Slippery When Wet made Bon Jovi international superstars after its arrival on Aug. 18, 1986 – but not before they went through three wildly different concepts for the album artwork.
The record’s title also changed during this process. It was originally going to be called Wanted Dead or Alive, after one of the many soon-to-be smash hits it contained. Bon Jovi posed for the cover all dressed up in cowboy gear in a remote town near Vancouver, Canada, where they were recording. “It looked a little bit put on, and we were kind of unhappy with it,” guitarist Richie Sambora told VH1. (A photo from these sessions was used on the “Wanted Dead or Alive” single.)
Fun fact: Wanted Dead or Alive was one of the original concepts and title for Slippery When Wet.
One of the first ideas of the album cover was the band with scruffy beards and dressed as cowboys, showing them as the “Bon Jovi Gang”
Photography for the Wanted Dead or Alive… pic.twitter.com/XmVCLDdN0M
— Jerry Braden (@Jerrybraden92) August 10, 2025
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Luckily, fate intervened. “As we were driving back to the Number Five – our favorite strip club in Vancouver – our manager Doc McGhee saw this sign on the road, ‘Slippery When Wet,'” Sambora added. After watching one of the dancers get into an on-stage shower as part of her act, both the title and the cover photo concept came into view. “We shot this one beautiful girl with large breasts and a [shirt] that said ‘Slippery When Wet,'” he said.
Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet Had a Different Album Cover – The original featured a woman in a wet T-shirt but was deemed too risqué, so they switched to the now-iconic black plastic bag cover. pic.twitter.com/DpoJDXfwwY
— The Extreme Music Enthusiast (@TheExtremeMusi1) March 11, 2025
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A great deal of this effort was obviously wasted. With tracks like “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Never Say Goodbye” and “You Give Love a Bad Name,” the album probably could have been wrapped in actual rotting trash and still sold millions of copies.
On this day in 1987, we kicked off the Slippery When Wet tour in Hershey, PA. Here are a few rejected cover concepts for the album from Backstage With Bon Jovi. What’s your favorite album cover of ours? pic.twitter.com/FM7ZELrvQ3
— Bon Jovi (@BonJovi) January 2, 2025
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My trip to the Rock & Hall Fall of Fame: That famous shirt that was initially banned as cover art for the Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet album. Anyone have the original pressing? #RiverRocksAtl pic.twitter.com/sddAAQLY0x
— 97.1 The River (@971theriver) April 29, 2025
