William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: Bounce ; Year: 2002; Genre: Rock Difficult to believe that it was 25 years ago that Bounce was released, which was the last full album by Bon Jovi that I still like to this day. Also, being that it was released a couple of months after my wife and I married, and her being a big Bon Jovi fan made it quite memorable.     Hear Undivided on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice     My song pick 2 years ago today: Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs - May I     My song pick 3 years ago today: Alley Pat - Pat's Rubber Band   My song pick 4 years ago today: The Doors - Love Street   My song pick 5 years ago today: Benny Carter - Cotton Tail   My song pick 6 years ago today: Mr. Big - Defying Gravity   My song pick 7 years ago today: Rush - Double Agent My song pick 8 years ago today: Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs - Sugar Shack ...

From: A Very Special Christmas ; Year: 1987; Genre: Hard Rock/Christmas Music Haven't revisited anything from Bon Jovi in a while; thought I'd "hit two birds with one stone" with this track from the first in the A Very Special Christmas series. This was, of course, Bon Jovi's cover of the noted raunchy/naughty holiday tune originally written and recorded by the great Clarence Carter and later made famous again by being sampled by Run-DMC. on their track Christmas in Hollis , which was also part of this seasonal compilation; I should pick that one in the future as well.... Anyway, as mentioned earlier, just have not been interested much in the band for some time now. Really it has been their foreé into "bro country" and away from their hard rock/metal roots that I would have to personally pinpoint as the main reason as to why. It was nice hearing something from them recorded in the late 1980s once again, when they were at one of their peaks.   Hear Back ...

From: This House is Not For Sale ; Year: 2016; Genre: Rock Haven't chosen one from the more recent albums from this band; if my memory serves, it was one from their Lost Highway disc, and that was a while ago. I don't know why, but their newer offerings just hasn't really "clicked" with me like their prior material. However, I thought that I would pick this apropos track to mark this New Year's Day.   Hear New Year's Day on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Bing Crosby - Let's Start The New Year Right   My song pick 2 years ago today: Louis Armstrong - I Can't Afford To Miss This Dream   My song pick 3 years ago today: Parliament - Bop Gun (Endangered Species)   My song pick 4 years ago today: Peter Gabriel - A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World   My song pick 5 years ago today: The Zombies - This Will Be Our Year My song pick 6 years ago today: The Eagles - Funky New Year My song pick 7 years ago today: Steely Dan - Midni...

From: 7800° Fahrenheit ; Year: 1985; Genre: Hard Rock Depending on my mood this is probably my favourite album from Bon Jovi, and this is one of my favourite tracks off of it. Actually, I had not listened to this record in quite a while until last night and when Hardest Part is the Night came on I knew I had today's pick. I really like the mood throughout the piece, especially the transition to the chorus and the chorus itself. It might not be as flashy or bombastic as their normal repertoire, but I really love that straight-forward and overall moody sound.   Hear Hardest Part is the Night on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Rainbow - Fire Dance   My song pick 2 years ago today: The Marvelettes - Beechwood 4-5789 My song pick 3 years ago today: The Who - Don't Let Go The Coat My song pick 4 years ago today: Black Sabbath - Turn Up the Night My song pick 5 years ago today: Billy Joel - Big Shot My song pick 6 years ago today: The Allman Brothe...

From: These Days ; Year: 1995; Genre: Hard Rock Over the last couple of days, ever since I started subscribing to Apple Music in specific, Bon Jovi has been getting a lot of play out of my library for some reason. Since this happening I thought I'd oblige and pick another one from the band, which I have not done for quite a while now. This is one of the later tracks from what has basically become my favourite Bon Jovi album: 1995's These Days . It's kind of a fun track in actuality and is a bit more upbeat than its brethren on the record.   Hear All I Want Is Everything on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Megadeth - Death From Within   My song pick 2 years ago today: Steven Wilson - Perfect Life   My song pick 3 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - This Ain't the Summer of Love My song pick 4 years ago today: Dick Dale - Shredded Heat My song pick 5 years ago today: The Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society My song pick 6 years a...

From: Keep The Faith ; Tear: 1992; Genre; Hard Rock I was drawing a serious blank today, so I decided to "spin" my playlist and it ended up with a song from Bon Jovi's Keep The Faith album, so I'm blogging about one of the songs from it today. This has always been one of my favourites on the record; it's one of the heavier songs with a lot of good music throughout. Hear If I Was Your Mother on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Steely Dan - Aja My song pick 2 years ago today: The Coasters - Three Cool Cats My song pick 3 years ago today: Larry Graham & Graham Central Station - Crazy Chicken My song pick 4 years ago today: The Beatles - All You Need is Love My song pick 5 years ago today: The Offspring - Gotta Get Away My song pick 6 years ago today: Band of Horses - Knock, Knock My song pick 7 years ago today: Three Dog Night - Heaven is in Your Mind My song pick 8 years ago today: Queensrÿche - One & Only My song pick...

From: New Jersey ; Year: 1988; Genre: Hard Rock A bit ago I discovered that Bon Jovi is one of the inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; it is deserving really, even though they were heavy in the glam scene they are legit musicians that put a lot into their music. Anyway, this is one of my favourites from the New Jersey album; I love the guitar and drums in particular. Hear Lay Your Hands on Me on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: James Brown - Santa Claus Gave Me a Brand New Start My song pick two year ago today: The United States of America - Stranded in Time My song pick three years ago today: Boston - Can'tcha Say (Believe in Me)/Still in Love My song pick four years ago today: Molly Hatchet - Dreams I'll Never See My song pick five years ago today: Miles Davis - Straight, No Chaser My song pick six years ago today: Triumph - Hold On My song pick seven years ago today: Jack Black and Jason Segel - The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Eart...

From: these Days ; Year: 1995; Genre: Hard Rock/Alternative Rock I believe I've said it before, but as I get older these Days has become my favourite album from Bon Jovi. A lot of it has to do with the rawness and purity within it; you'd expect to hear an album like this from a band's early years, but not a decade later after being established and through the pop culture machine. Anywho, this is without a doubt the rawest and most "from the gut" song on the album. With the fact they were so raw musically and with there being no vocal harmony tracks it makes it quite gritty and in your face. Hear Hey God on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Parliament - Let's Play House My song pick two years ago today: Rare Earth - Warm Ride My song pick three years ago today: Pallas - Warriors My song pick four years ago today: Soundgarden - Flower My song pick five years ago today: Northern Kings - Wanted Dead or Alive My song pick six years...

From: Keep the Faith ; Year: 1992; Genre: Hard Rock Last night while driving home a bunch of Bon Jovi's music came on my iPod. I haven't picked one of their tracks in a while, so I thought I would go ahead and pick one of my absolute favourites from the band. This is probably their most epic magnum opus featuring not only a great, heavy, heartfelt piece of music, but then you get a guitar clinic being put on by Mr. Richie Sambora; pure musical bliss. The song clocks in at just under 10 minutes; basically this song and album is signaling them leaving their spandexy (is that even a real word?) 1980s Glam/Metal image. Hear Dry County on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Soundgarden - Storm My song pick two years ago today: Megadeth - Go To Hell My song pick three years ago today: The Scorpions - Loving You Sunday Morning My song pick four years ago today: Paul Mauriat - L'amour est bleu "Love is Blue" My song pick five years ago today: Bl...

From: Slippery When Wet ; Year: 1986; Genre: Hard Rock Over the weekend at the animé convention we attended in Seattle they happened to have a big-screen set up next to the area that people would queue up for the big events for people to play the plastic guitar video game Rock Band. In my opinion it was one of the best ideas they've had; it kept the people entertained by watching and listening to the video game whilst they waited in line. Anyway, this was among songs played where the entire crowd sung along with it; it was quite a sound to hear 500-1000 people sing a song in unison. Watch the music video on YouTube. Hear 5 minute version of Livin' on a Prayer on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Fleetwood Mac - Dragonfly My song pick two years ago today: Queen - Good Company My song pick three years ago today: Wolfsheim - Über's Jahr My song pick four years ago today: Alice in Chains - Man In The Box My song pick five years ago today: INXS - ...

1451 Bon Jovi - Runaway From: Bon Jovi , Year: 1984 Genre: Hard Rock I haven't been listening to Bon Jovi as much as of late, mostly due the cover band I play in, (which played a lot of music from the band), breaking up, reforming and only playing original material. Anyway, the other day this track happened to come on the radio and it got me in the mood to listen to their music. I realized that I hadn't chosen this track yet, so I decided to make it my Sunday pick. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '84 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Missing Link - Spoiled Love My song pick two years ago today: Grace Slick - Angel of the Night My song pick three years ago today: Don Williams - Yellow Moon +

1091 Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze of Glory Was recently watching the Young Guns films; after which this song from the second movie's soundtrack to keep playing in my mind. I remember back when this song was released it got the living hell played out of it all over the place, which for me caused a bit of burnout, however I have always liked this track anyway. Both Jon's vocals and Jeff Beck's slide guitar really are the biggest draws for me, I also love the way they launch into the chorus. From what I understand this song came into existence because Jon Bon Jovi was asked to use the song Wanted Dead or Alive for the film, but apparently he didn't believe that song fitting enough so he wrote this one instead; I for one am glad that he went that route. Here is the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Who - The Seeker My song pick two years ago today: The Beatles - Mr. Moonlight +

1033 Bon Jovi - Keep The Faith   I felt like some Bon Jovi this morning; this is one of my favourites from the band. This track is best known for Alec John Such's straightforward and effective and driving bass line. It is quite an uplifting and empowering song; in my opinion tracks like this one are what elevated them past their contemporaries. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. Here is a Gospel version of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Neil Young - Rockin' in the Free World My song pick two years ago today: Savatage - Skull Session +

963 ( Bon Jovi - Bounce ) For some reason this track fits my mood today, so I am adding it to my list. While not even close to my favourite song by the band, even on this album for that matter, I do like it. The musicianship from the band is excellent as always. Here is a music video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Platters - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes My song pick two years ago today: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - Tears of a Clown +

775 ( Bon Jovi - Someday I'll Be Saturday Night ) Last night this song just kept running through my mind as if it was playing on the radio, I like it as well so I am adding it to my list today. This song was one of the unreleased tracks that they added on to their Greatest Hits album: Cross Road . One aspect about this track that is very interesting is that it spreads across a spectrum from down-right depressing to inspirational at the same time. It is about people going through the most adverse times and could easily fold, but keep on going and trudging forward and keeping on dreaming. For me this song, along with the other tracks hold a special place for me. When my wife and I were dating this album seemed to have taken up an almost permanent residency in my car's CD player. When this album is played, it is actually one of the few times that I get to hear her sing out loud. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a nice live version of the song on YouTube. My song pick...

I decided that I should finish my guitar themed week with an excellent self-indulgent Hard Rock guitar song. This is a nice bluesy track where you can hear Richie Sambora's chops on the guitar, plus I love the maudlin/melancholy lyrics to this one. The more I listen to this overall mostly depressing album, the more I am liking it; perhaps almost as much as their 7800 Fahrenheit album. Here is a music video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song on YouTube. +

This song fits my mood this morning and after considering it for a bit I decided on picking it. This was the first album after the firing of bassist Alec John Such and features Hugh MacDonald on bass. The album has a darker feel than its counterparts, which gives it a distinct, fresh feel. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is an acoustic version of the song on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

After the extremely stressful last couple of days I need a song that will hopefully put me in a different mood; I pray to God that this stressful crap will calm down soon. Anyway, this song was one that my wife got me into when she played the CD; the song came on and the raucous feeling of the song caught my attention immediately. The rhythm section to me is the main pull, however Ritchie's guitar is incredible as well. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

This track has been running through my head all this morning and I thought that it would make an excellent pick. This song and album, which was released in 2002, was inspired out of the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy. Apparently it hit close to home for the band because they are from New Jersey. This song in particular was a stunning success world wide, however here in the U.S. it did not have as much of a stellar reception. It is very much a general rock song in the Bon Jovi style, in this one John's vocals are excellent as well as Ritchie's guitar. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

Today is my wife's birthday and I decided to pick her favourite song on her special day. This was one of unreleased songs that appeared on the Crossroads album, it is a romantic ballad that I grew to like after many times of listening to it. This is one of those situations that the song became entwined with my wife in my mind, so I came to like it. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +