon Jovi. You wanna?

00:02 I would love to.

00:02 Okay, what's your first Bon Jovi memory?

00:04 My first Bon Jovi memory is probably summer camp.

00:09 Just getting hyped.

00:11 Right? Any time I want to get hyped, it's Bon Jovi.

00:15 That's right.

00:16 And it's timeless.

00:17 It is timeless, never-ending adrenaline.

00:20 Totally.

00:22 Do you have a favorite?

00:23 I honestly don't.

00:25 'Cause I don't want to say the obvious ones.

00:27 What's your favorite?

00:28 Mine is "Born to Be My Baby."

00:30 Amazing. Amazing.

00:32 I can't-- I think it's a testament to his catalog.

00:36 It's too hard for me.

00:37 Is there one Bon Jovi song maybe that you wish you had written?

00:40 Well, I wish I was--

00:41 ♪ Shot through the heart ♪

00:42 I mean, you know, from a business standpoint.

00:45 From a royalties perspective, that would be the one.

00:47 Yeah, and just from a-- it's just freaking cool.

00:49 A hit that never, ever, ever fades.

00:52 You know?

00:53 Okay.

00:53 What are your plans for Grammy weekend?

00:57 I'm here tonight.

00:58 Got Clive tomorrow.

01:01 And then I've got the Grammys.

01:04 And I've-- I worked on an album that's nominated for Grammy

01:08 by Leve.

01:10 Artist named Leve.

01:11 But I also worked with Billy Joel and his new song, his first new song.

01:15 Oh, today?

01:16 Yeah.

01:16 Congratulations.

01:17 Yeah.

01:18 Thank you so much.

01:19 So I'm very involved in kind of overseeing that project.

01:23 So I'll be with him and the team throughout the weekend.

01:26 Grammy rehearsals.

01:27 We did those yesterday.

01:29 We have another rehearsal Sunday.

01:32 So it'll be a work weekend.

01:34 Okay, you're working a lot.

01:35 Tell us-- give us a behind-the-scenes moment of working with Billy Joel.

01:39 One was--

01:40 So you have to understand.

01:42 So when I was a kid, I used to dream of being Billy Joel.

01:46 Okay?

01:46 I was signed to Virgin Records.

01:48 The guy at the label said, "I'm gonna make you the next Billy Joel."

01:52 Now, that never happened.

01:53 But just to give you a sense of how much I idolized this songwriter and artist,

01:57 so when I finally got him in the studio, which no one had been able to do for decades,

02:02 I guess I caught him in a really good mood and was, you know, whatever, persistent.

02:09 When he finally started to sing on the microphone, I said--

02:12 I was freaking out, so I opened the door and said, "Billy!"

02:14 I, like, jumped on his shoulders and I was like, "How does it feel, man?

02:17 How does it feel after all this time?"

02:19 And I was so hyped, and he goes, "I like singing, I guess."

02:23 And I was like, "Got it."

02:24 And I, like, walked back into the studio and I'm like, "You better chill the F out."

02:27 Chill out. Be cool.

02:29 Literally chill out.

02:30 feel out.

02:32 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Freddy Wexler Opens Up About Working With Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi's Incredible Catalog & More | MusiCares Person of the Year 2024

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