You Give Love a Bad Name (song)

"You Give Love a Bad Name"
Single by Bon Jovi
from the album Slippery When Wet
B-side	"Raise Your Hands" (US) "Let It Rock" (UK)
Released	July 23, 1986
Format	CD single, 7"
Recorded	1986
Genre	Glam metal, hard rock[1]
Length	3:42 (album version) 4:06 (full version)
Label	Mercury
Writer(s)	Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Desmond Child
Producer(s)	Bruce Fairbairn
Bon Jovi singles chronology
"Silent Night" (1985) "You Give Love a Bad Name" (1986) "Livin' on a Prayer" (1986)
Alternative cover

"You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song by the rock band Bon Jovi, released as the first single from their 1986 album Slippery When Wet. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child about a woman who has jilted her lover, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on November 29, 1986 to become the band's first number one hit.^[2] In 2007, the song reentered the charts at No. 29 after Blake Lewis performed it on American Idol. In 2009 it was named the 20th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.^[1] 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

"You Give Love a Bad Name" was originally written for Bonnie Tyler under the title "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" with different lyrics. Dissatisfied with its success in the US and UK, Desmond Child re-wrote the song with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.^[3]

The song was written with several catchy repeated lines and associated hooks to appeal to mainstream audiences including the chorus as well as several bridges.

This 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.

Music video

The music video 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 in Los Angeles, California.

Bon Jovi was now being managed by Doc McGee, who realized that Bon Jovi needed a video for MTV. Doc hired video director Wayne Isham, who had directed videos for Doc's other band, Mötley Crüe. 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, but became a headlining act after the video debuted.

The harness that was featured in the video was not a new concept, as Van Halen had already used it. All the same, the video became a huge success and many artists tried to imitate it.

Other notable versions

• In 2005, Polish singer Mandaryna released her dance version of "You Give Love a Bad Name" as the second single from her number one album Mandarynkowy sen.^[4]
• Metalcore band Atreyu released a cover as a bonus track for the limited edition version of their 2004 album The Curse.

In pop culture

Ranked Number 20 in VH1's "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs".^[1]

The song was made playable in the music rhythm video games, GuitarFreaks 6th Mix/Drummania 5th Mix, as well as Lego Rock Band, Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, and Guitar Hero 5. The Guitar Hero version retains the original studio ending with no fade out, with a song length of 4:07. In Guitar Hero, Jon stopped singing and the band continues singing was actually from the original version as the song has crossfaded to "Livin' on a Prayer". The version features an ending solo.

The song was reworked and made available to download on November 9, 2010 for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and notably PRO mode which takes advantage of the addition of a real guitar / bass guitar, and use of standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to three-part vocal harmonies or backup vocals.^[5][6] The ending features an a cappella chorus section like how the band usually ends the song in live performances.

Dwight Schrute plays this song in The Office on a recorder.

In the How I Met Your Mother episode "The Limo", Barney Stinson plays this song as part of his Get Psyched Mix and can also be seen on his blog.

"You Give Love a Bad Name" appeared in The Sopranos episode "A Hit is a Hit".

The song was used as background music in the Fall/Winter 2006 Christian Dior goth-metal-rock-themed ready-to-wear fashion show.

In an issue of Thunderbolts, Deadpool starts singing the song after literally being "shot through the heart" by Black Widow.

The song was featured in the Youth in Revolt trailer.

The song, with a Bon Jovi live concert video, were reused in Nissin Cup Noodles TV commercials in Japan, with reworked lyrics in Japanese.^[7]

KickBend evokes the "angel's smile" lyric in their song "Gone'" from the album faith.hope.love (2009).

The song also features at the beginning of the Series Four finale episode of "The Vampire Diaries" titled "Graduation"

A part of the song is used in the Hellsing Abridged series episode 1

Professional wrestler Jigsaw used the song early in his career while working for Chikara Pro.

The song was covered by rival show choir Vocal Adrenaline (with lead vocals provided by actor-singer Max George, as his character Clint) on the FOX television series Glee, in the season six episode "Transitioning".

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1986–87) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 32 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 25 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 4 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[11] 4 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[14] 21 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 7 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[18] 15 Spain (AFYVE)[19] 31 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 14 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[21] 14 US Billboard Hot 100[22] 1 US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)[23] 9 US Cash Box[24] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1986) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[25] 69 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[26] 88 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[27] 75 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[28] 46 US Billboard Hot 100[29] 30 US Cash Box[30] 30 Chart (1987) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[31] 55 Sales and certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)[32] Gold 50,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Silver 250,000 ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales/streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. "spreadit.org music". Retrieved February 7, 2009.
2. "Allmusic (Bon Jovi charts & awards) Billboard singles".
3. Curtis Child (15 August 2013). "Desmond Child Special". YouTube. Google Inc. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
4. "Mandaryna - You Give Love A Bad Name - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
5. Kohler, Chris (2010-11-09). "Bon Jovi Rock Band Tracks Upgraded with Pro Keys, Guitars". Wired. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
6. Snider, Mike (2010-06-10). "Rock Band 3: What's New, What's Notable". USA Today. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-tK2sPDNrA 2010 - Bon Jovi - Nissin Cup Noodle
8. "Australian Top 50 (ARIA) Singles Chart: Week ending 29th March, 1987". imgur.com. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
9. "Austriancharts.at – Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
10. "Ultratop.be – Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
11. "Radio2 top 30: 13 december 1986" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
12. "Top Singles - December 27, 1986". RPM. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You Give Love a Bad Name". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bon Jovi search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
17. "Charts.org.nz – Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name". Top 40 Singles.
18. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (B)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
19. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
20. "Swedishcharts.com – Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name". Singles Top 100.
21. "Bon Jovi: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
22. "Bon Jovi – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Bon Jovi.
23. "Bon Jovi – Chart history". Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks for Bon Jovi. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
24. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 6, 1986". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
25. "Jaaroverzichten 1986 (Flanders)" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
26. "Top 100 Singles of '86". RPM. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
27. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1986" (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 November 2015.
28. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1986" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
29. "Top Pop Singles". Billboard. 27 December 1986. p. Y-21. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
30. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1986 – TOP 100 POP SINGLES (As published in the December 27, 1986, issue)". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
31. "Top 100 Singles of '87". RPM. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
32. "Canadian single certifications – Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name". Music Canada.
33. "British single certifications – Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 4, 2016. Enter You Give Love a Bad Name in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics