September 14th 2024.
It's hard to imagine a party without the iconic Bon Jovi hit Livin' On A Prayer blasting through the speakers. But did you know that the band's frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, was initially not impressed with the song when it was first written?
In a recent interview, the legendary singer, now 62 years old, admitted that he was wrong about his initial assessment of the 1986 chart-topping single. He shared that the band was able to work on developing the track into what it eventually became, and he's glad they did.
Livin' On A Prayer was not only the band's first number one song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, but it also went on to become certified triple platinum for over three million digital downloads worldwide. Despite its success, Jon revealed that he wasn't too keen on the song when it was first written. "It wasn't that I didn't want to record it, but I wasn't all that impressed on the day that we wrote it," he said. "It was the simple chord progression, melodies, and lyrics that didn't really excite me at first. But once we took it back to the band and worked on it, the bass line came to life in the demo studio and that's how it became what it is today."
Jon continued to share that they knew what they wanted for the song, but they just didn't have it yet. He recalled thinking, "Yeah, it's good. Good day at the office," but later realized that he was wrong. "It's one of the biggest songs in our catalogue," he added.
But Livin' On A Prayer wasn't the only hit song that Jon wasn't initially enthusiastic about. He also revealed that he wasn't keen on the band's 1994 track Always and was even ready to shelve it. "When I'd written that, we demoed it for a movie, and I thought, 'Yeah, that's not very good.' So, we put it on the shelf," he shared. However, an A&R guy, who was a friend of theirs, later convinced them that it was a "monster hit." And he was right. Always sold over a million copies in the US and more than three million worldwide, reaching number four on the US Billboard Top 100 chart.
In recent news, Jon shared that he's unsure when he'll be able to tour again after undergoing major surgery nearly two years ago. The 18th studio album, Forever, was released on June 7, and although Jon was able to get through the recording process, he's still recovering and is not sure if he'll be able to do a tour next year.
"I'm well on the road to recovery and was able to take my time and do a song a day when I made the record," he said. "But my ultimate goal is to be able to perform for two-and-a-half hours a night, four nights a week, for months on end." However, Jon hasn't written off the idea of performing at the legendary Glastonbury festival, despite never attending it himself. "I never went to it, but I heard about that legend slot," he shared. "I feel like it would be pretty legendary. Let's think about it for next year."
The album, which features collaborations with artists like Ed Sheeran and a wedding song written for Jon's daughter, required the singer to work through a lot of dark misery to achieve, as he revealed in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock magazine.
In other news, earlier this week, Jon Bon Jovi was caught on camera rescuing a woman in distress while filming a music video. This article was first published on April 28, 2024. If you have a celebrity story, video, or pictures, feel free to reach out to The Agency entertainment team through email, phone, or by visiting their Submit Stuff page. They would love to hear from you.
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