Mike Lowery
Its one of the most successful soundtrack albums of all time, and a damn killer compilation to boot, but just how did iconic rocker Jon Bon Jovi find himself writing songs for 90’s sequel “Young Guns II”?
Emilio Estevez, a big fan of the then long-haired rocker, reached out to the artist about giving permission to use 1987 song “Wanted Dead or Alive” on the soundtrack. The song, Estevez told the musician, was played regularly on the set of the original 1988 film. Jovi wasn’t against the idea, but he didn’t think it would be a good fit. Instead, the Jersey-born musician put pen to paper on some original tunes, including the future smash “Blaze of Glory” – which he first performed on acoustic guitar in the New Mexico desert for Estevez and writer John Fusco.
“Young Guns II” star Kiefer Sutherland said, “When Jon (Bon Jovi) joined the team for Young Guns 2, we were all eating hamburgers in a diner and Jon was scribbling on this napkin for, say, six minutes. He declared he’d written ‘Blaze of Glory’, which of course then went through the roof in the States. He later gave Emilio Estevez the napkin. We were munching burgers while he wrote a No. 1 song… Made us feel stupid.”
“Emilio introduced him to me and said, ‘Jon has something he wants to show you,”’ Fusco told EW. ”We went into Emilio’s trailer, and Bon Jovi took out his ax and a crumpled sheet of notebook paper and started playing ‘Blaze of Glory.’ I loved it.”
Jon Bon Jovi started with the one but “one song turned into four, which turned into eight, which turned into 10, and I agreed to an album”, the artist said.
Guests on some of the other LPs on the soundtrack include Elton John and Little Richard.
While the “Young Guns II” soundtrack charted at Number 3 in the U.S, “Blaze of Glory” would win the Number 1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100. Further, the latter snagged a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and later received an Oscar nomination.
Jon Bon Jovi had such a great time collaborating with Estevez and Fusco on the music, he even stopped by the set and cameo-d as a prisoner in the movie. Here’s the scene :
With a third “Young Guns” movie announced over the weekend, the question begs : Will Jon Bon Jovi be returning to write the music?
