Bad Medicine (song)

"Bad Medicine" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child, and was released in September 3, 1988, as the lead single from the band's fourth album New Jersey. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, Bon Jovi's third single to do so, and became a top-ten hit in Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

"Bad Medicine"
Single by Bon Jovi
from the album New Jersey
B-side"99 in the Shade"
ReleasedSeptember 3, 1988
Recorded1988
GenreGlam metal[1][2][3]
Length
  • 5:16 (album version)
  • 3:54 (single version)
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bruce Fairbairn
Bon Jovi singles chronology
"Edge of a Broken Heart"
(1987)		 "Bad Medicine"
(1988)		 "Born to Be My Baby"
(1988)
Music video
"Bad Medicine" on YouTube

Cash Box said that "producer Bruce Fairbairn and Jon Bon Jovi fashion gang harmonies around a typically monumental guitar sound."[4]

Music video

There are two videos for the song, one with the band live in concert, and a more well-known live video which begins with a crowd of young people waiting in line to get into the video shoot. Before being let in, one of the security guards asks if there are any questions, and Sam Kinison ask if the video will "be the same of video slop that we get from these glam rock pretty boys". When the answers "yes", Kinison rallies the crowd to hijack the cameras and "make a better Bon Jovi video than these guys can." The members of the crowd are given hand-held cameras and invited onstage to help shoot the video.

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1988–1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 31
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 5
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 50
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 7
France (SNEP)[10] 98
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 10
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 2
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[15] 23
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 20
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 14
UK Singles (OCC)[18] 17
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[19] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[21] 3
West Germany (Official German Charts)[22] 54

Year-end charts
Chart (1988) Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[23] 67
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 35
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 41

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. "The Ultimate Hair Metal Party Playlist". Kerrang!. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  2. Smith, Troy L. (April 4, 2018). "Bon Jovi's 25 greatest songs". Cleveland.com. Retrieved March 4, 2021. If there was a song that showcased just how larger than life Bon Jovi had become by the time "New Jersey" dropped, it was "Bad Medicine." To be clear, the single was in line with the glam metal every rock band was doing in the late 1980s. Bon Jovi was just doing it better.
  3. "The Number Ones: Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine"". Stereogum. June 9, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021. Bon Jovi did something similar when they used New Jersey as the title for their first album after their insanely popular 1986 album Slippery When Wet. With that title, Bon Jovi put their roots front and center, making the implicit point that they weren't one of those Sunset Strip glam metal bands. But for the first single from that album, Bon Jovi dropped maybe the most straight-up Sunset Strip glam metal song of their career.
  4. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. September 24, 1988. p. 12. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  5. "Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  6. "Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. "RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 8. December 10, 1988. p. 6. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 43. October 22, 1988. p. 24. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  9. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  10. "Accès direct à ces Artistes" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012. Select BON JOVI then press OK.
  11. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Bad Medicine". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  13. "Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. "Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". Top 40 Singles.
  15. "SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Songs A–B". South African Rock Lists. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  16. "Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". Singles Top 100.
  17. "Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". Swiss Singles Chart.
  18. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  19. Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Sheridan Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
  20. "Bon Jovi Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  21. "Bon Jovi Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  23. "Top 100 Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. December 24, 1988. p. 9. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  24. "End Of Year Charts 1988". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  25. "Billboard Top 100 – 1988". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  26. "British single certifications – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
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