Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi song)

"Wanted Dead or Alive"
Single by Bon Jovi
from the album Slippery When Wet
B-side	"Never Say Goodbye"/"I'd Die For You"
Released	1987
Format	CD single
Recorded	1986
Genre	Rock, hard rock
Length	5:11 (Album/Single Version) 4:10 (Short Version)
Label	Mercury
Writer(s)	Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora
Producer	Bruce Fairbairn
Bon Jovi singles chronology
"Livin' on a Prayer" (1987) "Wanted Dead Or Alive" (1987) "Never Say Goodbye" (1987)
Alternative cover Japanese Cover

"Wanted Dead or Alive" is a song from Bon Jovi's 1986 album Slippery When Wet. The song was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora and was released in 1986 as the album's third single. The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #13 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, making it the third single from the album to reach the Top 10 of the Hot 100. Slippery When Wet was the first hard rock album ever to have 3 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2003 a new version was released on the album This Left Feels Right and this version was also released as a single with a promotional video. The song is today widely known as one of the bands most famous songs.

Background

The song's title pays homage to Jon's admiration for Old West heroes, and how he identifies with them as being hated (wanted dead or alive). During an interview on Inside the Actors Studio, Jon said he got the inspiration for the song early one morning when he couldn't sleep while riding in a tour bus. The "lifestyle of every rock band" was similar to that of outlaws in that each was, "a young band of thieves, riding into town, stealing the money, the girls, and the booze before the sun came up."

Jon Bon Jovi said during a concert in Detroit, Michigan, on February 20, 2008, that the song "absolutely positively was influenced by [Bob] Seger's 'Turn the Page.'" Bon Jovi performed "Turn the Page" during a concert in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) on July 21, 2010. Afterward, Jon told the audience he remembered listening to this song in 1985 while traveling on a tour bus in the midwest and telling Richie Sambora, "We got to write a song like this." The following year the duo composed "Wanted Dead or Alive."

On the band's Behind the Music special on VH1, it is even revealed that the band had originally planned to do an Old West-themed album in the 1980s, but scrapped the idea.

Track listings

Japan 7" Single (Mercury 888 482-7)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive"	Jon Bon Jovi Richie Sambora	4:10
2.	"Shot Through The Heart"	Bon Jovi	4:24

Japan CD-Maxi (Mercury PPDM 1003)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (Single Version)	Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora	5:11
2.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (Acoustic)	Bon Jovi, Sambora	5:39
3.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (Live)	Bon Jovi, Sambora	8:14
4.	"Edge of a Broken Heart"	Bon Jovi, Sambora	7:25

Promo - 7" Single (Mercury 88 467-7 DJ)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (Long)	Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora	5:07
2.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (Short)	Bon Jovi, Sambora	4:10

CD Video (Mercury 422870721-2)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Never Say Goodbye"	Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora	4:48
2.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive"	Bon Jovi, Sambora	5:07
3.	"I'd Die For You"	Bon Jovi, Sambora	4:31
4.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (Acoustic)	Bon Jovi, Sambora	5:41
5.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (Music video)	Bon Jovi, Sambora	4:08

CD-Single (Island Def Jam 588 718-2)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive (Live)" (Recorded Live On September 20, 2000, New York City, NY)	Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora
2.	"Thank You For Loving Me" (Recorded Live Acoustic On December 6, 2000, TMF Cafe, The Music Factory, Bussum, The Netherlands)

Limited Edition Promo - CD-Single (Island 440 011 172-4)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wanted Dead Or Alive" (Live)	Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora	3:43
2.	"The Distance" (Live At The Yokohama Arena, Japan, January 29th 2003)	Bon Jovi, Sambora	5:54

Music Video

The video for the song is black and white and features footage from the band's massive 1986-1987 world tour, including shots from Chicago's UIC Pavilion, Rochester, Minnesota's Mayo Civic Center, Denver, Colorado's McNichols Arena, Pittsburgh, PA F. Pitt Tunnel and Pittsburgh Skyline and other venues. The video strongly captures the grueling life-on-the-road feeling, with several shots of the exhausted band members.

The audio for the video uses the short (edited) version of the song.

In Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet Special Edition, Jon and Richie perform the acoustic version of "Wanted Dead Or Alive" live, and before singing they mention they wrote the song in Richie's mother basement a year ago (1985 or 1986) and Richie's says "Mom this is for you alright" and Jon jokes and thanks her by saying "Thanks for Richie's mom for not doing the laundry the day we wrote this song, it's called Wanted Dead or Alive". In this version, Richie and Jon take turns singing during the second and the last verse. Unusually, the guitar solo is performed on one of Sambora's trademark multi-necked 12 string Ovation guitars, rather than switching to an electric guitar for the solo and last verse of the song.

Covers

Chris Richardson performed the song in the sixth season of American Idol. In 2006, the song was covered by Chris Daughtry in the fifth season and later by Daughtry on American Idol Season 5: Encores CD. His version went to #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 the first week of its release. He had also managed to beat out Taylor Hicks' version of "Takin' It to the Streets" which debuted at #69 that same week.

Chris Cagle recorded a cover of the song on his 2005 album Anywhere But Here.

The Slackers recorded a ska cover of the song on their 2001 album Wasted Days.

Montgomery Gentry covered the song on the 2001 album Dancin' With Thunder: The Official Music of the PBR.

In 2004, Beanie Sigel sampled the song for the track of his album, The B. Coming. The song was moderately successful in the underground scene.

On June 30, 2008, Gabe Garcia performed the song on Nashville Star.

Northern Kings covered this song on their 2008 album Rethroned. Marco Hietala from Tarot and Nightwish does the lead singing on this song.

ApologetiX recorded a parody "Want It Dead or Alive?" on the 2006 album Wordplay.

In Popular culture

• A shortened, lyric-reduced version of the song is used as the opening theme for the US version of Discovery Channel's TV show about Alaskan crab fishing, Deadliest Catch.

• The song is heard in the Miami Vice episode "El Viejo."

• Used in the opening of Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, a 1991 film which starred Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson as the title characters.

• The song is performed in the musical Rock of Ages.

• In an episode of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live featuring Bon Jovi as musical guest the song is referenced in the sketch "La Revista Di La Television Con Vinny Vedecci" where Vinny Vedecci confuses the line "on a steel horse I ride!" with Jon actually riding on a robotic horse. Jon clarified that the "steel horse" is actually a tour bus.

• In the same episode of Saturday Night Live, there is a sketch where two men who call themselves "Jon Bovi", go into a recording studio and ask for a contract. One of the songs they start to play is "Wanted Dead or Alive."

• The song was used as the opening theme for the 2008 edition of HBO's Hard Knocks featuring the Dallas Cowboys.

• In the 11th episode of the second season of the television show American Dad! entitled "American Dream Factory," Roger uses the line "I've seen a million faces and I've rocked them all" after a performance with the band he stole from Steve.

• In the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers the song is referenced when Owen Wilsons character tells Vince Vaughan they have "seen a million weddings, and guess what, we rocked them all!".

• The song is featured in the movie Wild Hogs when John Travolta's character steals a motorcycle back from a bike gang.

• In Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, near the end of the movie, as Fred gears up to fight the Knight, the song is playing.

• This song is featured as a playable on disc song on the first game of the series, Rock Band. It was also one of the first tracks to be updated with new features introduced in Rock Band 3, as part of a special Bon Jovi Greatest hits DLC pack, to go along with the release of the Bon Jovi Greatest Hits Album.

• Featured in the TV series Supernatural, in the third season finale "No Rest for the Wicked". Characters Sam and Dean Winchester sing along to a portion of the song.

• The song was also featured during the final scenes of the opening episode of American Idol Season 8 with a group of auditionees singing it in turn.

• This song is also featured in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned.

• The song was used in the episode "Mac & Charlie Die" in the fourth season of the television show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

• The song was used in the episode "One Fall" in the seventh season of Cold Case.

• The song is mentioned in the TV series The Vampire Diaries, in the first season episode "162 Candles" by Lexi and Stefan Salvatore.

• The song is also mentioned in the TV series NCIS LA, in the first season episode "Missing" by Callen, Sam and Hetty.

• The rock band L.A Guns made a cover of the song in the 80s.

• The song is featured in the movie Young Guns.

Chart positions

Chart (1986)	Peak position
U.S. Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	13
Chart (1987)	Peak position
Canada RPM Top 100 Singles	17
Dutch Singles Chart	20
German Singles Chart	47
Irish Singles Chart	6
New Zealand Singles Chart	5
UK Singles Chart	13
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	7
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles	7
Chart (2000,2001)	Peak position
Dutch Singles Chart	26
German Singles Chart	45
Chart (2007)	Peak position
U.S. Hot Digital Songs	25

External links

• "Wanted Dead or Alive" Official music video on YouTube