Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer

What this video is

Released in late 1986 against the backdrop of Reagan-era economic policy and labor unrest, 'Livin' On A Prayer' channeled working-class anxieties into an aspirational arena-rock anthem. The song's storyline — a dockworker on strike and his diner-waitress girlfriend — drew loosely on real events including the 1977 ILA dockworkers' strike. The video's MTV saturation arrived at the precise moment when music video had…

Why it matters

Represents the commercial and aesthetic apex of glam/arena metal's MTV crossover. As Bon Jovi's second consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 — making them the first hard rock act to achieve back-to-back chart-toppers — the video codified the visual grammar of the genre: big hair, stage-lit…

The director

Wayne Isham is an American music video director who became one of the dominant forces in MTV-era rock video production through the mid-1980s and 1990s. He served as a frequent and long-term collaborator with Bon Jovi, directing numerous videos across the…