I'll Be There for You (Bon Jovi song)

"I'll Be There for You" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi, released as the third single from their 1988 album New Jersey. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. The single ranked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the Mainstream rock chart.[1]

"I'll Be There for You"
Single by Bon Jovi
from the album New Jersey
B-side"Homebound Train"
ReleasedApril 4, 1989
Recorded1988
Genre
Length5:41 (Single Version) 5:46 (Album Version) 4:43 (Radio Edit)
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bruce Fairbairn
Bon Jovi singles chronology
"Born to Be My Baby"
(1988)		 "I'll Be There for You"
(1989)		 "Lay Your Hands on Me"
(1989)
Music video
I'll Be There for You on YouTube
Audio sample
"I'll Be There for You"
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Background

Originally released on the 1988 album New Jersey, it became the band's third single from the album when it was released as a single in 1989. As the band (and hard rock music) was at its peak popularity at this time, the song quickly climbed to the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their fourth and final number one single.[2] The song has remained as one of Bon Jovi's signature songs and a classic in the power ballad genre. The song was also a peek into a more mature sound heard on their following albums Keep the Faith and These Days.

Some think the verses have an eerily and uncredited similarity (both musically and melodically) to John Lennon's Beatles' track "Don't Let Me Down" (recorded during the Get Back sessions) and the chorus was claimed, by some fans of the late 1980s hard rock genre, to have been culled from an unreleased song by Joel Ellis of Cats in Boots and Heavy Bones.[3][4] Ellis has said that Lehua Reid (Richie Sambora's ex-fiancée) regaled him with anecdotes regarding Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora "sitting at the piano for hours with a box full of tapes they got from people and going through the songs looking for stuff they could rip off and laughing about it, your [Ellis'] song was played over and over and over."[4]

In various Bon Jovi concert performances, this song was sometimes sung by Richie Sambora on lead vocals.

Music video

The video for the song (directed by Wayne Isham) features the band performing on a dark stage with an almost monochromatic blue color due to the stage lighting, with close-ups of each member, most notably lead singer Jon Bon Jovi and lead guitarist Richie Sambora. However, it is persistent throughout the clip that Richie Sambora's face is constantly in shadow through the entire video. The video footage then switches midway to black-and-white footage from a Bon Jovi concert at the old Wembley Arena in London, England.

Homebound Train

"Homebound Train," the B-side to "I'll Be There for You", is notable for being one of the band's heaviest songs, and also for the brief back-and-forth keyboard and harmonica solos leading up to the guitar solo. It is a heavy metal song opposed to its A-side that is a hard rock/glam metal power ballad. When played during The Circle Tour, it was sung by lead guitarist Richie Sambora.

Charts

References
  1. "Allmusic (Bon Jovi charts & awards) Billboard singles".
  2. Billboard Top Pop Singles 1955-1996
  3. "If you have a juicy original,dont send it to BON JOVI". Facebook. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  4. "Joel Ellis Interview". Sleaze Roxx. 2006-03-07. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  5. "Australian-charts.com – Bon Jovi – I'll Be There For You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  6. "Ultratop.be – Bon Jovi – I'll Be There For You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. "Top Singles - Volume 50, No. 5, May 29, 1989". RPM. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  8. "Accès direct à ces Artistes" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012. Select BON JOVI then press OK.
  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bon Jovi – I'll Be There for You". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  10. "The Irish Charts - Search the Charts - I'll Be There for You". Irish Recorded Music Association. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bon Jovi – I'll Be There For You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  12. "Charts.nz – Bon Jovi – I'll Be There For You". Top 40 Singles.
  13. "Swisscharts.com – Bon Jovi – I'll Be There For You". Swiss Singles Chart.
  14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Bon Jovi Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  16. "Chart Search Results - Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 1989-03-18". Billboard.biz. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  17. "Top Singles - Volume 51, No. 8, December 23, 1989". RPM. December 23, 1999. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  18. "1989 The Year in Music: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. 101 (51): Y-22. December 23, 1989.
  19. "Billboard Top 100 – 1989".
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