Skillfully merging hard rock with pop hooks, Bon Jovi's third album skyrocketed the band to global stardom. Released in 1986, Slippery When Wet produced hits "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Wanted Dead Or Alive," and "Livin' On A Prayer," a song that has become known as a global anthem of perseverance. 28 million copies later, Slippery When Wet remains an unshakable, inspiring, sing-along classic for fans worldwide.

Slippery When Wet

Chapters

Date

The Album

1985

THE TOUR

1986

The Legacy

1988

The Album —

...Slippery When Wet, the record that changed all of our lives.

Jon Bon Jovi

In January 1986, Jon and Richie began writing the songs for the band's third album in the Sambora family home

"Never Say Goodbye" Lyrics

"You Give Love A Bad Name" Handwritten Lyric Print (Ltd. Signed / Framed)

$1,500.00

"You Give Love A Bad Name" Lyrics

I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride

Most of our grown-up life was lived on the road. All we knew about was young love, young lust, being a rock and roll star - 'Wanted Dead Or Alive' was almost like a diary of what we felt.

richie sambora, vh1’s ultimate albums

"Wanted Dead Or Alive" Handwritten Lyric Print (Ltd. Signed / Framed)

$1,500.00

Production Notes

Liner Notes Draft

Album Credits Draft

We're Halfway There

It's one of our cornerstones – one of the biggest songs we've ever written, but it fell out of the sky. It was written in its entirety in a day. And you know, it will be mentioned in my obituary one day.

Jon Bon Jovi, Access Hollywood - 2020

"Livin' On A Prayer" Lyrics

Rehearsing

"Social Disease" Horn Charts

“Raise Your Hands” (Slippery When Wet Pre-Production - 1986)

Pizza Pie Jury

In early 1986, Bon Jovi moved from the Sambora family basement to finish writing and rehearsing the songs that would become Slippery When Wet in a small, relatively unknown recording house in Sayreville, Century Studios. By Spring 1986, the band was ready to meet producer Bruce Fairbairn and engineer Bob Rock at their preferred studio, Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver.

There was a local pizza parlor...the kids would hang out there. We were right around the block, rehearsing and writing... Finally, we went over there and invited them all back into the studio with us. So, there were thirty kids who really picked the material for this album.

Jon Bon Jovi, 1986

Recording the Album

While recording in Vancouver at Little Mountain Sound Studios, photographer Mark “WEISSGUY” Weiss photo-tested various cover art concepts with the working album title Wanted Dead Or Alive. Once back in New Jersey, the decision was made to use the title Slippery When Wet, changing the album art design from a Western theme to a more carefree, sunny New Jersey day at the beach.

When the first cover design featuring model Angela Chidnese was rejected for wide release, Weiss remembers that Jon arrived at the photography studio and said, "Get a plastic bag and water - I wanna write something."

1986

First Cover Art Shoot

Full Band - Test Polaroid

Jon Portrait - Test Polaroid

Second Cover Art Shoot

Slippery When Wet Cover T-Shirt

Test Polaroid

Slippery When Wet Car Wash Photoshoot

The idea was to do a photo by the beach and get some girls posing with cut-out shirts with the new title of the album on it.

Mark “WEISSGUY” Weiss, Photographer

Draft artwork

Final Cover Artwork

Jon came to my studio in New York shortly after the news that we had to come up with a new cover. He just said to me, “Garbage bag. Spray bottle.” I propped up the bag and sprayed it, then Jon wrote the words Slippery When Wet. “That’s it, there’s the cover.” He didn’t even wait to see the Polaroid. The next day I delivered the photo, and the rest is history.

Mark “WEISSGUY” Weiss, Photographer

Slippery When Wet LP

These five guys are ready for a long season of universal rock 'n' roll.

PolyGram International press release

1988 Press Photo

Slippery When Wet Promotional Photos

We needed to pull this next album through to make sure that there was going to be a Bon Jovi, that there was going to be a band. And at that point, I thought that it was do or die.

Richie Sambora, VH1's Ultimate Albums

As Slippery When Wet soared up the charts, the band reached new heights of popularity and gained millions of new fans outside of the hard rock genre. Mainstream magazines became increasingly interested in Bon Jovi.

Slippery Success

There's hot, there's hotter, and then there's Bon Jovi.

New York Post, March 19 1987

from Cover Mention to Cover Star

Bon Jovi: This Year's Heroes

Metal Hammer, November 1986

Celebrity Congratulations

Old touring mates Scorpions and Gene Simmons of KISS sent letters of congratulations when Slippery When Wet hit No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Three singles, that was enough. We won't put any more out. You know, there won't be anymore, anything. That's it.

Jon Bon Jovi, 1987

Despite this prediction, Slippery When Wet went on to produce four singles "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Livin' On A Prayer," "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and "Never Say Goodbye."

You give love a bad name

Jon instantly sang out 'shot through the heart and you're to blame' and then the three of us (Child, Sambora and Bon Jovi) together sang 'you give love a bad name.' It was a magical moment, and it all unfolded from there.

Desmond Child, VH1's Ultimate Albums

1986

"You Give Love A Bad Name"

"You Give Love A Bad Name" Single

British Royalty Waiver

"You Give Love A Bad Name" T-Shirt

4:33

Livin' on A Prayer" Music Video

We were on the eve of becoming the biggest band in the world – that day – and Wayne was capturing that amazing moment.

Richie Sambora

1987

"Wanted Dead or Alive"

"Wanted Dead Or Alive" Poster

"Wanted Dead Or Alive" T-Shirt

Jon's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" Duster

3:56

"Wild in the Streets" Music Video

THE TOUR —

Highlights of Tour

As Slippery When Wet's popularity surged, Bon Jovi was more in demand than ever before. Beginning the Slippery When Wet Tour as openers for Judas Priest in July 1986, and then .38 Special, the band quickly realized that the time had come to headline around the world.

From August 1986 through October 1987, they did just that, leading the bill in over 220 shows through the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

When we first started, people didn't know if Bon Jovi was a pizza or an import car. Now we are a household name.

David Bryan

Bon Jovi Secret Society - Volume 1, Number 3

Slippery When Wet - Japan

Japan Tour 1986 Program

Band t-shirt, 1986

Japan Tour 1987 Program

Slippery When Wet - uk & europe

Tour sweatshirt

Tour Itinerary

Slippery When Wet - world tour

Slippery When Wet Tour Jet

tour itinerary and pass, 1987

Tour of the World Program

Bon Jovi with Cinderella

Tickets & Passes

Bon Jovi and Cinderella

Bon Jovi / Cinderella T-shirt

I've heard that in Australia, the women are six to one and all look like Olivia Newton-John, so I want to do about a six-week tour...

JON BON JOVI, Blue Light Television - 1986

Slippery When Wet - Australia

Australian Tour Itinerary

Australian tour tank top

Australian Tour Disguises

Slippery When Wet - hawaii

Blaisdell Arena poster

Aloha 87 T-Shirt

We're taking a year-round beach party all over the world, to places hot and cold, dry and wet, and we're happier than hell to be doin' it!

Jon Bon Jovi, PolyGram International press release

Ripley Music Hall Poster (Unsigned / Unframed)

$85.00

Ripley Music Hall One Night Only

Slippery When Wet White Shirt

We go out every night and play like it's the last show of our lives.

Jon Bon Jovi, 1986

life on tour

Kramer Baretta Guitar

Pink Kramers

Madison Square Garden, 1987

They've criss-crossed America two or three times, but the thrill of performing live has increased, not lessened, for the five members of Bon Jovi.

Circus, June 30 1987

Circus Touring Article

Merch

Hammersmith Odeon T-Shirt

Japan Tour Sweatshirt

World Tour T-Shirt

1987 US Tour T-Shirt

Jon's Denim Tour Jacket

Detroit Motor City T-Shirt

1986 new year’s eve

MTV's Hedonism Weekend

Uniondale Show

It was minus 15 degrees in Uniondale, NY, and many fans had been camping all night to buy tickets for the Slippery When Wet Tour performance at Nassau Coliseum. A line surge and chaos ensued, and seventy police officers were called in to assist the arena's nine security guards to quell the incident.

Nassau Coliseum Show

0:34

Nassau Coliseum Live

There's No Place Like Home

Stage Wardrobe

"There's No Place Like Home" Art Print (Unsigned / Unframed)

$185.00

Merch Mock-Ups

There's No Place Like Home T-Shirt

Monsters of Rock, 1987

Bon Jovi returned to Castle Donington in 1987 to headline the Monsters of Rock festival.

Day in Metal described the event as "80,000+ rock and metal fans standing in the pissing rain watching their favourite bands perform." The band's encore was joined by Dee Snyder (Twisted Sister), Paul Stanley (KISS), and Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden).