ON THIS DATE IN MUSIC HISTORY (June 6, 1987) New Jersey hard rock band Bon Jovi completed the first week of a three-week stay at a peak position of No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with their third consecutive Top 10 pop hit, Wanted Dead or Alive. Written by band members Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, the song was released in 1987 as the third single from the groups studio album, Slippery When Wet. The song was also Bon Jovis seventh single to chart on the Hot 100 since February 1984 (when Runaway debuted on the chart), and their fourth Top 40 pop hit. The songs title pays homage to Jons admiration for Old West heroes, and how he identifies with them as being hated (wanted dead or alive). During an interview on Inside the Actors Studio, Jon said he got the inspiration for the song early one morning when he could not sleep while riding in a tour bus. The lifestyle of every rock band was similar to that of outlaws in that each was, a young band of thieves, riding into town, stealing the money, the girls, and the booze before the sun came up. During a February 20, 2008 encore performance at a concert in Detroit, Michigan, Jon Bon Jovi told the crowd about running into American rock musician Bob Seger at a Detroit Pistons game, and said that Wanted Dead or Alive was absolutely positively was influenced by [Bob] Segers Turn the Page. He also called the song the bands anthem. Bon Jovi performed Turn the Page during a concert in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) on July 21, 2010. Afterward, Jon told the audience he remembered listening to this song in 1985 while traveling on a tour bus in the midwest and telling Richie Sambora, We got to write a song like this. The following year the duo composed Wanted Dead or Alive. As both You Give Love a Bad Name and Livin on a Prayer had already reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart (in 1986 and 1987 respectively), and with Wanted Dead or Alive peaking at No. 7, Slippery When Wet became the first hard rock album to have three Top 10 hits on the Hot 100 chart. Wanted Dead or Alive also reached No. 13 on Billboards Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 05:25:26 +0000
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