"You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
, released as the first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
from their 1986 album ''
Slippery When Wet
''Slippery When Wet'' is the third studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was released on August 18, 1986, by Mercury Records in North America and Vertigo Records internationally. It was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, with recording sessi ...
''. Written by
Jon Bon Jovi
John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...
,
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...
, and
Desmond Child
John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008.
His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's "I Was Made for Lovi ...
about a woman who has jilted her lover, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S.
''Billboard'' Hot 100 on November 29, 1986, and became the band's first number one hit. In 2007, the song reentered the charts at No. 29 after
Blake Lewis
Blake Colin Lewis (born July 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer and actor who was the runner-up on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. His major label debut album ''A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)'' was released on December 4, 2007, through ...
performed it on ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
''.
Despite the lyrics of the chorus, the song should not be confused with "Shot Through the Heart", an unrelated song from Bon Jovi's 1984
self-titled debut album.
Composition
The melody of "You Give Love a Bad Name" was originally written for
Bonnie Tyler
Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...
under the title "
If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)
"If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for her 1986 rock album '' Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire''. It was written by Desmond Child and produced by Jim Steinman. Child has since stated that the ...
" with different lyrics commissioned by its producer
Jim Steinman
James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...
. Dissatisfied with its success in the US and the UK (which he attributed to reticence on the part of her label in promoting it), Desmond Child re-wrote the song with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.
The song is written in the key of C minor and has a tempo of 123 BPM.
The album version of the song ends with the title being repeated until it fades.
Upon the release of the
Ava Max
Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single "Sweet but Psycho" in ...
song "
Kings & Queens", comparisons were drawn with that song, "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)", and reviews highlighted Desmond Child's credit as a songwriter for "Kings & Queens".
Reception
''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' called it a "jackhammer single" that could push Bon Jovi to massive success and said that "Jon Bon Jovi’s grinding vocal and the anthemic production spell
A-O-R."
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' called it "hard rock, raspy and aggressive."
In a retrospective analysis, Chris Molanphy expressed his disgust at the song for being spiteful and derisive in its lyrics, and calling them "sub-
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...
" (Meat Loaf being best known for his work with Steinman). However, he did credit it for introducing the genre of hair metal to the mainstream. He also noted in another commentary how the song shared many similarities with Steinman's songs due to Child's involvement, saying "Steinman might as well have
roduced it, due to Child using devices such as its verbose title and anthemic chorus, likening it to "'
Bat Out of Hell
''Bat Out of Hell'' is the 1977 debut album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. It is one of the best-selling albums in history. The album was developed from a musical, ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of ''P ...
' infused with
Aqua Net
Aqua Net is an aerosol hair spray created by Rayette of St. Paul, Minnesota. The company brought the product to retail stores in 1961. By 1964, hairspray had become the top-selling beauty product in America.Sherrow 2006, pp. 183 and for its mark ...
".
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the song used all-color concert footage (the only all-color video song from ''Slippery When Wet'') and photogenic shots primarily of Jon Bon Jovi, as well as other band members in concert. This video was filmed at the
Olympic Auditorium
The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...
in Los Angeles, California.
Bon Jovi was now being managed by
Doc McGhee
Doc McGhee is an American music manager, best known for working with hard rock bands Kiss, Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe. The latter two groups experienced their rise to stardom under his management. He has also worked with Hootie & the Blowfish.
H ...
, who realized that Bon Jovi needed a video for MTV. Doc hired video director
Wayne Isham
Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists.
Early life and education
Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the University ...
, who had directed videos for Doc's other band,
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...
. The two bands were competitive with each other and Mötley Crüe felt betrayed that Wayne would direct one of Bon Jovi's videos.
Wayne had the band's name painted on the stage and made sure that the band did not see it until they began shooting.
Bon Jovi had been opening for
38 Special 38 Special may refer to:
* .38 Special
The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...
, but became a headlining act after the video debuted.
Track listing
*7" single
# "You Give Love a Bad Name" – 3:53
# "Raise Your Hands" – 4:17
*12" single
# "You Give Love a Bad Name" – 3:53
# "Raise Your Hands" – 4:17
# "Borderline" – 4:10
*7" picture disc single
# "You Give Love a Bad Name" – 3:53
# "Let It Rock" – 5:24
*
CD Video
CD Video (also known as CDV, CD-V, or CD+V) is a format of optical media disc that was introduced in 1987 that combines the technologies of standard compact disc and LaserDisc. CD-V discs are the same size as a standard 12-cm audio CD, and conta ...
single
Audio
# "Let It Rock" – 5:24
# "Raise Your Hands" – 4:17
# "Without Live" – 3:32
# "You Give Love a Bad Name" – 3:53
Video
# "You Give Love a Bad Name" – 3:53
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
Use in media and legacy
The song was used in the game ''
Guitar Hero 5
''Guitar Hero 5'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero V'') is a 2009 Music video game, music rhythm game, rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar He ...
'', episodes of ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'', ''
30 Rock
''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...
'', and ''
The Vampire Diaries
''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
''
Season 4 Season 4 may refer to:
* "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock''
See also
*
* Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to:
Albums
* ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004
* ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...
finale, ''Graduation''.
It was placed at No. 20 on VH1's list of the 100 Best Hard Rock Songs.
See also
*
List of glam metal albums and songs
The following list of glam metal albums and songs is a list containing albums and songs described by at least one professional source as glam metal or its interchangeable terms, hair metal, lite metal, pop metal, and metal pop.
Albums
1978
* ...
References
{{Authority control
Bon Jovi songs
1986 singles
1986 songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
Mandaryna songs
Songs written by Desmond Child
Songs written by Richie Sambora
Songs written by Jon Bon Jovi
Music videos directed by Wayne Isham
Song recordings produced by Bruce Fairbairn
Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements
Mercury Records singles