“Born to be My Baby” by Bon Jovi

"Born to Be My Baby" followed "Bad Medicine" as the second single off New Jersey, Bon Jovi's fourth album, landing in November 1988. Jon Bon Jovi wrote it with Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, Bruce Fairbairn produced, and Bob Rock engineered and mixed. Under the arena-sized sheen there's more wood and string than you'd guess: Jon and Sambora both strum acoustics, Jon blows harmonica, Sambora adds mandolin to his electric, and Scott Fairbairn and Audrey Nordwell bring in cellos. David Bryan plays keyboards, Alec John Such bass and Tico Torres drums, and Bryan, Such and Sambora pile onto the backing vocals behind Jon's lead.

It went to 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, yet the band left it off Cross Road, the 1994 hits collection. It had to wait for 2010's Greatest Hits, and they later recut it acoustic for This Left Feels Right.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.