7800° Fahrenheit is the second studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was released on March 27, 1985, through Mercury Records. The album's title was a reference to the supposed melting point of rock, equivalent to 4313° Celsius; as the Fahrenheit scale is mainly used only in the United States, 7800° Fahrenheit thus suggested "American hot rock."[4]
The album introduced the classic 1980s Bon Jovi logo that would later be used on Slippery When Wet and New Jersey.
7800° Fahrenheit reached #37 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was the band's first album to be certified gold in the US. It remained charted for 85 weeks and was certified platinum on February 19, 1987.[5] The singles "Only Lonely" and "In and Out of Love" both charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
Background
Recorded in six weeks between January and March 1985, at the Warehouse Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the album marked the final collaboration between Bon Jovi and producer Lance Quinn. It is the only Bon Jovi album to feature songwriting by four of the band members; "Secret Dreams" is the only Bon Jovi song to date for which drummer Tico Torres receives a writing credit.
Despite being a fan favorite, the band was unsatisfied with the sound of the album and essentially disowned it once they had solidified their status as worldwide superstars with Slippery When Wet and New Jersey. It is the least represented album in their setlists over the course of the career: nothing from 7800° Fahrenheit was performed after the New Jersey Syndicate Tour, but a few performances of “Tokyo Road” in Japan during the 1990s, a few performances of “Only Lonely” during The Circle Tour in 2010, and one performance of “Tokyo Road” in Hawaii, also during The Circle Tour.
"I always overlook the second album," noted Jon Bon Jovi in 2007. "Always have, always will. We had no time to make it and we didn't know who we were… We did whatever producer Lance Quinn said. He was a brilliant guitarist and had made records with Talking Heads, so you listened."[6]
"All of us were going through tough times on a personal level," he explained at the time of Slippery When Wet's release. "And the strain told on the music we produced. It wasn't a pleasant experience… Lance Quinn wasn't the man for us, and that added to the feeling that we were going about it badly. None of us want to live in that mental state ever again. We've put the record behind us, and moved on."[7]
