In July 1983, a New Jersey glam metal outfit called Bon Jovi scored their first record deal. Named for their frontman Jon Bon Jovi, they managed to crack the Top 40 with their debut single “Runaway.” After two moderately successful albums, Bon Jovi decided to switch things up with their third project, Slippery When Wet. And it worked—on this day in 1986, Slippery When Wet hit No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart.
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When you think of Bon Jovi’s definitive hits, the bulk of them came from Slippery When Wet. The album’s lead single, “You Give Love a Bad Name,” gave the band its first No. 1 hit. Its next release, “Livin’ On a Prayer” would repeat this feat, followed by a No. 7 showing for “Wanted Dead Or Alive.” And with that, Bon Jovi became the first glam metal band to have three top 10 hits from the same album on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Livin’ On a Prayer”—widely considered by many Bon Jovi fanatics as the band’s signature song—has over 14 million certified sales, making it the 12th best-selling single released before 2000.
“It was time for a do-over,” the band’s former manager, Doc McGhee, said in a May 2025 interview with Loudersound. “New writers, new producer, new studio. It felt like last chance with the label so we had to give it our best shot.”
Enlisting the help of 36-year-old producer Bruce Fairbairn, the “It’s My Life” hitmakers got to work in the studio. Slippery’s success made Fairbairn a hot commodity, and he would go on to work with Aerosmith and AC/DC.
Jon Bon Jovi Hated The Album Cover
Slippery When Wet put Bon Jovi on the map, transforming them into international superstars. However, its frontman feared the album’s racy original cover would lead to “career suicide.”
“We’re 3,000 miles away in Vancouver. The record company takes this picture of a girl’s bosom, from her lips down to her belly button and across her chest, right? Slippery when wet,” Jon Bongiovi Jr. recalled in a 2024 interview with Absolute Radio.
The “appalled” Rock and Roll Hall of Famer told his label, “It’s career suicide if you put this album cover out.”
“And they said, ‘Well, we’ve printed up a half a million of ’em. You’re f—ed,” recalled the Grammy winner, 63.
A desperate Bon Jovi then went into the photo studio, squirted a black Hefty trash bag with water, and traced the words, “Slippery When Wet” with his fingers. “And I said, ‘If it worked for AC/DC Back in Black, it’s good enough for me,’” he said. “There’s your album cover.”
Featured image by George Rose/Getty Images
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