Top Ten Songs by Bon Jovi
In 1984, the debut album self-titled “Bon Jovi” was released with the single “Runaway”. Earlier written in 1980 by Jon and Dave Sabo (founder of the metal group Skid Row), it had won a radio contest in 1983 for Bon Jovi, that led to this first album. This song helped the album reach gold in the U.S. that year.
The follow-up to that album was quickly released the following year entitled “7800 Degrees Fahrenheit”. The first single to be released was “In And Out Of Love”. Though this album had been labeled as a “pale imitation” of the debut album “Bon Jovi”, the single raced up the charts. It made early beliefs that the group was just trying to live off the coattails of their first album all go away.
Bon Jovi found themselves shot straight into super-stardom with their 1986 release of the multi-platinum album “Slippery When Wet”. This album quickly became a fan favorite all over the world with its first radio release of “You Give Love A Bad Name”. This song propelled the group to new heights.
After the success on the radio and the charts, they released the second hit off of “Slippery When Wet”. This song that soon became their next top-ten hit was “Living On A Prayer”. This song was a light-hearted tune about young love trying hard to make it through tough times. The timing was perfect for this song as it got huge request on US radio stations.
The release of the third and signature tune for the group, sent record sales through the roof. “Wanted Dead Or Alive”, a song of life on the road as an artist, quickly became the ultimate song of their career. The instant you hear that 12 string guitar riff, it grabs you and sets you back because you know your about to go for a musical ride.
After the huge world tour Bon Jovi embarked on in 1987, they settled back and wrote their next huge success story of their career. As nothing will ever compare to the success that the last album had, “New Jersey” hit the stores. The 1988 release contained their next top-ten hit “Bad Medicine”. The video to this song depicted what it was like to go to a live Bon Jovi concert by giving fans camcorders and letting them film the song. This video was narrated by the late great comedian who had died tragically early in his career, Sam Kinnison .
In 1990 to 1992 the band took a small break, but most the members, including the lead man Jon Bon Jovi, recorded a song off the soundtrack “Young Guns 2”. The track single, entitled “Blaze Of Glory”, depicted life in the Wild West as a gun-slinger. Jon Bon Jovi made a cameo appearance in that movie as well.
After the break, Bon Jovi returned to the studio and recorded what would be a more mature side of the group lyrically. The 1992 release “Keep The Faith” showed the more sensitive side to the hard-rocking group with the single “Bed Of Roses”. This change in maturity proved to be a change for the better. Amidst the onset of the grunge scene, the album persevered and still came out above many of its contenders.
Bon Jovi recorded one more album entitled “These Days” before taking a three-year hiatus. The members took this time to make solo projects, but in 1999 they regrouped as Bon Jovi, putting out a more bluesy attempt into their new found maturity. “Crush” was made an instant hit across the country with the first single off the album “It’s My Life”.
This album spawned a younger crowd with the new feel to the music.
The release in 2005 “Have A Nice Day”, has the group teaming up with country music new-comer, Jennifer Nettles. “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” has hit both the rock and country charts by storm. This collaboration has turned out to be a brilliant idea thus far for both sides.
