Born to Be My Baby

"Born to Be My Baby"
Single by Bon Jovi
from the album New Jersey
B-side	"Love for Sale"
Released	November 24, 1988
Recorded	1988
Genre	Rock[1][2]
Length	4:40
Label	Mercury
Songwriter(s)	Jon Bon Jovi Richie Sambora Desmond Child
Producer(s)	Bruce Fairbairn
Bon Jovi singles chronology
"Bad Medicine" (1988) "Born to Be My Baby" (1988) "I'll Be There For You" (1989)
Music video
"Born to Be My Baby" at YouTube.com

"Born to Be My Baby" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child. It was released on November 24, 1988 as the second single from their fourth studio album New Jersey. It peaked the following year at number 2 on the Cash Box Top 100,^[3] 3 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[4] number 7 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,^[5] number 22 in the UK, and number 30 in Australia.

Cash Box considered the song to be Jon Bon Jovi paying respect to Bruce Springsteen.^[6] Cash Box ranked it as the #22 pop single of 1989.^[7]

"Born to Be My Baby" was the second of five singles from New Jersey to chart in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, the most top 10 hits for any rock metal album. Despite the song's success, it was not included in the 1994 Cross Road greatest hits album. However the song was included on Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits album in 2010. In addition, an acoustic version of the song was recorded for their album This Left Feels Right.

Music video

The video for the song was done in all black-and-white, like many of the band's videos from the New Jersey album.

A very low budget video, it was shot all in the studio, chronicling the recording process for "Born to Be My Baby". In the full length video, there is actually a dialogue between the band members, and the band does the chorus again, unsatisfied with the original version. The video prominently features photogenic shots of Jon Bon Jovi singing, as well as the band gathering around a microphone to sing the "na-na-na-na-na" part. The video also features Jon Bon Jovi's wife, Dorothea.

The video was featured on New Jersey: The Videos, a promotional VHS that is no longer manufactured. The video was absent from the video collection Cross Road: The Videos. It was later featured on Bon Jovi's 2010 release Greatest Hits - The Ultimate Video Collection.

The ending of the video depicts Bon Jovi cheering and hugging each other. This was the moment that the band learned New Jersey was the No. 1 album in the U.S.^[8]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988–1989)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[9]	30
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10]	8
Ireland (IRMA)[11]	7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12]	19
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13]	25
UK Singles (OCC)[14]	22
U.S. Cash Box[15]	2
US Billboard Hot 100[16]	3
US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[17]	7
West Germany (GfK)[18]	54

Year-end charts

Chart (1989)	Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19]	83
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[20]	22
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[21]	39

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[22]	Gold	35,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Six Pack: Bon Jovi fans' 'prayers' answered here". The Daily Journal. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
2. Leftridge, Steve (7 April 2013). "We're Halfway There: Bon Jovi's Quest for Respectability, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Sheridan Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010 (13th Ed.). Prometheus Global Media. ISBN 978-0-89820-188-8.
5. "Allmusic (Bon Jovi charts & awards) Billboard singles".
6. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. November 26, 1988. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
7. "Top 50 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. December 30, 1989. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
8. "New Jersey Deluxe Edition" booklet. Publisher: Mercury Records. UMG Recordings, Inc
9. "Bon Jovi – Born To Be My Baby". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
10. Top Singles - February 20, 1989 RPM magazine
11. "The Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2012. Insert Born to Be My Baby in the field Search by Song Title, then press Search.
12. "Bon Jovi – Born To Be My Baby". Top 40 Singles.
13. "Bon Jovi – Born To Be My Baby". Swiss Singles Chart.
14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
15. Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Sheridan Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
16. "Bon Jovi Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
17. "Chart Search Results - Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 1988-12-10". Billboard.biz. Retrieved October 26, 2012.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bon Jovi – Born to Be My Baby" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
19. "Top Singles - Volume 51, No. 8, December 23, 1989". RPM. December 23, 1999. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
20. "Top 50 Pop Singles". Cash Box Magazine. December 30, 1989. p. 9.
21. "1989 The Year in Music: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 101, no. 51. December 23, 1989. p. Y-22.
22. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.