Album · 40 years old this year
Slippery When Wet
Slippery When Wet is Bon Jovi's third studio album, released on 18 August 1986 through Mercury Records. It followed their self-titled debut in 1984 and 7800° Fahrenheit in 1985. Bruce Fairbairn produced it, and the band recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver between January and July 1986.
This is the record that took the band from rising names to the top of the pile. "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" all sit here, and the first two of those helped make it the first glam metal album with three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. It spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, was Billboard's top-selling album of 1987, and has reached 15× Platinum in America. Its mix of heavy riffs and radio-ready hooks is why it is so often seen as a breakthrough for hair metal.
Slippery When Wet on Riffology
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Slippery When Wet: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 44:03Tracklist
- 1Let It RockJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora5:24
- 2You Give Love a Bad NameJovi, Child, Sambora3:44
- 3Livin’ on a PrayerJovi, Child, Sambora4:10
- 4Social DiseaseJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora4:19
- 5Wanted Dead or AliveJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora5:10
- 6Raise Your HandsJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora4:18
- 7Without LoveJovi, Child, Sambora3:41
- 8I’d Die for YouJovi, Child, Sambora4:32
- 9Never Say GoodbyeJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora4:50
- 10Wild in the StreetsJon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora3:55
- Produced by
- Bruce Fairbairn
- Recorded at
- Little Mountain Sound, Little Mountain Sound (Vancouver, Canada)
- Recorded
- January–July 1986
- Mixed by
- Bob Rock
- Engineered by
- Bob Rock
- Mastered by
- George Marino
- Photography
- Mark Weiss
- Labels
- Mercury Records, Mercury (NA), Vertigo (WW)
- Length
- 44:03
Line-up
- David Bryan · keyboard, other instruments, background vocals
- Richie Sambora · acoustic guitar, electric guitar, guitar synthesizer, talkbox, background vocals
- Alec John Such · bass, background vocals, electric bass guitar
- Tico Torres · drums (drum set), percussion
- Jon Bon Jovi · background vocals, lead vocals
Singles
- “You Give Love a Bad Name” · 23 July 1986
- “Livin' on a Prayer” · 31 October 1986
- “Wanted Dead or Alive” · 2 March 1987
- “Never Say Goodbye” · 15 June 1987
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1986–1988 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1986–1988 | 6 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1986–1988 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1986–1988 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1986–1988 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1986–1988 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1986–1988 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · 1986–1988 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 1986–1988 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · 1986–1988 | 3 |
All 19 charts
| US Catalog Albums · 1991 | 3 |
| Dutch Albums · 1986–1988 | 5 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1986–1988 | 8 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1994–1996 | 9 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1986–1988 | 10 |
| German Albums · 1986–1988 | 11 |
| Greek Albums · 1986–1988 | 64 |
| Scottish Albums · 1994–1996 | 67 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2021 | 198 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1993 | 6× Platinum |
| Austria · 1987 | Gold |
| Canada | Diamond |
| Denmark · 2024 | Platinum |
| Finland | Platinum |
| Germany | Platinum |
| Hong Kong · 1988 | Gold |
| Italy · 2026 | Platinum |
| Netherlands · 1994 | Platinum |
| New Zealand | 2× Platinum |
| Norway · 1987 | Gold |
| Singapore · 2020 | Gold |
| Spain · 1987 | Platinum |
| Switzerland | 2× Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1993 | 3× Platinum |
| United States · 2024 | 15× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
90.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
16k
ListenBrainz listeners
247k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
30k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 18 August
Every year →
More from Bon Jovi
Full discography →
Bon Jovi
1984
7800° Fahrenheit
1985
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 1986
All of 1986 →
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Ozzy Osbourne · 1986
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Audio Pieces
Iron Maiden · 1986
Lifes Rich Pageant
R.E.M. · 1986
Shot in the Dark
Ozzy Osbourne · 1986
Turbo
Judas Priest · 1986
Dirty Work
The Rolling Stones · 1986
More on Mercury Records
The label →
Hysteria
Def Leppard · 1987
New Jersey
Bon Jovi · 1988
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
Metallica · 1987
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi · 1984
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 + wikidata; also seen: 1986-08-10 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 10 August 1986 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 18 August 1986 | |
| Wikidata | 18 August 1986 | |
| US release | 1986 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1986 | earliest UK or European date |
45 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Mercury Records | other | |
| — | CA | PolyGram | 020831423328 | other |
| — | XE | Jambco | 042283026421 | other |
| — | US | Mercury Records | other | |
| 1986 | XE | Mercury Records | 042283026421 | other |
| 1986 | AU | Jambco | 9399083026429 | other |
| 1986 | US | PolyGram Records | 0208314233292 | other |
| 1986 | US | Mercury Records | 042283026445 | other |
| 1986 | XE | Mercury Records | 042283026414 | other |
| 1986 | US | Mercury Records | 042283026421 | other |
| 1986 | XE | Jambco | 042283026421 | other |
| 1986 | XE | Mercury Records | 042283026421 | other |
| 1986 | XE | Island | 731453808928 | remaster |
| 1986 | CA | Mercury Records | 0422830264297 | other |
| 1986 | US | Mercury Records | 042283026421 | other |
| 1986 | GB | Jambco | 042283026421 | other |
| 1986 | DE | Mercury Records | 042283026421 | other |
| August 1986 | US | Mercury Records | 731453808928 | other |
| 10 August 1986 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988011301483 | original |
| 25 August 1986 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988011301506 | other |
| 1987 | XE | PolyGram Music Video | 044008029618 | other |
| 5 November 1991 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988011328435 | other |
| 1992 | ZA | Mercury Records | 6001210572435 | other |
| 1993 | AU | Jambco | 9399083026429 | other |
| 1998 | GB | Mercury Records | 731453802520 | remaster |
| 18 November 1998 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988011360770 | deluxe |
| 9 February 1999 | US | Mercury Records | 731453808928 | remaster |
| 20 September 2005 | US | Chronicles | 602498842577 | other |
| 26 December 2007 | JP | Universal International | 4988005499530 | other |
| 3 December 2008 | JP | Universal International | 4988005537355 | other |
| 2010 | GB | Mercury Records | 602527361697 | deluxe |
| 31 May 2010 | GB | Mercury Records | 602527367163 | other |
| 23 June 2010 | JP | Island | 4988005611123 | deluxe |
| 2011 | XW | Island | 00602567830696 | other |
| 2011 | XE | Mercury Records | 0602527361697 | deluxe |
| 21 February 2012 | XW | Island | 602527920450 | other |
| 11 June 2012 | US | Island | 602537044436 | other |
| 13 March 2013 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005755780 | other |
| 10 August 2018 | US | Island | 0602567830436 | other |
| April 2024 | XW | Mercury Records | other | |
| 25 February 2025 | XE | Mercury Records | other | |
| 28 February 2025 | XW | Bon Jovi Dist Deal (Catalog) | 602465794373 | deluxe |
| 28 February 2025 | GB | Mercury Records | 602468041856 | deluxe |
| 28 February 2025 | XW | Bon Jovi Profit Split | 0602465794366 | deluxe |
| 21 May 2025 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988031759790 | 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 | 500×494 | upscaled |