Bon Jovi (album) explained

Bon Jovi
Type:studio
Artist:Bon Jovi
Cover:Bon Jovi Album.jpg
Recorded:1982–1983
Studio:Power Station (New York City)
Genre:
Length:38:33
Producer:
Next Year:1985

Bon Jovi is the debut studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on January 23, 1984, by Mercury Records. Produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn, it is significant for being the only Bon Jovi album in which a song ("She Don't Know Me") appears that was not written or co-written by a member of the band. The album charted at number 43 on the US Billboard 200.[3]

Aside from the hit single "Runaway", songs from the album were rarely performed live after Bon Jovi released Slippery When Wet in 1986. However, on the band's 2010 Circle Tour, songs including "Roulette", "Shot Through the Heart" and "Get Ready" were performed. The album was ranked the 11th best rock album of 1984 by Kerrang! magazine.[4]

The song "Shot Through the Heart" should not be confused with the much better-known "You Give Love a Bad Name" from Slippery When Wet.[5]

On 25 January 2024, the band announced and released the 40th anniversary edition of the album on the same day.[6] [7] [8]

Background

In 1980, Jon Bon Jovi (born John Francis Bongiovi) began work at Power Station, a Manhattan recording facility co-founded by his cousin, Tony Bongiovi. Jon made several demos and sent them out to record companies, but failed to make an impact.

In 1982, Jon went to local radio station WAPP 103.5FM "The Apple". DJ Chip Hobart listened to the demos and loved "Runaway", deciding to include it on the station's compilation album of local homegrown talent. The studio musicians who helped record "Runaway" were known as The All Star Review. They were: guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan, drummer Frankie LaRocka, bass guitarist Hugh McDonald, and additional singers David Grahmme and Mick Seeley (Seeley also composed the distinctive keyboard riff that opens the song). In 1994, McDonald would later replace Alec John Such as Bon Jovi's bass guitarist, initially only as a touring and session musician, before becoming a full member in 2016.

The song began to get airplay around New York. Jon signed to Mercury Records, part of the PolyGram company. He wanted a band name and the A&R staff at PolyGram came up with Bon Jovi.

In March 1983, Bon Jovi called David Bryan (then known as Rashbaum), who in turn called bass guitarist Alec John Such and an experienced drummer named Tico Torres. At that time Bon Jovi's lead guitarist was Dave Sabo, who later formed the band Skid Row. Sabo was soon replaced by Richie Sambora.

"We weren't a good band", Bon Jovi said in 2007. "We didn't become a good band until the third record, but we had a drummer who could keep time, which you should never take for granted. But I did okay for a 22-year-old. I'd only been in a studio for three years total prior to that record and I didn't know anything about comping a vocal – where you take a word or a line from one track and piece it together. I was thinking, My God, I'm so bad that they have to put my vocals together for me. The engineer was saying, Don't fret, Jon: even Freddie Mercury and the greats have to comp a vocal."[9]

Release and reception

AllMusic has retrospectively rated Bon Jovi three-and-a-half out of five stars. Leslie Mathew, who reviewed the album, said: "The songs may be simple and the writing prone to all clichés of the form, but the album boasts a pretty consistent hard rock attack, passionate playing, and a keen sense of melody", and called the album "an often-overlooked minor gem from the early days of hair metal".

Personnel

Bon Jovi

Additional musicians

Production staff

Design

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1984–1987)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10] 39
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 18
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 38
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[13] 24

Year-end charts

Chart (1984)! scope="col"
Position
US Billboard 200[14] 58
Chart (1987)! scope="col"
Position
US Billboard 200[15] 76

Notes and References

  1. Book: Popoff, Martin. The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade. 2014. 978-0-7603-4546-7. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 59. 858901054 .
  2. Web site: McPadden 1/26/2015. Mike. Kingmakers In Makeup: 15 Future Metal Superstars That Opened For Kiss. https://web.archive.org/web/20220517082621/https://www.vh1.com/news/wuftdm/future-metal-stars-that-opened-for-kiss. live. May 17, 2022. 2021-05-29. VH1 News.
  3. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3734/charts-awards/billboard-albums|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic (Bon Jovi charts & awards) Billboard albums ].
  4. Web site: Rock List Music.uk.
  5. Schonfeld, Zach (May 10, 2018). "Every Bon Jovi Album, Ranked: Celebrating 'Slippery When Wet,' 'New Jersey,' and All the Rest". Newsweek. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  6. Web site: Rivadavia . Eduardo. 2024-01-21 . 40 Years Ago: Bon Jovi's Debut Album Points to Bigger Things . 2024-01-27 . Ultimate Classic Rock . en.
  7. Web site: Peacock . Tim . Bon Jovi’s Self-Titled Debut Album Celebrates 40 Years With Deluxe Edition . UDiscover Music . June 3, 2024 . January 24, 2024.
  8. Web site: Bon Jovi Commemorates 40th Anniversary Of Self-Titled Debut ‘Bon Jovi Deluxe Edition’ Out Now . Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) . Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) . June 3, 2024 . February 7, 2024.
  9. Mark. Blake. Mark Blake (writer). My brilliant career: Jon Bon Jovi. Q #253. August 2007. 67.
  10. ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 28th January 2008 . . 935 . January 28, 2008 . 5 . July 20, 2012 . dead . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20080226224111/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20080220-0000/issue935.pdf . 26 February 2008.
  11. Book: Pennanen, Timo . Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . fi . 1st . Helsinki . . 2006 . 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. ja. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9.
  13. Book: Salaverrie, Fernando. September 2005. Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. es. 1st. Madrid. Fundación Autor/SGAE. 84-8048-639-2.
  14. Top Pop Albums of 1984 . Billboard . June 23, 2022 . July 31, 2021 . https://archive.today/20121231160407/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855368?imw=Y . December 31, 2012.
  15. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1987 . Billboard . June 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180514035352/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1987/top-billboard-200-albums . May 14, 2018.