Cross Road is the first official greatest hits album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on October 11, 1994, by Mercury Records. The album contains hits from all previously released albums from their debut, Bon Jovi (1984) to Keep the Faith (1992). The album also features two new tracks: the hit singles "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night", as well as a new, updated rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer" entitled "Prayer '94" available only on the North American versions.
"Runaway" was never recorded with the current band, though at that time there were plans to put a "Runaway '94" on the album but it was never recorded. The diner located on the cover of the album is the Roadside Diner in Wall Township, NJ, near the crossroads of Route 33 and Route 34.
The album's first single "Always" went top five in many countries. It spent six months in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and became Bon Jovi's biggest selling single in the United States. Its international success helped the album to peak at number one in 13 countries and made it Polygram Records' best-selling album of 1994.[6] It is Bon Jovi's best selling album in many countries, and continues to sell well. It has sold over 21.5 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.[7]
In 2005, Cross Road was re-issued as a 3-disc box set under the name "Deluxe Sound & Vision", which included the original remastered album, a bonus CD containing B-sides, rarities and fan favourites, and the Live from LondonDVD. The original remastered album was released in 1998. A video, also entitled Cross Road, was simultaneously released, containing 16 of the band's music videos.
Release and receptionedit
In the United States, the album debuted and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 the week of November 5, 1994, with 84,000 copies sold, the next week it dropped to number 13 and remained on the chart for fifty seven weeks.[8][9] It was certified four times platinum by the RIAA on October 15, 1998, denoting shipments of four millions.[10] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold 4,951,000 copies in the US as of September 2011, including 324,000 copies sold in 2006.[11][12]
In the United Kingdom, Cross Road debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and spent a total of five non-consecutive weeks atop the chart,[13] later becoming the best-selling album of 1994. The album was certified six times platinum by the BPI.[14]
The album topped the charts in several other European countries, including Austria,[15] Denmark,[16] Germany,[17] Italy,[18] Portugal,[19] and Switzerland.[20] In 2007, it was also certified octuple platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling 8 million copies across Europe.[21]
The album became Bon Jovi's first number-one set in Japan, where it has sold more than 1.1 million copies.[22] It spent two weeks at number one in Australia[23] and in 2022 it was certified thirteen-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments exceeding 910,000 copies.[24] The album also debuted at number three on the New Zealand Albums Chart, peaking at number one in its second week[25] and later being certified sextuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.[26]
The album itself won Metal Edge magazine's 1994 Readers' Choice Awards for "Album of the Year" and "Best Hits or Compilation Album". Its namesake home video was voted "Best Video Cassette," and the single "Always" was voted "Song of the Year" and "Best Video Clip".[27]
"Someday I'll Be Saturday Night - Fox Theater 1994"
3.
"With a Little Help From My Friends - St.Basie Theater 1992"
4.
"Good Guys Don't Always Wear White - Studio Outtake"
5.
"Blaze of Glory - Count Basie Theater 1992"
6.
"Stranger in This Town - Count Basie Theater 1993"
The song "Good Guys Don't Always Wear White" is featured in the movie The Cowboy Way.[31][32] Although Bon Jovi also released a music video to the song it was never released as a single.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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^"Vintage AC/DC, Nirvana Still Big-Sellers". The Washington Post. July 16, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
^"The Official Charts Company - Bon Jovi - Cross Road - The Best of". officialcharts.com. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
^ abPeter Buckley, ed. (2003). "Bon Jovi". The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. p. 121. ISBN 1843531054.
^ ab"Austriancharts.at – Bon Jovi – Crossroad - The Best Of Bon Jovi" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
^"Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé". InfoDisc (in French). Archived from the original (PHP) on August 20, 2008. Search for "BON JOVI" on the drop-down menu to see results.
^"Archivum: Top 40 Album". MAHASZ (in Hungarian). Retrieved July 20, 2011.
^"Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
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^"Bon Jovi Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard.
Retrieved October 23, 2017.
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^"ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1994". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on February 29, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
^"Jahreshitparade 1994 - Alben" (in German). Austrianchart.at. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
^"RPM Top 100 Albums of 1994". RPM. December 12, 1994. Archived from the original on 2013-06-21. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
^"Jaaroverzichten – Album 1994". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
^"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
^"1994年 アルバム年間TOP100" [Oricon Year-end Albums Chart of 1994] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
^"Top Selling Albums of 1994". RIANZ. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
^"Jahreshitparade 1994" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
^"ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1995". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on May 28, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
^"Hahreshitparade 1995 - Alben" (in German). Austrianchart.at. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
^"Jaaroverzichten 1995" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
^"Rapports annuels 1995". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
^"Jaaroverzichten – ALBUM 1995". Retrieved January 19, 2014.
^"Year End Sales Charts – European Top 100 Albums 1995" (PDF). Music & Media. December 23, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
^"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
^"1995年 アルバム年間TOP100" [Oricon Year-end Albums Chart of 1995] (in Japanese). Retrieved January 12, 2014.
^"Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1995" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
^"End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
^"Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1995". billboard.biz. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
^"Top 100 Metal Albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on August 12, 2004. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^"2006 UK Albums Chart" (PDF). ChartsPlus. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
^"Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2000" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
^ abcdefg"Certification Award Levels" (PDF). IFPI. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
^Luca Dondoni (May 24, 1995). "Milano: concerto del gruppo per 34 mila fans Bon Jovi, heavy metal addio arrivano melodia e un film" (in Italian). p. 24. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
^Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
^María Güell (June 14, 1995). "Bon Jovi dio la cara en Barcelona". ABC (in Spanish). p. 87. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
^"Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17.
^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Cross Road/Best of')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
^"History of RIT (IFPI Taiwan) Platinum and Gold Record Certification Standards". Retrieved 23 March 2023.
^Harris, Bill (November 17, 2006). "Queen rules – in album sales". Jam!. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Grein, Paul (December 27, 2013). "Chart Watch: Controversy Doesn't Hurt Robertsons' Album". Chart Watch. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
^Reporter, Nine O'Clock (June 14, 2011). "Bon Jovi, the most eagerly anticipated concert of the year". Nine O'Clock. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2020.