Jon Bon Jovi Opens Up on How Success Affected Him: ‘Nothing Can Prepare You for It’

“[When] you write a song, you don’t think about what would happen 40 years later.”

Jon Bon Jovi reflected on the massive success of “Slippery When Wet”, arguing that nothing could prepare him and his bandmates for what was to come after its release.

Released nearly 40 years ago, “Slippery When Wet” proved to carry the spark that would propel the beloved New Jersey outfit to the very top of the global rock scene, and keep them there for the next four decades. Giving birth to timeless classics that keep getting adopted by each new generation, such as “You Give Love a Bad Name”, “Livin’ On a Prayer”, and “Never Say Goodbye”, Bon Jovi’s third studio album also became their best selling one, as well as one of the most commercially successful LPs in US history.

Speaking to Matt Pinfield in a new interview, Jon Bon Jovi noted that his band already had a fair bit of experience before releasing the masterpiece that would eventually be certified 12x platinum by the RIAA, but added that nothing can really prepare you for such levels of success (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

“We had had two albums prior, and we had had some success with both of them. And yet, we were not in a position to be headliners. But experience spoke; we had traveled the globe, we had been to Europe, Asia, and Australia. And now, with this third record, we were sort of ready for the kind of success that we were blessed with.”

“Of course, we never imagined ‘Slippery When Wet’ to be one of the biggest-selling albums of all time. But in the big picture, it was a place from whence we never looked back. Everything just hinged on ‘Slippery’, and then ‘New Jersey’, and five more top 10 singles, and then ‘Blaze of Glory’ comes in, all the awards, the film accolades… It just kept going and going. But nothing can prepare you for that kind of success. You just have to hold on, adjust accordingly, and hope that you get through it.”

Reflecting on the fact that Bon Jovi hits still tend to be enjoyed with the same levels of enthusiasm as they were almost 40 years ago, Jon added:

“It’s pretty amazing. I mean, [when] you write a song, you don’t think about what would happen 40 years later. I never looked past the year 2000. And I remember thinking of the year 2000, because of what it was meant to be, some science fiction kind of chapter in all of our lives. I thought, ‘Okay, I’m gonna be 38 years old’, and I never considered anything past that point. And here we are, 24 years later, and still enjoying all this success. So for me, it’s been a blessing.”

Last month, Bon Jovi released “Legendary”, the first single taken from their upcoming studio album “Forever”, set for release on June 7.