Livin' on a Prayer
Bon Jovi | Artist Essentials
First released: 1986 (year verified)
Original 1986 Slippery When Wet studio recording
MusicAtlas editorial note: The talk-box figure and rising vocal hook make a forceful opening pair.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1986 (year verified)
Original 1986 recording on Slippery When Wet. Year precision is retained; the album association is not an assertion of an exact first-release day.
Recording: Original 1986 Slippery When Wet studio recording
Credit: Bon Jovi
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original album: Slippery When Wet
Slippery When Wet - official original tracklist
Original ten-track album is explicitly separated from later acoustic, extended-mix and live bonus versions. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
Bon Jovi catalog reissue announcement - UMG/uDiscover
Explicit original album years from Bon Jovi 1984 through This House Is Not for Sale 2016, including 7800 1985, Slippery 1986, New Jersey 1988, Keep the Faith 1992, These Days 1995, Crush 2000 and Have a Nice Day 2005. Later vinyl debut dates are separate. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
In the yearly lists
These are listening-list appearances, separate from the first-release date.
The retained original hit-single identity is reviewed against the original album track. The separately named Prayer 94 remake and new deluxe mix are excluded.
Slippery When Wet - official original tracklist
Original ten-track album is explicitly separated from later acoustic, extended-mix and live bonus versions. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
About Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi formed in New Jersey in 1983 around Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and Alec John Such. Their early albums paired hard-rock playing with prominent pop melodies, reaching a much wider audience with Slippery When Wet in 1986. New Jersey followed in 1988, while Keep the Faith and These Days developed a different balance of guitar rock and ballad writing in the 1990s. The group catalog continued through Crush and later albums, alongside separately credited member solo projects.
Artist background sources
Bon Jovi - official origin exhibit
The group came together around Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and Alec John Such in 1983. Runaway appears on the earlier New York Rocks 1983 compilation, introducing a credit/recording question that is kept in the queue. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Slippery When Wet - official album exhibit
Explicit 1986 album release and original singles, plus the hard-rock/pop-hook direction. Never Say Goodbye is a song from these sessions and this album, not an established 1982 release. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Bon Jovi catalog reissue announcement - UMG/uDiscover
Explicit original album years from Bon Jovi 1984 through This House Is Not for Sale 2016, including 7800 1985, Slippery 1986, New Jersey 1988, Keep the Faith 1992, These Days 1995, Crush 2000 and Have a Nice Day 2005. Later vinyl debut dates are separate. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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