BON JOVI - YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME

YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME

BON JOVI

SONGWRITERS: RICHARD SAMBORA; DESMOND CHILD & JON BON JOVI

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: SLIPPERY WHEN WET

LABEL: MERCURY RECORDS

GENRE: HARD ROCK

YEAR: 1986

 

             Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John Such quit the band in 1994, and longtime guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora left in 2013. The band have been credited with "[bridging] the gap between heavy metal and pop with style and ease".

            In 1984 and 1985, Bon Jovi released their first two albums and their debut single "Runaway" managed to crack the Top 40. In 1986, the band achieved widespread success and global recognition with their third album, Slippery When Wet, which sold over 20 million copies and included three Top 10 singles, two of which reached Nº 1 ("You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer") Their fourth album, New Jersey (1988), was also very successful, selling over 10 million copies and featuring five Top 10 singles (a record for a glam metal album), two of which reached Nº 1 ("Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You"). After the band toured and recorded extensively during the late 1980s, culminating in the 1988–1990 New Jersey Tour, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora released successful solo albums in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

          In 1992, the band returned with the double-platinum Keep the Faith. This was followed by their biggest-selling and longest-charting single "Always" (1994) and the album These Days(1995), which proved to be a bigger success in Europe than in the United States, producing four Top Ten singles in the United Kingdom. Following a second hiatus, their 2000 album Crush, particularly the lead single, "It's My Life", successfully introduced the band to a younger audience. The band followed up with Bounce in 2002. The platinum albums Have a Nice Day(2005) and Lost Highway(2007) saw the band incorporate elements of country music into some of the songs, including the 2006 single "Who Says You Can't Go Home", which won the band a Grammy Award and became the first single by a rock band to reach Nº 1 on the country charts. The Circle(2009) marked a return to the band's rock sound. The band also enjoyed great success touring, with both the 2005–2006 Have a Nice Day Tour and 2007–2008 Lost Highway Tour ranking among the Top 20 highest-grossing concert tours of the 2000s and the 2013 Because We Can Tour ranking among the highest-grossing of the 2010s. The band continues to tour and record, with their most recent album, 2020, being released that year, and their most recent tour, supporting their album This House Is Not For Sale, encompassing 2016–2019.

          "You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song by American 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 and became the band's first number one hit. In 2007, the song reentered the charts at Nº 29 after Blake Lewis performed it on American Idol.

Shot through the heart

And you're to blame

Darlin', you give love a bad name

 

An angel's smile is what you sell

You promise me Heaven, then put me through hell

Chains of love got a hold on me

When passion's a prison, you can't break free

 

Oh, you're a loaded gun, yeah

Oh, there's nowhere to run

No one can save me

The damage is done

 

Shot through the heart

And you're to blame

You give love a bad name (bad name)

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name (bad name)

Hey, you give love, a bad name

 

Paint your smile on your lips

Blood red nails on your fingertips

A school boy's dream, you act so shy

Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye

 

Whoa, you're a loaded gun

Whoa, there's nowhere to run

No one can save me

The damage is done

 

Shot through the heart

And you're to blame

You give love a bad name (bad name)

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name (bad name)

You give love, oh

 

Oh, shot through the heart

And you're to blame

You give love a bad name

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name (bad name)

 

Shot through the heart

And you're to blame

You give love a bad name (bad name)

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name (bad name)

 

You give love

You give love (bad name)

You give love

You give love (bad name)

You give love

You give love (bad name)

You give love

You give love.