"I'll Be There for You" 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 Wale ...

band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

, released as the third single from their 1988 album, ''

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

''. The

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

was 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 Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

and

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, 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 songwriting unit for the ...

. The single reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number five on the ''

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 advertis ...

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart.

Background

Originally released on the 1988 album ''

'', "I'll Be There for You" is a

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

and

arena rock Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences. As hard rock ...

. It became

's third single from the album when it was released as a single in 1989. As the band (and glam metal) was at its peak popularity at this time, the song quickly climbed to the number one position on both the'' Cash Box'' Top 100 and ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming their fourth number-one single. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

'' ranked it as the number-two pop single of 1989.

Music video

The video for the song (directed by

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 on December 2, 1958 in Vinita, Oklahoma. He at ...

) features the band performing on a dark stage with an almost

monochromatic A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, mon ...

blue color due to the stage lighting, with close-ups of each member, most notably lead singer Jon Bon Jovi and lead guitarist Richie Sambora. However, it is persistent throughout the clip that Richie Sambora's face is constantly in shadow through the entire video. The video footage then switches midway to black-and-white footage from a

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

at the old

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England.

"Homebound Train"

"Homebound Train", the B-side to "I'll Be There for You", is notable for being one of the band's heaviest songs, and also for the brief back-and-forth keyboard and harmonica solos leading up to the guitar solo. When played during

The Circle Tour The Circle Tour was a worldwide concert tour in 2010 by American rock band Bon Jovi to promote their 11th studio album '' The Circle'' (2009). The tour started in North America and progressed to Europe, South America, Asia and Australia. It inc ...

, it was sung by lead guitarist Richie Sambora.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:I'll Be There For You (Bon Jovi Song) 1980s ballads 1988 songs 1989 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Bon Jovi songs Cashbox number-one singles Glam metal ballads Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Song recordings produced by Bruce Fairbairn Songs written by Jon Bon Jovi Songs written by Richie Sambora Vertigo Records singles