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 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
Genre
Length5:16 (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

Song structure

The song is highlighted by a near constant keyboard playing by David Bryan that is well defined in the beginning of the song and at several interludes, as well as loud guitar playing by Richie Sambora, background singing in the bridge and chorus, and a loud fast-paced delivery of lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi. It is one of the more upbeat and hard rocking songs on New Jersey.

The song repeats the phrase "Bad Medicine" a total of 19 times.

Towards the end of the song, Jon says he is running out of breath and has to go, but then relents, saying "I'm not done...one more time, with feelin'" and the band finishes the song with another repeat of the chorus.

The song plays at 117 BPM in 4/4 time signature.[1]

Music video

There are two videos for the song, one with the band live in concert, and a more well-known live video in which a crowd of young people waiting in line to get into the video shoot is asked by Sam Kinison if they (the public) "can make a better Bon Jovi video than these guys can." The crowd gives a very enthusiastic response, and members of the crowd are given hand-held cameras and invited onstage to help shoot the video.[2]

Legacy

"Bad Medicine" continues to see considerable airplay on many rock radio stations and has always been a live staple at Bon Jovi concerts. In concert, an approximately 1-minute interlude of the classic "Shout" is incorporated into the middle of the song. Although with the Circle Tour, "Bad Medicine" has been played with many more covers than just "Shout".

The song was featured on the band's compilation albums Cross Road and Greatest Hits, the live album One Wild Night: Live 1985-2001, the acoustic collection This Left Feels Right, as well as several concert videos including Live From London and The Crush Tour.

Charts

See also
  • List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1988

References
  1. "BPM for "Bad Medicine" (Bon Jovi)". getsongbpm.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  2. "Bad Medicine by Bon Jovi - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  3. "Australian-charts.com – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  4. "Ultratop.be – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  5. "RPM 100 Singles – December 10, 1988" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49 no. 8. December 10, 1988. p. 6. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  6. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  7. "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.
  8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Bad Medicine". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  10. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  12. "Charts.nz – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". Top 40 Singles.
  13. "SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Songs A–B". South African Rock Lists. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  14. "Swedishcharts.com – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". Singles Top 100.
  15. "Swisscharts.com – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine". Swiss Singles Chart.
  16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  17. "Bon Jovi Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  18. "Bon Jovi Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  19. "Top 100 Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49 no. 10. December 24, 1988. p. 9. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  20. "End Of Year Charts 1988". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  21. "Billboard Top 100 – 1988". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  22. "YOUR LOVE IS LIKE BARRY VENISON. BON JOVI - BAD MEDICINE. LIVERPOOL FC. NEWCASTLE FC". YouTube. June 11, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
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