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.

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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.

Song of the Week: Night Ranger - Sister Christian

"Sister Christian" was a great power ballad by the hard rock band Night Ranger recorded 1982, and it was their second single. It's from their album Midnight Madness (released 1984). The song was the band's biggest hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 - and later it ranked number 32 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s.

Written and sung by the band's drummer, Kelly Keagy, for his sister, after he had just returned from a visit to his hometown of Eugene, Oregon. He had been struck at how fast his teenaged sister, 10 years younger than he, was growing up.

The lyric, "You're motoring. What's your price for flight? In finding Mr. Right?" is the subject of much debate. The band stated in a VH-1 Behind the Music interview that the term "motoring" was synonymous with the term "cruising." The term is most often used to describe driving around in a car slowly as a social experience, but can also be used to describe picking up people for casual sex. When Keagy visited his family he heard second hand about his sister cruising for a man to casually sleep with. After verifying this with her, he was shocked and lamented how fast she was growing up. He then went back home and wrote "Sister Christian" about the experience.




The video of the song shows the Night Ranger performing it, with guitarist Brad Gillis and bass player Jack Blades standing shoulder to shoulder. The other guitarist, Jeff Watson, is renowned for his 8 fingered tapping technique.[citation needed] However, he also played piano, and is shown playing keyboards standing up in this song (the song has 2 separate keyboard parts). The band's main keys player - Alan Fitzgerald - is shown seated, and plays the well-known intro. Although Kelly Keagy sings this song, bassist Jack Blades sang the majority[dubious – discuss] of Night Ranger's songs. The plot of the video portrays a girl questioning her ascension into womanhood. In the end, she rejects the nuns and makes herself beautiful in a bathroom with her friends, and then gets in a convertible with rock band members.

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