She Don't Know Me

Last updated
"She Don't Know Me"
She Don't Know Me.jpg
Single by Bon Jovi
from the album Bon Jovi
ReleasedMay 26, 1984;39 years ago (May 26, 1984)
RecordedSeptember 1982
Studio Power Station, New York City
Genre
Length4:02
Label Polygram
Songwriter(s) Mark Avsec
Producer(s)
Bon Jovi singles chronology
"Runaway"
(1983)		"She Don't Know Me"
(1984)		"Burning for Love"
(1984)
Music video
She Don't Know Me at Youtube.com

"She Don't Know Me" is a single by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was the second single from their self-titled debut album Bon Jovi (1984). It was written by Mark Avsec (of Donnie Iris & The Cruisers fame) and charted at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. [1]

Contents

This is the only release in Bon Jovi's discography that was not written or co-written by a member of the band.

Background

In the early 1980s, after a stint playing in the band Wild Cherry, Avsec wrote and produced the debut album for the disco band LaFlavour, who scored a pair of minor hits with "Mandolay" and "Only the Lonely (Have a Reason to be Sad)" [2] upon the album's release in 1980. At the time, Bon Jovi and LaFlavour were both signed to labels owned by Polygram. By the time Avsec composed LaFlavour's follow-up album, however, the band's name was changed to Fair Warning, and its disco image was scrapped. "She Don't Know Me" is one of the songs Avsec penned for the upcoming record, and is the lead-off track on what was to be Fair Warning's self-titled album.

However, around this same time as LaFlavour's transformation, PolyGram was preparing to release Bon Jovi's debut album, and they were looking for a strong hit single. The decision was made for Bon Jovi to also record "She Don't Know Me" and feature it on the debut album. This prioritization of Bon Jovi, combined with the fact that Van Halen was releasing an album with the same title of Fair Warning that year, caused the stagnation of the Fair Warning project. Beyond a few promotional copies, [3] Fair Warning's self-titled album was never officially released. [4] The Bon Jovi album was released years later.

Meanwhile, in the ensuing interim period, two already well-established musical acts covered the tune. The well-known 1960s/70s band The Grass Roots included a version of the song on their 1982 reunion album, Powers of the Night. [5] The following year, former Outsiders and Climax frontman Sonny Geraci recorded his own version under the pseudonym "Peter Emmett" (backed by the Donnie Iris and the Cruisers band, including Avsec).

In 1984, Bon Jovi's self-titled debut album was finally released, and "She Don't Know Me" was released as a follow-up to the band's first hit, "Runaway".

Music video

A music video was released in the USA in May 1984 to promote the song. It was directed by Martin Kahan and produced by Lenny Grodin, and features the band – primarily Jon Bon Jovi [6] – in live action vignette scenes centered around a local bar, inter-cut with staged performance shots. Jon is troubled by thoughts of an unattainable woman, portrayed as a split character by Beth Toussaint; several classic vintage automobiles are used as set pieces. The current version's end scene has been edited to remove a part where the woman's alter ego levels a gun at two thugs that are about to assault her. The scenes were filmed at and around the Brewery Bar, in Benicia, California, with director Kahan making a cameo appearance. [7]

Track listings

US vinyl single

UK vinyl, 7-inch single

Chart performance

Chart (1984)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [8] 48

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bon Jovi</span> American rock band

Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. The band currently consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John Such left the band in 1994, and longtime guitarist and co-songwriter Richie Sambora left in 2013. The band has been credited with "bridging the gap between heavy metal, rock and pop with style and ease".

<i>Bon Jovi</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi is the debut studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on January 23, 1984, by Mercury Records. Produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn, it is significant for being the only Bon Jovi album in which a song appears that was not written or co-written by a member of the band. The album charted at number 43 on the US Billboard 200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donnie Iris</span> American rock musician

Donnie Iris is an American rock musician known for his work with the Jaggerz and Wild Cherry during the 1970s, and for his solo career beginning in the 1980s with his band, the Cruisers. He wrote the #2 Billboard hit, "The Rapper", with the Jaggerz in 1970 and was a member of Wild Cherry after the group had a #1 hit with "Play That Funky Music." He also achieved fame as a solo artist in the early 1980s with the #29 hit "Ah! Leah!" and the #37 hit "Love Is Like a Rock."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Cherry (band)</span> American rock band

Wild Cherry was an American funk rock band formed in Mingo Junction, Ohio, in 1970 that was best known for its song "Play That Funky Music".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Runaway (Bon Jovi song)</span> 1984 single by Bon Jovi

"Runaway" is the debut single by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was originally recorded in 1981 for the so-called "Power Station Demos" at the beginning of singer Jon Bon Jovi's career, featuring the vocalist backed by session musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bon Jovi discography</span>

American rock band Bon Jovi has released 15 studio albums, three live albums, five compilation albums, five EPs, 66 singles, 14 video albums, and 71 music videos. Bon Jovi has sold over 130 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. As of 2018, the band has sold 21.8 million albums in the US Nielsen SoundScan era. Billboard ranked Bon Jovi as the 45th Greatest Artist of all time, achieving 6 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 & 4 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Bon Jovi has sold 34.5 million albums in the United States.

<i>Back on the Streets</i> (Donnie Iris album) 1980 studio album by Donnie Iris and the Cruisers

Back on the Streets is the debut album by American rock singer/guitarist Donnie Iris, released in 1980. The single "Ah! Leah!" was a hit for Iris, reaching #29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #19 on the U.S. Billboard Top Tracks chart. The album was remastered and reissued on CD in 2021 by Rock Candy Records with two live bonus tracks from the 1981 Live EP.

<i>King Cool</i> 1981 studio album by Donnie Iris and the Cruisers

King Cool is the second album by Donnie Iris, released in 1981. The album was reissued in remastered form on CD in 2021 by Rock Candy Records with a live bonus track from the 1981 Live EP.

<i>The High and the Mighty</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Donnie Iris and the Cruisers

The High and the Mighty is the third album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released in 1982. The album was reissued in remastered form on CD in 2021 by Rock Candy Records with a live bonus track from the 1981 Live EP.

<i>No Muss...No Fuss</i> 1985 studio album by Donnie Iris and the Cruisers

No Muss...No Fuss is the fifth studio album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released by HME in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Star</span> American musician

Ryan Stahr Kulchinsky, known professionally as Ryan Star, is an American rock singer-songwriter from Long Island, New York, currently signed on Island Records. His first major label record 11:59, released via Atlantic in 2010, reached No. 31 on Billboard 200 and No. 10 on Billboard Rock albums chart. Star became known to a wider audience as contestant on the CBS reality TV show Rock Star: Supernova in 2006. His songs have featured on several TV shows and promotion. His song "Brand New Day", featured as the main theme to Fox TV series Lie to Me, earned him a BMI TV Music Award in May 2009.

The Jaggerz are an American rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They came to national attention with their single "The Rapper" which was released on the Kama Sutra label. "The Rapper" was No. 1 in the Record World Charts and No. 2 in the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1970. Having sold over one million copies, the recording received a gold record awarded by the R.I.A.A.

<i>Lost Highway</i> (Bon Jovi album) 2007 studio album by Bon Jovi

Lost Highway is the tenth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on June 19, 2007, in the US through Island Records. Produced by John Shanks and Dann Huff, the album was recorded at Black Bird Studios, Nashville and NGR Recording, Hollywood.

<i>Poletown</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Donnie Iris and the Cruisers

Poletown is the eighth studio album by American rock singer Donnie Iris, released in 1997. It was Iris' third post-major label release, and was released independently on Seathru Records.

Mark Avsec is an American rock keyboardist, songwriter, and producer. He was a member of the funk rock band Wild Cherry.

<i>Breakout: Video Singles</i> 1985 video by Bon Jovi

Breakout: The Singles is the first video compilation by rock band Bon Jovi containing 6 music videos. The videos are of the singles released from the band's first two albums, Bon Jovi and 7800°Fahrenheit.

Jonah Koslen is an American singer-songwriter and musician best known for his work with the Michael Stanley Band and Breathless in the 1970s and 1980s.

<i>Only the Wild Survive</i> 1979 studio album by Wild Cherry

Only the Wild Survive is the fourth and final studio album by Wild Cherry, released in 1979. Their fourth studio album, this would be their last before breaking up the same year. It contains the single "Keep On Playin' That Funky Music" a sequel to their 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music". It was also the first and only Wild Cherry album to feature Donnie Iris as a performer. After Wild Cherry's breakup, Iris and bandmate Mark Avsec would launch Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.

<i>Magnificent Obsession</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Cellarful of Noise

Magnificent Obsession is the second and final studio album from 1980s American pop-rock act Cellarful of Noise, a solo project of Mark Avsec of Donnie Iris fame. The album was released in March 1988, with some of the tracks featuring Donnie Iris on vocals.

<i>Cellarful of Noise</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Cellarful of Noise

Cellarful of Noise is the debut studio album from 1980s pop-rock act Cellarful of Noise, a solo project of Mark Avsec of Donnie Iris fame. The album was released in June 1985.

References

  1. ↑ "AllMusic (Bon Jovi charts & awards) Billboard singles".
  2. ↑ La Flavour – Chart history @Billboard.com Retrieved 12-3-2016.
  3. ↑ Fair Warning- self-titled album @Discogs.com Retrieved 4-21-2011.
  4. ↑ LaFlavour History Archived 2020-08-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 12-3-2016
  5. ↑ "allmusic>She Don't Know Me>The Grassroots" . Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  6. ↑ "Bon Jovi: She Don't Know Me (1984 Video) Full Cast & Crew at IMDB". IMDb .Retrieved 18 March 2018
  7. ↑ van Heerden, Bill (1 July 1998). Film and Television In-Jokes (2008 illustrated, reprint ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 257. ISBN   9781476612065 . Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Bon Jovi Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.