Blaze of Glory (Jon Bon Jovi album)

Blaze of Glory
Studio album by Jon Bon Jovi
Released	August 7, 1990
Studio	A&M (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Hard rock
Length	48:43
Label	Mercury
Producer	Jon Bon Jovi Danny Kortchmar Alan Silvestri
Jon Bon Jovi chronology
Blaze of Glory (1990) Destination Anywhere (1997)
Japanese limited edition cover
UICY-6469
Singles from Blaze of Glory
"Blaze of Glory" Released: July 27, 1990 "Miracle" Released: 1990 "Never Say Die" Released: January 1991 "Dyin' Ain't Much of a Livin'" Released: 1991

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C−[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Blaze of Glory is the debut solo studio album by Jon Bon Jovi, the frontman of Bon Jovi. The album was released on August 7, 1990, through Mercury Records. It includes songs from and inspired by the movie Young Guns II. Emilio Estevez originally approached Bon Jovi to ask him for permission to include the song "Wanted Dead or Alive" on the soundtrack.^[5]

Elton John, Little Richard, and Jeff Beck contributed to the album. It was awarded a Golden Globe and received Academy Award and Grammy nominations.

Chart performance

The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200^[6] and No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart.^[7]

The title track "Blaze of Glory" was released as the first single and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Mainstream rock charts. "Miracle" was released as the second single and charted at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #20 on the Mainstream rock charts^[8] and the third single "Never Say Die" charted in Australia, Canada and Poland but was not released in the US. "Dyin Ain't Much of a Livin'" featuring Elton John and "Santa Fe" were released as promo singles.

In 1998, a country duet version of "Bang a Drum" was released with country singer Chris LeDoux, the track was released as a single with a music video and reached number 68 on the US Hot Country Songs chart.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jon Bon Jovi, except where noted.

Blaze of Glory track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Billy Get Your Guns"		4:49
2.	"Miracle"		5:20
3.	"Blaze of Glory"		5:35
4.	"Blood Money"		2:34
5.	"Santa Fe"		5:42
6.	"Justice in the Barrel Intro"		6:48
7.	"Never Say Die"		4:54
8.	"You Really Got Me Now"		2:24
9.	"Bang a Drum"		4:44
10.	"Dyin' Ain't Much of a Livin'"		4:40
11.	"Guano City" (instrumental)	Alan Silvestri	1:16

Personnel

Musicians (adapted from CD liner notes). Credits also from other sources.^[9][10][11]

• Jon Bon Jovi – vocals, acoustic guitar (2, 6-8), acoustic piano (3), electric guitar (3, 5), 12-string acoustic guitar (3, 9), harmonica (4), guitar solo (5), guitars (10)
• Elton John – acoustic piano (1, 10), backing vocals (10)
• Benmont Tench – organ (1-3, 5-7, 9, 10), acoustic piano (5, 8)
• Phil Parlapiano – accordion (2, 4)
• Little Richard – acoustic piano (8), vocals (8)
• Aldo Nova – guitars (1, 2, 6, 7), keyboards (2, 3, 6, 9, 10), acoustic guitar (3-5, 9, 10), electric guitar (3), string arrangements (5), acoustic guitar intro (6), tambourine (8)
• Danny Kortchmar – guitars (1, 2, 6, 7, 9), acoustic guitar (4, 5, 8)
• Jeff Beck – guitar solo (1-3, 6, 7, 9), lead guitar intro (6), guitars (10)
• Robbin Crosby – acoustic guitar (7)
• Waddy Wachtel – slide guitar (8), guitars (9)
• Randy Jackson – bass (1-3, 6-9)
• Bob Glaub – bass (5, 10)
• Kenny Aronoff – drums (1-3, 5-10), percussion (3, 4, 6)
• The "Runners" – handclaps (1)
• Alan Silvestri – string arrangements (5), composer and conductor (11)
• Myrna Matthews – backing vocals (2, 6, 9, 10)
• Julia Waters – backing vocals (2, 6, 9, 10), vocal intro (6)
• Maxine Waters – backing vocals (2, 6, 9, 10)
• Lou Diamond Phillips – vocal intro (6)

Production

• Jon Bon Jovi – producer (1-10)
• Danny Kortchmar – producer (1-10)
• Alan Silvestri – producer (11)
• Rob Jacobs – recording, mixing
• Brian Scheuble – recording, mixing
• John "Obie" O'Brien – additional recording
• Greg Goldman – assistant engineer
• Chad Munsey – assistant engineer
• Rick Plank – assistant engineer
• Dave Collins – mastering
• Jon "J.D." Dworkow – production coordinator
• Margery Greenspan – design
• Timothy White – back cover photography
• Mark Weiss – inner sleeve photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Blaze of Glory Chart (1990) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 2 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 20 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 4 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[16] 9 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18] 4 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 1 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 4 UK Albums (OCC)[21] 2 US Billboard 200[22] 3

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Blaze of Glory Chart (1990) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 93 US Billboard 200[24] 65 Chart (1991) Position US Billboard 200[25] 92

Certifications

Certifications for Blaze of Glory

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26]	Platinum	70,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[27]	Platinum	50,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)[28]	2× Platinum	200,000^^
Japan (RIAJ)[29]	Gold	100,000^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[30]	Gold	50,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[31]	Platinum	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[33]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Blaze of Glory - Jon Bon Jovi | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
2. "Entertainment Weekly review". Ew.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
3. Davis, Erik (4 October 1990). "Blaze of Glory". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
4. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 72–73.
5. Dougherty, Steve (July 16, 1990). "Jon Bon Jovi's Solo Debut Leads Him to the Brink of an Abyss". People. Vol. 34, no. 2. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
6. "Allmusic (Jon Bon Jovi charts & awards) Billboard albums".
7. "The Official Charts Company - Jon Bon Jovi". Official Charts.
8. "Allmusic (Jon Bon Jovi charts & awards) Billboard singles". AllMusic.
9. "Career Guns Are Blazing For Rocker Jon Bon Jovi". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2022-03-03.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
10. Joseph Hudak (2020-12-17). "Jon Bon Jovi's 'Blaze of Glory' at 30: Inside His Cowboy Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
11. "The Number Ones: Jon Bon Jovi's "Blaze Of Glory"". Stereogum.com. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
12. "Australiancharts.com – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory - Young Guns II". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
13. "Austriancharts.at – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory - Young Guns II" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory - Young Guns II" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory - Young Guns II" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
16. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1991. 23. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
17. "Charts.nz – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory - Young Guns II". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
18. "Norwegiancharts.com – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory - Young Guns II". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory - Young Guns II". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory - Young Guns II". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
21. "Jon Bon Jovi | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
22. "Jon Bon Jovi Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
23. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
24. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
25. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
26. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1990 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
27. "Austrian album certifications – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
28. "Canadian album certifications – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory". Music Canada. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
29. "Japanese album certifications – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved August 16, 2019. Select 1990年8月 on the drop-down menu
30. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
31. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Blaze of Glory')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
32. "British album certifications – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
33. "American album certifications – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 16, 2019.