It’s one of the most recognisable rock songs in the world (Picture: Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
What is a party without Bon Jovi hit Livin’ On A Prayer blasting? Well, it turns out Jon Bon Jovi ‘wasn’t that impressed’ with the band’s iconic single when it was first written.
The legendary frontman, 62, admitted he ‘was wrong’ with his original assessment of the 1986 chart-topping single, which went on to become one of the group’s most famous hits, but he’s glad they were able to work on developing the track into what it became.
The single was the band’s first number one song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and has since been certified triple platinum for over three million digital downloads worldwide.
‘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, the melodies and the lyrics [at first]. But the bass line came to life in the demo studio, when we took it back to the band and worked it up. That’s how it became what it is.’
Jon continued to People Magazine: ‘We knew what we wanted, we just didn’t have it, and so I was like, “Yeah, it’s good. Good day. Good day at the office,” and I was wrong. It’s one of the biggest songs in our catalogue.’
Jon Bon Jovi has shared he wasn’t overly enthused by Livin’ On A Prayer at first (Picture: Drew Gurian/Invision/AP, File)
However, he went on to admit he had been wrong about the song which went on to be their biggest hit (Picture: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)
And that’s not all, with the singer also admitting he wasn’t keen on the band’s hit 1994 track Always and was ready to shelve the track.
Noting it is ‘also one of our biggest songs ever’, Jon recalled: ‘When I’d written that, we demoed it for a movie, that I had written it for, and thought, “Yeah, that’s not very good.” Put it on the shelf, and an A+R guy, who was a friend of ours, was listening to some of those lost songs, and he said, ‘You know, this is a monster hit.’ He was right.’
The power ballad, released in 1994, sold a million copies in the US and more than three million worldwide and reached number four on the US Billboard Top 100 chart.
It comes as the singer revealed he’s unsure when he will tour again after undergoing major surgery.
It comes as the rock icon revealed he’s unsure when he will next perform live after undergoing surgery (Picture: Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images)
The rocker – whose son Jake Bongiovi married Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown earlier this year – is being forced to take it easy after undergoing surgery nearly two years ago for an ‘atrophied’ vocal cord.
While he’s been able to get through creating the band’s 18th studio album, Forever, he’s since admitted: ‘I don’t know about a tour.’
‘It is my desire to do a tour next year, but I’m just still recovering from a major surgery,’ he told Boston’s Mix 104.1.
Jon’s career has spanned decades (Picture: Getty Images)
‘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 declared his ‘need’ was to be able to perform for ‘two-and-a-half hours a night four nights a week for months on end.’
However, whilst speaking to Metro.co.uk, he is open to Glastonbury, despite never attending himself.
‘I never went to it. But I heard about that legend slot. I’m aware of the festival obviously. But I never went…’ he revealed.
‘I feel like it would be pretty legendary. Let’s think about it, for next year.’
The album, which was released on June 7, required Jon to ‘work through a lot of dark misery’ to achieve, he told Ultimate Classic Rock magazine. The track list includes Kiss the Bride – a wedding song written for his daughter, Stephanie Bongiovi – and Living in Paradise, which is a collaboration with Ed Sheeran.
Earlier this week, Jon rescued a woman in distress while filming a music video.
This article was first published on April 28 2024.
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