You Give Love A Bad Name

In 1984, Bon Jovi reached #39 in the US with "Runaway," from their debut, self-titled album. The band was big in the New Jersey area, but got little attention elsewhere. The group was signed by a Polygram Records executive named Derek Shulman, who told us, "I saw the drive and the ambition of Jon Bon Jovi, despite the fact that he could only sing five notes and most of them out of tune." For the band to break through, Shulman thought the key was big choruses, and the man to deliver that was Desmond Child, who worked with Kiss on "I Was Made For Lovin' You." Child got together with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, and the trio got to work. In our interview with Desmond Child, he said: "The very first day we got together we wrote 'You Give Love a Bad Name.' Then a few weeks later we wrote 'Livin' On A Prayer.' It was a magical collaboration and there was instant chemistry between us." Child later teamed up with Jon and Richie for many more Bon Jovi songs, including "Born To Be My Baby" and "Keep The Faith." He went on to write hits for many other artists, including Cher, Aerosmith, and Ricky Martin.

Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child and Richie Sambora wrote this in the basement of Sambora's mother's house in New Jersey. Child came up with the title, and Jon immediately thought up the first line ("Shot through the heart..."). From there, they put the rest of the song together, with "Shot Through The Heart" as the working title. The song ended up being about a guy whose girlfriend is really bad for him - common material, but a very interesting way to say it. Jon Bon Jovi dated actress Diane Lane in the mid-'80s, and there were rumors that she was the inspiration for this song, but the lyrical inspiration was more of a universal feeling.

At one point, this was intended for the group Loverboy. Bon Jovi and Sambora started out writing it for them, but liked it so much they kept it for themselves.