The song had actually evolved from an earlier song Child had written with singer Bonnie Tyler called "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)."
Bon Jovi, Sambora and Child essentially reworked the idea into something that sounded tailor-made for MTV and rock radio.
It worked.
But the biggest song was still coming.
"Livin' on a Prayer" Almost Wasn't the Song We Know
It's hard to imagine now, but "Livin' on a Prayer" wasn't initially considered a slam dunk.
The song was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child.
Sambora's talk-box guitar became one of the song's defining sounds, while the lyrics told the story of Tommy and Gina — two working-class characters trying to survive when life isn't exactly going their way.
Jon Bon Jovi has said the song came together remarkably quickly. According to the band's own retrospective, it was written in its entirety in a single day.
The song eventually reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Decades later, it remains one of the most recognizable sing-along songs in popular music.
You can pretty much test that theory at a wedding, sporting event, bar or karaoke night.
Put on the first few seconds and see what happens.
"Wanted Dead or Alive" Was Different
If "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer" were the adrenaline shots, "Wanted Dead or Alive" gave Slippery When Wet its soul.
Richie Sambora's acoustic guitar and the song's Western imagery created something that sounded completely different from the band's harder-edged material.
The song was essentially about the reality of being a touring rock band.
Jon Bon Jovi and Sambora weren't imagining some fictional cowboy.
They were writing about themselves.
Sambora later described the song as almost a diary of what life on the road felt like for the band — young, exhausted, successful, and constantly traveling.
And there's another great irony:
The song that inspired the original cowboy-themed album concept ended up becoming one of the album's biggest songs anyway.
This song also inspired Jon's "Blaze of Glory" he would present to the producers of "Young Guns" instead of "Wanted Dead Or Alive", which was what they wanted. It would allow him to go SOLO and bust up the band until the early 90's reunion with "Keep The Faith"