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Sunday, April 5, 2020

"Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi

Top 10 Alert!
Song#:  3094
Date:  04/11/1987
Debut:  62
Peak:  7
Weeks:  17
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Bon Jovi proved that it only takes the right album at the right time to push a career from middling success to massive stardom. The band's third LP, Slippery When Wet, was the one to do it for them. It would spend eight weeks at #1 thanks to a pair of #1's including their biggest hit "Livin' on a Prayer." They kept things going with this third single. It would do well at Rock reaching #13, but would do even better at Pop cracking the Top 10. The three songs certainly sold the album and just a couple of weeks after this song was released, the LP would be certified for sales of over 7 million. In 1995, it reached 12 million in sales. While this single sold well at the time, it didn't do well enough to reach gold level sales. Over the years it became one of Bon Jovi's signature hits and in the digital age the song became a consistent seller. In 2015, it would be certified 4x platinum for digital sales.

ReduxReview:  I figured this song would make the Top 10, but I thought it would actually go higher. Maybe even #1. It was an awesome road song that was different from their first two singles. The video was all over MTV and I would have expected that exposure to give the single a bigger boost. But then again, the album had nearly sold 7 million copies by this point, so with a ton of folks already owning the album, sales were probably slow for the single and its Top 10 placement might have been mainly due to airplay. Still, it is a classic from the decade and another signature song for the band. It still sounds awesome and easily ranks high on the list of their best tracks.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  With three songs becoming big hits from the album, it would seem that a fourth one would be issued out. Yet there was no official single released as product. Therefore, on the Pop chart it was three-and-done. They wouldn't return to the chart until the fall of '88. However, another track from the album, "Never Say Goodbye," was circulated for airplay. It did well at Rock reaching #11. It also picked up airplay on pop stations and on the Pop Airplay chart the song got to #28. However, because no actual product was issued out, it made the song ineligible for the Pop chart. The same thing happened with a track that was recorded for the album, but was ultimately not used. "Edge of a Broken Heart" was shelved, but then got picked up for the soundtrack to the 1987 comedy flick Disorderlies. Again, the track was not given an official single release, but airplay on pop stations helped the song get to #38 on the Pop Airplay chart. (Note that "Edge of a Broken Heart" was not the same song as the 1988 #26 hit by Vixen.)

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