18 August 1986.
Some albums arrive.
Some albums become successful.
And then there are albums that kick the bloody doors off, take over radio, MTV, bedrooms, pubs, cars and arenas, and become permanently welded into rock โnโ roll history.
Bon Joviโs Slippery When Wet was one of those albums. ๐ค๐ฅ
Released on this day in 1986, the New Jersey rockersโ third studio album turned Bon Jovi from an increasingly successful rock band into one of the biggest acts on the planet.
And nearly four decades later?
Stick โLivinโ on a Prayerโ on at a party and just watch what happens.
Someone will shout โWHOA, WEโRE HALFWAY THERE!โ at a volume completely inappropriate for the size of the room.
Guaranteed. ๐๐บ
๐ธ Bon Jovi Were About to Go MASSIVE
By 1986, Bon Jovi were hardly unknown.
The band had already released their self-titled debut in 1984 followed by 7800ยฐ Fahrenheit in 1985, building a growing audience and establishing themselves among the rapidly expanding American hard rock scene.
But their third album was different.
Very different.
With Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Alec John Such and Tico Torres, everything seemed to click into place.
The songs were sharper.
The choruses were enormous.
The guitars were built for arenas.
And Jon Bon Jovi had the kind of voice and charisma that MTV absolutely bloody loved.
The result was Slippery When Wet.
And rock music was about to get three songs that seemingly became compulsory listening for anyone owning a denim jacket.
๐ฅ โYou Give Love a Bad Nameโ
SHOT THROUGH THE HEART!
Come on.
You heard that in Jon Bon Joviโs voice, didnโt you?
๐๐ค
โYou Give Love a Bad Nameโ remains one of Bon Joviโs signature songs, with that opening vocal immediately announcing that something enormous is about to happen.
Then Richie Samboraโs guitar comes crashing through and off we go.
Itโs ridiculously catchy.
Itโs loud.
Itโs dramatic.
And it has a chorus seemingly engineered in a secret laboratory specifically for 20,000 people to scream simultaneously.
The song became Bon Joviโs first US Billboard Hot 100 number one, helping launch Slippery When Wet into another universe commercially.
But somehow, an even bigger anthem was waiting.
๐ โLivinโ on a Prayerโ
Tommy used to work on the docksโฆ
And suddenly every rock fan within a five-mile radius is singing.
โLivinโ on a Prayerโ isnโt simply a Bon Jovi song anymore.
It has become part of rock culture.
The story of Tommy and Gina, two working-class lovers trying to survive difficult times, connected with millions of listeners.
Add Samboraโs unmistakable talk-box guitar, one of the greatest key changes in rock history and a chorus capable of shaking the roof off practically any building, and youโve got something very special indeed.
It became another US number-one single and remains arguably the bandโs most recognisable song.
Festival field?
Pub?
Wedding?
Rock club?
Car journey?
Kitchen at 2am after several questionable beverages?
Doesnโt matter.
When that chorus arrivesโฆ
EVERYBODY is Jon Bon Jovi. ๐๐ค๐ฅ
๐ค โWanted Dead or Aliveโ
Then Bon Jovi showed another side of themselves.
โWanted Dead or Aliveโ swapped some of the glossy arena-rock explosion for something darker and more reflective.
Inspired by life on the road, it paints touring musicians almost like modern-day cowboys travelling from town to town.
And then thereโs that guitar.
Richie Samboraโs acoustic introduction remains instantly recognisable.
It builds beautifully before eventually becoming another enormous arena-rock anthem.
โIโve seen a million faces, and Iโve rocked them allโฆโ
That line alone feels designed to be screamed underneath arena lights with thousands of fists in the air.
Absolute tune. ๐ธ
๐ฟ The Slippery When Wet Tracklist
The album wasnโt just three monster singles surrounded by filler either.
The full record delivered plenty of swagger:
- Let It Rock
- You Give Love a Bad Name
- Livinโ on a Prayer
- Social Disease
- Wanted Dead or Alive
- Raise Your Hands
- Without Love
- Iโd Die for You
- Never Say Goodbye
- Wild in the Streets
That opening run alone is outrageous.
Let It Rock into You Give Love a Bad Name, followed immediately by Livinโ on a Prayer?
Steady on, lads.
Give us a chance to recover. ๐๐ค
And deeper cuts including โRaise Your Hands,โ โIโd Die for Youโ and โNever Say Goodbyeโ helped make the record something fans could hammer from beginning to end rather than simply skipping between singles.
๐บ The Perfect Album for the MTV Generation
Timing certainly helped.
The mid-1980s were an incredible period for larger-than-life rock music.
MTV had changed how bands reached audiences.
Suddenly image mattered almost as much as the music.
Big hair.
Leather jackets.
Flying guitars.
Ridiculously charismatic frontmen.
Videos that looked like everyone involved hadnโt slept for three days.
Bon Jovi were absolutely perfect for it.
But dismissing their success as simply an MTV phenomenon misses the point.
The songs were bloody enormous.
You donโt keep generations of fans singing Livinโ on a Prayer simply because Jon Bon Jovi had excellent hair in 1986.
Although, to be fairโฆ
That hair deserved its own tour bus. ๐
๐ More Than 12 Million US Sales
Slippery When Wet became a phenomenal commercial success.
The album topped the Billboard 200 and ultimately sold more than 12 million copies in the United States alone.
Worldwide sales pushed it comfortably into the tens of millions.
Those are bonkers numbers.
But perhaps the albumโs biggest achievement isnโt something that can be measured entirely through sales figures.
Itโs longevity.
Plenty of albums sold millions during the 1980s.
Far fewer still contain songs instantly recognised by people who werenโt even alive when they were released.
Thatโs the difference.
๐ค From Rock Stars to Global Superstars
The success of Slippery When Wet completely changed Bon Joviโs trajectory.
Suddenly the venues became bigger.
The crowds became bigger.
The expectations became bigger.
Bon Jovi werenโt simply another band riding the 1980s hard-rock explosion anymore.
They were helping define it.
And the momentum didnโt stop.
Two years later came New Jersey, another monster album featuring songs including โBad Medicine,โ โBorn to Be My Baby,โ โIโll Be There for Youโ and โLay Your Hands on Me.โ
By then, Bon Jovi had firmly established themselves among the biggest rock bands in the world.
But Slippery When Wet was the rocket fuel.
๐๐ธ
โค๏ธ Nearly 40 Years Later, Those Songs Still Hit
Thatโs perhaps the greatest compliment you can give this album.
It still works.
The production screams 1986 in places โ and thatโs part of its charm โ but those choruses havenโt aged.
You Give Love a Bad Name still explodes from speakers.
Wanted Dead or Alive still makes you want to grab an acoustic guitar.
And Livinโ on a Prayer?
That song could probably survive the apocalypse.
Cockroaches, Keith Richards and somebody screaming โWHOA, WEโRE HALFWAY THERE!โ
Humanity carries on. ๐๐ค
๐ค The Riff Report Verdict
Slippery When Wet wasnโt merely Bon Joviโs breakthrough.
It became one of the albums that helped define 1980s arena rock.
Huge choruses.
Massive guitars.
Ridiculous hooks.
Power ballads.
MTV domination.
And enough hairspray to punch another hole through the ozone layer.
Most importantly, it gave rock fans songs that have survived long after the fashion and excess of the decade faded.
โYou Give Love a Bad Name.โ
โWanted Dead or Alive.โ
And, of courseโฆ
๐ค โWHOA, WEโRE HALFWAY THEREโฆโ
Go on.
Finish it.
You know you want to. ๐๐ค
๐ธ RIFF REPORT RATING: ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ โ 5/5
An absolute arena-rock monster.
Happy anniversary, Slippery When Wet.
Still loud.
Still massive.
Still capable of turning an ordinary pub into Wembley Stadium approximately four seconds after Livinโ on a Prayer starts.
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies. ๐ค๐๐ฅ
