"Bad Medicine" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child, and was released on September 12, 1988, as the lead single from the band's fourth album, New Jersey (1988). The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, Bon Jovi's third single to do so, and became a top-10 hit in Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

Critical reception

Cash Box said that "producer Bruce Fairbairn and Jon Bon Jovi fashion gang harmonies around a typically monumental guitar sound."

Music video

There are two videos for the song, one with the band live in concert, and a more well-known live video which begins with a crowd of young people waiting in line to get into the video shoot. Before being let in, one of the security guards asks if there are any questions, and Sam Kinison asks if the video will "be the same of video slop that we get from these glam rock pretty boys". When he answers "yes", Kinison rallies the crowd to hijack the cameras and "make a better Bon Jovi video than these guys can." The members of the crowd are given hand-held cameras and invited onstage to help shoot the video.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history