"Lay Your Hands on Me" | ||||
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Single by Bon Jovi | ||||
from the album New Jersey | ||||
B-side | "Runaway" (live) | |||
Released | May 1989 | |||
Genre | Glam metal [1] | |||
Length |
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Label | Mercury | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Bruce Fairbairn | |||
Bon Jovi singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
Lay Your Hands on Me on YouTube |
"Lay Your Hands on Me" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was released in May 1989 as the fourth single from the band's fourth studio album, New Jersey . The song peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's fourth single from New Jersey to chart within the top 10. The song also entered the top 10 in New Zealand, where it reached number eight on the RIANZ Singles Chart.
The video for this song was culled from performances at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA and the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, OR during The Jersey Syndicate Tour. It was also released to home video on New Jersey: The Videos and Cross Road: The Videos. The MTV video for "Lay Your Hands On Me" was shot in Salt Lake in May 1989. [2]
For live performances through the 1980s and '90s, Sambora would use a double neck guitar with one neck tuned to drop D and the other tuned to Standard tuning. Examples of this can be seen in the official video clip, as well as in the Live From London DVD. During the 2000s he began using a single-necked guitar, as can be seen in The Crush Tour DVD. The song was performed a few times on the Lost Highway Tour. During performances on The Circle Tour, the song was performed with Sambora on lead vocals. Since then it has been played regularly on the "This House Is Not For Sale" tour.
"Lay Your Hands on Me" was re-recorded for 2003's This Left Feels Right album. The new version is in a laid-back acoustic style, featuring Sambora playing the Mandocello as the primary instrument. This version was performed at several concerts on the Have a Nice Day Tour. However, the first acoustic performance of this song was in 1992, from the concert An Evening with Bon Jovi Live in New York.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United States | May 1989 |
| Mercury | |
United Kingdom | August 7, 1989 |
| Vertigo | [14] |
August 14, 1989 | CD | [15] | ||
August 28, 1989 | Blue 7-inch vinyl | [16] | ||
Japan | September 5, 1989 | CD | Mercury | [17] |
Song #11; While tracking New Jersey in Vancouver, the video production team of producer Curt Marvis and director Wayne Isham encouraged Bon Jovi to write a song to open their show in a grand and mighty fashion. The result is one of the finest moments of the pop-metal era.