Suzanne L. Beenackers

🎸 40 years ago today, on the Billboard 200 dated October 25, 1986, Bon Jovi went to No. 1 in America for the first time with Slippery When Wet. It was make or break time for the band. 7800° Fahrenheit had done only moderately well in 1985, so Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora went back to basics, writing in Sambora's mother's basement in New Jersey and bringing in songwriter Desmond Child, who co-wrote You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin' on a Prayer and Without Love with them. They wrote around 30 songs and played them for New Jersey and New York teenagers to help pick the final tracks. Producer Bruce Fairbairn recorded the album at Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver between January and July 1986, and it was released on August 18. When the news came through, the band was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on the road supporting .38 Special. You Give Love a Bad Name hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 a month later, and Livin' on a Prayer followed with four weeks at the top in early 1987. Slippery When Wet spent eight weeks at No. 1 in total and was Billboard's top selling album of 1987. What is your favorite track on Slippery When Wet?