"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 on September 12, 1988, by Mercury Records as the lead single from the band's fourth album, New Jersey (1988). The song, produced by Bruce Fairbairn, reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, Bon Jovi's third single to do so, and became a top-10 hit in Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Two different music videos were released to accompany the song.

Critical reception Cash Box magazine said that "producer Bruce Fairbairn and Jon Bon Jovi fashion gang harmonies around a typically monumental guitar sound." Jonh Wilde from Melody Maker described the song as "hard rocking stuff". He added, "Most of you are more concerned with the singer's crotch I'm sure. It grinds like hard rocking records have grinded since way back".

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 they are let in, one of the security guards asks if there are any questions, and Sam Kinison asks if the video will "be the same of video slop that we get from these glam rock pretty boys". When he 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. In an alternate cut of this video, Kinison has photos of various celebrities with their mouths cut for him to impersonate them while promoting the band.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1988–1989)PeakpositionCanada Top Singles (RPM)5Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)50Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)7Italy Airplay (Music & Media) 3South Africa (Springbok Radio)23US Cash Box Top 1001

Year-end charts Chart (1988)PositionCanada Top Singles (RPM)67New Zealand (RIANZ)35US Billboard Hot 10041

Certifications

Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United KingdomSeptember 12, 1988VertigoUnited StatesSeptember 14, 1988MercuryJapanOctober 10, 1988Mini-CDFebruary 25, 1989Mini-album

See also

Bon Jovi discography List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1988 List of glam metal albums and songs

References