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#25 Raise Your Hands
| life lessons in Bon Jovi songs

The unlikely candidate to become a classic;
But hear me out!

Raise Your Hands is the sixth song of the album Slippery When Wet (1986) and the opener of side B, for vinyl and cassette.

This episode was recorded on 24th November 2024, and posted on the 28th.

In this video:

1. Welcome to another episode 00:00
Of Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs.
This sure feels like ages ago! (in reality it was 3 weeks )
With Raise Your hands we have flipped the Slippery When Wet cassette or vinyl to the second side, where this songs opens.

2. The Tale of Two Opening Songs 00:55
A story about Raise Your Hands (opener of side B), Let it Rock (album opener), as well as an initially unnamed instrumental sibling, which would successfully be teamed up to either one.

Plus a fast forward to the classic opener for their next album (the New Jersey album, 1988) and tour.
They were definitely overdelivering on their openers!

“Raise Your Hands is my way of saying good morning class.”
Jon Bon Jovi, 1986

3. Going all in on being a live band 06:30
Raise Your Hands was the signature song for the Slippery When Wet Tour specifically.
The song would disappear from the setlist afterwards.

But Raise Your Hands was also symbolic of them coming of age as a live band. And understanding Bon Jovi could handle stadiums.

4. We, The band 09:15
And my 2 cents on when we noticed there is an I, in Bon Jovi.

5. A Star Is Born 10:31
Director Wayne Isham literally set the stage for the new Bon Jovi era.
He set up a faux stage at a boxing arena, brought in a live audience, and shot the videos for the album’s first two videos;
You Give Love A Bad Name and Livin’ On A Prayer.
Turning them into superstars.

6. Director Wayne Isham 14:40
Would stay on for years, creating many more Live-inspired videos.
At first it seems there’s little story telling here, but Richie Sambora pointed out that those videos were actually a form of documentary.
A style that had never before been used for music videos.

Having a live video would become the default for the band.

7. Play your strengths 15:51
The live videos, as well as Jon’s realization around 1986, that they could handle big stadiums, are both examples of having a keen sense of what you’re good at.
And rolling with that.

8. Raise Your Hands equals movie Spaceballs 17:05
For many people, these two always go hand in hand!
As the comment section of Raise Your Hands on the official Bon Jovi YouTube, proves.
Spaceballs was an 80s Star Wars spoof, and it has cemented Raise Your Hands into 80s pop culture.

You can watch the movie here: Spaceballs (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAGuYr3hpR4

Next stop:
Without Love!

~Suzanne Beenackers
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