Listen to Episode 12 of Slate’s Hit Parade:
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Bon Jovi is many things—platinum-selling, chart-topping, and now, Hall-of-Fame-inducted. That angers music critics, who have been slagging off this band of hard-rock prom kings since the 1980s. Among the haters is Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy, who has loathed Bon Jovi since high school. But even he can’t deny it—Bon Jovi is hugely influential. In the wake of the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Chris puts aside his animus to explain how the biggest band in hair metal has remained strangely relevant—thanks to its deathless hits, album sales, and, more recently, influence on a certain hair metal–loving Swedish pop producer.
Email: hitparade@slate.com
