Song of the Week: Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer

"Livin' on a Prayer" was Bon Jovi's third single from their big hit filled album Slippery When Wet. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora together with Desmond Child, and as a single it was released in late 1986. It got some great succees at both rock and pop radio and its music video was given heavy rotation at MTV, giving the band their very first #1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The album version of the song fades out at the end, with a song length of 4:10. However, the version playable on the music video games Guitar Hero World Tour & Rock Band 2 retains the original studio ending of the song, where the band revisit the intro riff and end with a talkbox solo. This version of the song ends at 4:53.

Listen the song on Amazon MP3-player:


Jon Bon Jovi did not like the original recording of this song, which can be found as a hidden track on 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong. Richie Sambora convinced him the song was good, and they reworked it with a new bass line, different drum fills and the use of a talk box to include it on their Slippery When Wet album. The songs verse melody closely resembles the verse melody of the song "Venus" by the band Shocking Blue.

n 2006, online voters rated "Livin' on a Prayer" #1 on VH1's "list of The 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s". In the Billboard Hot 100 Anniversary 50, "Livin' on a Prayer" was named as 46 in the All time rock songs.

The video for the song features shots of the band rehearsing, then playing in front of a crowd. The first half of the video, featuring the rehearsal footage, is black and white, and the second half of the video, performing to the arena audience, is in color.




Bon Jovi have themselves reworked the song several times, including an acoustic live version that served as a precursor to the MTV Unplugged series and a re-recorded version of the song, "Prayer '94", which appeared on U.S. versions of their Cross Road hits collection. But the song has had a life of its own beyond the band, particularly in several dance music incarnations.