10 Rock Bands Who Were Forced To Change Their Album Covers
9. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
Slippery When Wet may be both Bon Jovi's best known album and, simply, their best. Cover to cover classics, including "You Give Love A Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer" and "Wanted Dead Or Alive" have helped secure its status as a cultural mainstay, but had it not been for the intervention of Jon Bon Jovi himself, the music may not have been enough to save it.
The album's current cover features a wet bin bag with 'Slippery When Wet' written in the water, but the original design displayed a voluptuous woman in a wet T-shirt contained with a neon pink border, offered by the record label as a replacement for the sepia-toned cowboy image the band originally wanted to use.
But, having been denied his autonomy once already, Jon wasn't satisfied. Not because he was concerned that the artwork was sexist or that big record stores wouldn't carry it, but because he reckoned the bright pink cover would be the end of the group's career. In his mind, they had to change the cover or it was all over. Thus, he did what any self-respecting rock star would do and got out the bin bags.
In Japan, however, most releases of the album included (and still include) the original cover art, where it peaked at number 10 on their chart.