Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 4066
Date: 10/07/1989
Debut: 72
Peak: 9
Weeks: 19
Genre: Hard Rock, Glam Rock
Pop Bits: Bon Jovi were on a roll with their album New Jersey. By this point in time the LP had already spawned four Pop Top 10 hits including a pair of #1s. Many artists and labels might have called it a day and would have wrapped up the album, but in the post-Thriller era of trying to fill an album with as many single-worthy contenders as possible, the band's label decided to roll the dice to try and eke out one more hit. They selected this power ballad and it was the right choice. The single would make the Pop Top 10 while getting to #37 Rock. The hit would help set a record of sorts for the band. They were the first hard rock/glam metal band to get five Pop Top 10 hits from one album. The single helped sell a few more album, but it had basically plateaued at the 5 million mark earlier in May. However, over the next several years, the LP would continue to sell and in '96 it would reach the 7 million mark. This single would bring an end to Bon Jovi's New Jersey and 80s era.
ReduxReview: This song road Bon Jovi's wave of popularity into the Top 10 at the time. The power ballad, which sounded like a second rate Springsteen knockoff, was fine, but had the album not done so well or another band did this song, I don't think it would have gotten close to the Top 10. It certainly isn't one of the band's most popular or memorable tracks. I don't think I've heard the track since I last listened to the album back in '89. I'm sure the band's label pushed hard to make this a hit in order to wrap up the album and the decade in a big way. They succeeded.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Bon Jovi's follow up album would come out not long after grunge had emerged into the mainstream. Undaunted, the band pushed out Keep the Faith late in '92 as other hard rock/hair metal bands were loosing their audiences. While it wouldn't get near the popularity and sales of their previous two mega hits, the LP still performed well getting to #5 and going double platinum. It featured the #10 Pop hit "Bed of Roses." Their next album, '94's Cross Road would go platinum and secure the band one final Pop Top 10 hit with the #4 "Always." While the hits would taper off, Bon Jovi proved they had staying power with their albums with many of them going gold or platinum and at least four of them hitting #1. They not only survived the grunge era, but outlasted many of those bands as well. They would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
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