Album
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi's self-titled debut came out on 23 January 1984 on Mercury Records, produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn. It is the first of the band's studio albums and the only one to include a song, "She Don't Know Me", that none of the band wrote or co-wrote. It reached number 43 on the US Billboard 200, and "Runaway" was the hit single that carried it.
It sits in the band's story before the huge success of Slippery When Wet in 1986, and most of its songs dropped out of the live set after that record. A few came back on the 2010 Circle Tour, including "Roulette", "Shot Through the Heart" and "Get Ready". Kerrang! ranked it the 11th best rock album of 1984. Worth hearing for the hard rock and glam metal sound of a band at the very start, before everything changed. A 40th anniversary edition appeared in January 2024.
Bon Jovi: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 38:16Tracklist
- 1RunawayJon Bon Jovi and George Karak3:50
- 2RouletteJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora4:41
- 3She Don't Know MeMark Avsec3:58
- 4Shot Through the HeartJon Bon Jovi and Jack Ponti4:19
- 5Love LiesJon Bon Jovi and David Bryan4:08
- 6BreakoutJon Bon Jovi and David Bryan5:22
- 7Burning for LoveJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora3:53
- 8Come BackJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora3:58
- 9Get ReadyJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora4:08
- Produced by
- Tony Bongiovi, Lance Quinn
- Recorded at
- Power Station at BerkleeNYC, Power Station (New York, New York)
- Recorded
- 1982–1983
- Engineered by
- Larry Alexander, Jeff Hendrickson, Scott Litt
- Labels
- Mercury Records, Mercury, Vertigo
- Length
- 38:16
Line-up
- Roy Bittan · keyboard · guest
- Frankie LaRocka · drums (drum set) · guest
- Hugh McDonald · bass guitar
- Tim Pierce · guitar · guest
- Chuck Burgi
- Doug Katsaros
- Aldo Nova
- Jon Bon Jovi · background vocals, lead vocals, guitar
- David Grahame · background vocals · guest
- Mick Seeley · background vocals · guest
- David Bryan · keyboard, background vocals
- Richie Sambora · electric guitar, background vocals
- Alec John Such · bass guitar, background vocals
- Tico Torres · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Runaway” · 25 February 1984
- “She Don't Know Me” · 22 May 1984
- “Burning for Love” · 17 October 1984
- “Shot Through the Heart” · 1984
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1984–1987 | 43 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1984–1987 | 71 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1984–1987 | 18 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1984–1987 | 18 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1984–1987 | 24 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1984–1987 | 38 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1984–1987 | 39 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1987 | Gold |
| Hong Kong · 1989 | Gold |
| Switzerland · 1990 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Silver |
| United States · 1987 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
80.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
5.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
97k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
23k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 23 January
Every year →
More from Bon Jovi
Full discography →
7800° Fahrenheit
1985
Slippery When Wet
1986
New Jersey
1988
Born to Be My Baby
1988
Hard & Hot
1991
Keep the Faith
1992
Bon Jovi Keep the Faith: An Evening With Bon Jovi 1993
Keep the Faith: An Evening With Bon Jovi
1993
Cross Road
1994
These Days
1995
Crush
2000
One Wild Night: Live 1985–2001
2001
Bounce
2002
This Left Feels Right
2003
100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong
2004
Have a Nice Day
2005
Live From the Have a Nice Day Tour
2006
Lost Highway
2007
Lost Highway: The Concert
2007
The Circle
2009
Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection
2010
Inside Out
2012
What About Now
2013
Burning Bridges
2015
This House Is Not for Sale
2016
This House Is Not for Sale: Live From the London Palladium
2016
2020
2020
Forever
2024
The best of 1984
All of 1984 →
Ride the Lightning
Metallica · 1984
Powerslave
Iron Maiden · 1984
The Works
Queen · 1984
Iron Maiden Christmas EP 1984
Christmas EP
Iron Maiden · 1984
Defenders of the Faith
Judas Priest · 1984
Stay Hungry
Twisted Sister · 1984
Rewind (1971–1984)
The Rolling Stones · 1984
Reckoning
R.E.M. · 1984
Fistful of Metal
Anthrax · 1984
Projects in the Jungle
Pantera · 1984
Live Undead / Haunting the Chapel
Slayer · 1984
’74 Jailbreak
AC/DC · 1984
More on Mercury Records
The label →Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi · 1986
Hysteria
Def Leppard · 1987
New Jersey
Bon Jovi · 1988
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
Metallica · 1987
These Days
Bon Jovi · 1995
Crush
Bon Jovi · 2000
Adrenalize
Def Leppard · 1992
Beyond Magnetic
Metallica · 2011
Bounce
Bon Jovi · 2002
7800° Fahrenheit
Bon Jovi · 1985
America’s Least Wanted
Ugly Kid Joe · 1992
Burning Bridges
Bon Jovi · 2015
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1984-01-21 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 23 January 1984 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 January 1984 | |
| Wikidata | 21 January 1984 | |
| US release | 23 January 1984 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1984 | earliest UK or European date |
30 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Mercury Records | 042281498220 | other |
| — | XE | Mercury Records | 731453802322 | remaster |
| — | XE | Mercury Records | 731453802322 | remaster |
| — | XE | Mercury Records | 731453802322 | remaster |
| 1984 | US | Mercury Records | 042281498220 | other |
| 1984 | XE | Mercury Records | 042281498220 | other |
| 1984 | US | Mercury Records | other | |
| 1984 | NL | Mercury Records | other | |
| 1984 | GB | Jambco | 042281498220 | other |
| 23 January 1984 | US | Mercury Records | 042281498213 | original |
| 21 June 1985 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988011304019 | other |
| 1987 | XE | Mercury Records | 042281498220 | other |
| 25 November 1988 | JP | Mercury Records | other | |
| 1993 | ZA | PolyGram Records | 6001210656432 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Mercury Records | 731453802322 | remaster |
| 11 November 1998 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988011360756 | deluxe |
| 9 February 1999 | US | Mercury Records | 731453808720 | other |
| 7 March 2007 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005442369 | other |
| 14 July 2009 | AL | Island | 731453808720 | other |
| 2010 | XE | Mercury Records | 602527367118 | deluxe |
| 11 May 2010 | US | Island | deluxe | |
| 11 May 2010 | US | Island | 0602527361666 | deluxe |
| 23 June 2010 | JP | Island | 4988005611109 | deluxe |
| 12 October 2011 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005676542 | deluxe |
| 21 October 2014 | XW | Mercury Records | 602547056252 | other |
| 2020 | XW | Island | 0602507498788 | other |
| 24 January 2024 | — | Mercury Records | 602458987324 | deluxe |
| 24 January 2024 | — | Mercury Records | 602465116960 | deluxe |
| April 2024 | XW | Mercury Records | other | |
| 22 November 2024 | US | Mercury Records | 602475255239 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×603 | upscaled |