“The first time I heard Pat Benatar’s version of ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot,’ I was almost arrested for loitering,” laughs internationally lauded Canadian songwriter, producer, performer, and rights advocate Eddie Schwartz about the song he penned that became Benatar’s first Top Ten single in 1980. “I was walking down Yonge Street in Toronto when I heard it blasting out of a renowned hair salon and stopped dead in my tracks. I even think I started to drool [laughs]. As I stood there in a state of shock, a salon stylist called the police because of my strange behavior. When they arrived, they ordered me to move or face arrest. When I tried to explain to them that I just heard my song on the radio for the first time, they said, ‘Sure, buddy. Move along.”
Stepping out from behind the curtain and into the spotlight, Schwartz will be physically releasing his full-length studio release on CD, FILM SCHOOL, on November 12, 2025. His songs have been recorded by an astonishing roster: Carly Simon, Joe Cocker, America, Donna Summer, Rita Coolidge, Rascal Flatts, and Mountain, among many others. As a producer, his credits include the Doobie Brothers’ Cycles, Carrack’s Groove Approved, and his own albums, all resonating with an unmistakable blend of craftsmanship and soul. This six-song EP finds the storied songwriter who authored such classics as Paul Carrack’s “Don’t Shed a Tear” (1987), The Doobie Brothers’ “The Doctor” (1989), the aforementioned “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” (among hundreds of others) on the other side of the studio glass.
“It’s a difficult time right now and I freely admit to struggling with how to cope with the daily insanity,” says Eddie about the current political and socio-economic climate. Instead of subjecting himself to the barrage of news, he opted instead to return to the studio and write songs. “The moment of writing ‘We Win’ was profound for me because I found a way to a more hopeful place that helped with anger, sadness and bewilderment at how we got here,” he explains. “I felt the message of ‘We Win’ offered some sanity that I needed to cling to, that I needed to find for myself. And I wanted to share it in the hope it might work for others as well.”
After an extended creative drought that plagued him for years, writing the single and subsequent songs on Film School was a turning point for him. “After a number of years doing the Nashville-style co-writing every day—two songs a day, five days a week— I burned out,” Eddie reflects. “The blank page stayed blank for a long time,” he explains of the rigorous demands of being a songwriter in today’s music business. The catalyst to cure his writer’s block was his frustration with current events. “My struggle to process the world at this moment in time and muster some resolve was what propelled me back in the writing mindset. ‘We Win’ acknowledges the pain and the struggle, but professes love means you don’t have to succumb to it.”
Accompanied by the slide guitar by Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney, Lou Reed) and backing vocals by Country music legend Robert Ellis Orrall, the track’s cinematic textures are highlighted with Eddie’s soul-stirring honest, constructing a track that is immediately poignant and endearing. Celebrated trade magazine Cashbox proclaimed, “’We Win’ is one of those songs that makes me remember why I got into the music industry in the first place. For me, it has always been all about the song, the vocals, the lyrics, the music. This one was not what I expected, it is lyrically sonic, great hook, subtle production. It has been on repeat on my playlist all morning.” Tinnitist echoed, “’We Win’ pulses with optimism and resolve, themes that mirror the artist’s own return to songwriting after a prolonged pause.” Find Your Sounds lauds, “With his new single ‘We Win,’ Eddie marks a bold and inspiring return to his roots as a solo artist… showcasing the full spectrum of his brilliance: lyrical poignancy, musical craftsmanship, and the indomitable spirit that has defined his legacy.”
A masterclass in songwriting (his worldwide physical sales before the digital era are well in excess of 65 million units), Film School is an assemblage of songs that fit like an anthology with Eddie’s knack for storytelling and melodies the thread that strings it together. From the moody and introspective “Outbound Train” (“A three minute musical Twilight Zone… A somewhat macabre imagining of an unavoidable journey”), to the ballad “Special Girl” (“A song I recorded years ago, and has also been recorded by Meatloaf and America. I stripped it down and brought in an old friend, Lou Pomanti, who is a great player to do the idea justice, and the new version developed from there”), to the spirited waltz of “You Don’t Below” (“A song about my personal need to disassociate from a certain mentality that is common these days. The music came out of jams with my good friend Roger Moutenot at his Haptown studio here in Nashville”), Film School plays out like a series of vignettes.
“Film School is a collection of six songs that are all kind of like short stories or films, with characters and dialogue,” he says. “The people in the songs face challenges and find ways to deal with those challenges and move forward with their lives, or in some songs like ‘Outbound Train,’ we go along with them on a somewhat otherworldly ride. So I think that’s the common essence of this collection of songs. Also, I hadn’t written a song in quite a few years before Film School, so I had to relearn how to do it – I was back in school in a way. So given all that, Film School felt like a good way to tie the project together.”
Elected president of the International Council of Music Creators (CIAM) and holding the position from 2017 to 2023, Eddie has been on the front lines, fighting for the rights of musicians and creators alike. An activist in the ongoing struggle for a workable solution in an industry of increasingly diminishing returns, he continues to find resolve in the music business. “For the vast majority of individual artists and songwriters, the business is much, much harder than it was in the day of vinyl, CDs and even downloads,” he explains about the technological advances both good and bad. “Millions and millions of streams do not support a career, and that’s tragic. Generative artificial intelligence is already taking a toll as it replaces humans on streaming platforms, and underscoring for movies and TV, etc. On the positive side, I do love being able to make a decent recording on a laptop, and the tools available to do that are truly amazing.”
A Member of the Order of Canada and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, Eddie holds a degree in music and English literature from York University. He first made his mark in the band Icarus alongside industry titans Bob Ezrin and Ben Mink, before launching a solo career that led to multiple hit singles and an enduring role as one of Canada’s great musical exports. “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” may have been dismissed by a publisher early on, but Benatar’s iconic recording turned it into a cultural lightning rod. Eddie, ever gracious, always let the music speak for itself.
Film School will be released physically on November12, 2025 independently.