1988 · Behind the Songs
Love as an addiction, delivered at full volume — the lead single from New Jersey.
Love as a fever
For the follow-up to Slippery When Wet, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child went back to the formula that had worked: a huge hook with a slightly dangerous lyric. “Bad Medicine” treats love like an illness — your love is like bad medicine — with a feverish, hand-clapping energy. It was chosen as the lead single from New Jersey (1988), the album the band recorded under intense pressure to prove they were not a one-album phenomenon.
Charts and legacy
Released in September 1988, “Bad Medicine” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Bon Jovi their third American chart-topper. New Jersey followed Slippery When Wet to No. 1 on the album chart and produced five US Top 10 singles, confirming the band as the defining American rock act of the late 1980s. The song’s video — a mix of concert footage and fans — captured the band at the absolute peak of their powers.
What to listen for
The “whoa-oh” gang vocals and the stop-start dynamics of the verses. This is Bon Jovi at their most efficient: every section of the song is a hook, and the whole thing is over before you have time to catch your breath.