1 Bon Jovi Song Would Would Have Worked Better for Guns N’ Roses

Bon Jovi’s songs don’t hold a candle to Guns N' Roses’. One Bon Jovi song sounds like it should have been given to Guns N' Roses.

Bon Jovi gave us some classic rock songs but their catalog doesn’t hold a candle to Guns N’ Roses. One Bon Jovi song sounds like it should have been given to Guns N’ Roses. Here’s a look at one of the most obvious mismatches in rock ‘n’ roll history.

1 Bon Jovi song might have been bigger if Guns N’ Roses sang it

Bon Jovi’s monster album Slippery When Wet earned them two No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100: “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name.” The third hit from the album, “Wanted Dead or Alive,” only reached No. 7. That’s a real shame, considering that it’s by far the best of the three songs.

The other real shame is that the song was clearly begging to be performed by Axl Rose. Jon Bon Jovi’s voice sounds more like Rose’s than usual. In addition, the lyrics of the track fit Guns N’ Roses’ image much more than Bon Jovi’s. Guns N’ Roses is an edgy band that had a bad-boy image. Meanwhile, Bon Jovi were the sort of band you could take home to your mother. Who do you believe is wanted dead or alive? The track could have been a bigger hit in Rose’s hands.

The writers of the song could have given it to Guns N’ Roses

The song also bends genres more than Bon Jovi generally did. “Wanted Dead or Alive” is sort of a metal song and sort of a folk song. It also has lyrics befitting an outlaw country track. Guns N’ Roses was more known for genre fusion than Bon Jovi were.

Perhaps Guns N’ Roses performing the song would have had a greater impact on popular culture. Many famous artists, such as Paul McCartney, Avril Lavigne, and Ne-Yo gave away songs to other singers. The world would be a slightly better place if Bon Jovi gave “Wanted Dead or Alive” to Guns N’ Roses.

What Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora was thinking around the time the song came out

During a 1988 interview with Metal Edge, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora revealed that the band that made Slippery When Wet was more concerned with money than making a masterpiece. “We just want to make some more good music and sell some more records next year,” he said. “That’s all, I guess. Everybody’s paying a tremendous amount of attention to the success and forgetting about what counts — the music. Playing music and having fun, that’s the most important thing. What happens around it is still secondary.

He was surprised by his band’s popularity. “I knew we were gonna be successful, but I didn’t know we’d be this successful,” he said. “There’s been a lot of firsts for us this year. It’s all been damn exciting.”

He was asked about Bon Jovi’s music videos. “The three that came out this year are the ones I really like because they captured us honestly,” he replied. “I guess ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ is the one that brought the fans closer to the band, the behind-the-scenes look — that’s the way we really are. The kids know us a little better from that video.”

Regardless of what Sambora felt about “Wanted Dead or Alive,” it should have been a Guns N’ Roses song. Hopefully, Guns N’ Roses will release a cover and make everything right.