Bonnie Hayes

American tunesmith Bonnie Hayes comes to Israel to audition Rimon School of Music students for the Berklee School of Music.

AMERICAN SONGSMITH Bonnie Hayes seen here with an Israeli music student at the Rimon School of Music in Hod Hasharon.. (photo credit:Courtesy)

Rhyming “moon” and “June” in song lyrics may not be that different from coupling “yeladim” (children) and “ketanim” (little ones). The key to penning a successful song, whether in English or Hebrew, is to be emotionally invested, according to storied American songsmith Bonnie Hayes.

And she should know. The veteran Californian has struck gold with songs for artists ranging from Bette Midler and Cher to David Crosby and Bonnie Raitt (she penned two songs for Raitt’s Grammy-winning album Nick of Time – “Have a Heart” and “Love Letter.”) Hayes was in Israel earlier this month auditioning Israeli music students at the Rimon School of Music in Ramat Hasharon in her position as chair of the Songwriting Department at the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Rimon and Berklee have a longstanding partnership that has expanded into the songwriting sphere for the first time.

Rimon students who have finished two years of studies can complete their degree at the Berklee campus in Boston, and Hayes was in town to scout for the next Ivry Liders and Keren Peleses, two luminary Rimon graduates.

“There’s no objective criterion that always insures a good song,” Hayes said in a phone interview during a break from meeting with the Rimon students and holding master classes. “I’ve had very vivid disagreements with people over whether a song is good or not. Good is not a good word. For me, a song has to work emotionally and yet also impart an idea. I like being engaged on both planes.”

Hayes, who joined the Berklee faculty in 2013, comes from a musical family (one brother, Chris, was lead guitarist for Huey Lewis and the News and another, Kevin, was Robert Cray’s drummer for decades).

“I attended one of the first community music schools in the US – Blue Bear – and that’s how I found my life,” said Hayes. “I had taken piano lessons my whole childhood but my dad, who was also a piano player, wanted me to be a doctor.”

Hayes made her first splash in the music business as a performer back in the spiky new-wave days of the early 1980s, when two of her songs that she performed with her Bay Area band The Wild Combo were featured in the 1983 Nicolas Cage cult classic film Valley Girl.

“When you first find a groove and start to write songs that people respond to, it’s one of the most thrilling and powerful things that can happen to a human being,” said Hayes. “I remember that period with a great deal of fondness, and I still like the music, but maybe not the production. I think those songs stand the test of time.”

Hayes concentrated on her musicianship, eventually joining the touring bands of artists like Belinda Carlisle and Billy Idol.

However, with her success with Raitt and her rising name as a hit songwriter, the performing side of the music business gradually took a back seat to the behind-thescenes songwriting side – a development that Hayes embraced.

read more: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/She-writes-the-songs-438768