Livin' on a Prayer
| "Livin' on a Prayer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Bon Jovi | ||||
| from the album Slippery When Wet | ||||
| B-side | "Wild in the Streets" | |||
| Released | October 31, 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:11 (album version) 4:23 (Rock Band 2 edit) 5:07 (DualDisc remix) 5:16 (Crossroads re-record version) | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Bruce Fairbairn | |||
| Bon Jovi singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Livin' on a Prayer" on YouTube | ||||
"Livin' on a Prayer" is a 1986 song by the American rock band Bon Jovi and is the second single from their third studio album Slippery When Wet. It reached number 1 in Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States; number 2 in the Netherlands and Sweden; number 3 in Australia and Belgium; and number 4 in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Overview
[change | change source]At first, vocalist Jon Bon Jovi did not like the song. Richie Sambora, however, convinced him that the song was good. They rewrote the entire musical piece together, added a guitar solo, different drum fills and a talk box to make it a hit song.[5]
Jon gave everything he had to sing "Livin' on a Prayer" during the first part of the Slippery When Wet tour, and it was seriously damaging his voice.[6] He was barely able to sing at the end of the tour and he had to use a lot of backing tracks to fill out the parts that he could not sing. He also used the services of a vocal coach and some steroids to help him finish the tour without losing his voice completely.[5]
At the end of the tour, they had played 206 shows all around the world. The band members took a break before going back into the studio to make another album.[7]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Multiple sources:
- "Smashed Hits: Livin' On A Prayer". BBC News. November 27, 2013. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- Beaujour, Tom; Bienstock, Richard; Eddy, Chuck; Fischer, Reed; Grow, Kory; Johnston, Maura; Weingarten, Christopher R. (August 31, 2019). "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
- Sleazegrinder (December 4, 2015). "The 20 Best Hair Metal Anthems Of All Time Ever". Louder Sound. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- Browne, David (September 6, 2001). "Why are Bon Jovi suddenly musical saints?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- Breihan, Tom (February 3, 2021). "The Number Ones: Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- Deusner, Stephen (February 18, 2017). "We're all livin' on a prayer: How a hair band anthem from the least cool '80s rockers became a classic". Salon. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ↑ ""Jersey 4 Jersey" Fundraiser Brings Together Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi". Music Times. April 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
- ↑ Patria (July 9, 2024). "Top 20 Hard Rock Music Songs of All Time". OurMusicWorld.com. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
- ↑ Rolli, Bryan (December 14, 2017). "Yes, Bon Jovi Deserved Their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction -- Here's Why". Forbes. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
- 1 2 Cite error: The named reference
youtube.comwas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ Jon Bon Jovi Biography Archived 2012-05-06 at the Wayback Machine, 2013/01/09.
- ↑ A+E Networks, Jon Bon Jovi Biography, 2013/01/09.
