Bon Jovi is a Rock 'n' Roll band originating from Sayreville, New Jersey. Fronted by lead singer and namesake Jon
Bon Jovi, the group originally achieved large-scale success in the 1980s. The band has continued its success as one of the
world's most successful rock acts throughout the 1990s and 2000s, selling over 120 million albums worldwide.[7]
They have also won a Grammy for best Country Collaboration for "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland. They have also been
nominated twice for the smash hit "It's My Life" and two songs from the
album Bounce, "Misunderstood" and
"Everyday".
Their numerous hits include: "Runaway", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a
Prayer", "Wanted Dead or Alive", "Bad Medicine", "I'll Be There for
You", "Keep the Faith", "Bed of Roses", "Always", "It's My Life", "Everyday",
"Have a Nice Day", "Who
Says You Can't Go Home" and "(You Want to) Make a Memory".
History
Formation
Founding member Jon Bon Jovi began to play piano and guitar at thirteen. At that same age, Bon Jovi found his first band,
called Raze. Jon was enrolled in an all-boys Catholic school St. Joseph High
School in Metuchen, New Jersey but left after pleading his case to his
parents that he wanted to attend public school. He went on to attend Sayreville War Memorial High School. At sixteen, Bon Jovi
met David Bryan (born David Bryan Rashbaum) and found a 12-piece cover band named
Atlantic City Expressway after the New Jersey highway. They played at New
Jersey clubs, even though they were minors. Still in his teens, Bon Jovi played in the band John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones,
playing local clubs like "The Fast Lane" and opening for known acts in the area.
By the summer of 1982, out of school and working part-time in a shoe store, Jon took a job at the Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility where his
cousin, Tony Bongiovi, was a co-owner. Jon made several demos (including one produced by
Billy Squier) and sent them out to many record companies, but failed to make an impact.
In 1983, Bon Jovi visited the local radio station WAPP 103.5FM "The Apple" in Lake Success, New York. He spoke directly to the D.J., Chip Hobart, who suggested Bon Jovi let
WAPP include the song "Runaway" on a compilation album of local homegrown talent. Bon Jovi was reluctant but eventually gave them
the song on which Bon Jovi had used studio musicians to play on the track "Runaway" (originally written in 1980). The studio
musicians who helped record "Runaway" were known as The All Star Review. They were: guitarists Dave
Sabo and Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan,
drummer Frankie LaRocka and bassist Hugh
McDonald.
The song began to get airplay in the New York metro area, then other sister stations in major markets picked up the song.
Suddenly, the record labels who had passed on the demo were scrambling to find out who this unsigned artist was. WAPP was doing
showcases and Bon Jovi now desperately needed a band. The soon-to-be-members of the band had crossed paths in their earlier days,
but the current lineup didn't come together until March 1983. Bon Jovi gave David Bryan a call, who in turn called bassist
Alec John Such and an experienced drummer named Tico
Torres.
Richie Sambora in
Dublin May 2006
Tapped to play lead guitar was Bon Jovi's neighbor, Dave Sabo (a.k.a. The Snake), who would
later form the group Skid Row.
One night after a show, Richie Sambora found Bon Jovi backstage and told him that he
should be the band's guitarist. Bon Jovi didn't think much of it but told him to learn the material and show up for rehearsal.
Sambora showed up early, knew the material and Bon Jovi was impressed; in that moment, Sambora became the band's lead guitarist
and a musical dynamic duo was born.
Before joining the group, Sambora had toured with Joe Cocker, played with a group called
Mercy and had just been called up to audition for legendary rock act Kiss. He also played on the album Lessons with the band Message,
which was re-released on CD through Long Island Records in
1995. Message was originally signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label, although the album was never released.
Drummer Tico Torres was also an experienced musician, having recorded and played live
with Phantom's Opera, The Marvelettes, and Chuck
Berry. He appeared on 26 records and had recently recorded with Frankie and the Knockouts,
a Jersey band with hit singles during the early 1980s.
David Bryan was a natural recruit. He had quit the band he and Bon Jovi founded in order
to study medicine. While in college, he realized he wanted to pursue music full-time and was accepted to Juilliard School, the prestigious New York music school. When Bon Jovi called his friend and said
he was putting together a band and a record deal looked like it was about to become a reality, Bryan followed Bon Jovi's lead and
gave up his studies.
The Bon Jovi lineup, which would not change for a decade, was:
- Jon Bon Jovi (lead vocals, rhythm guitar)
- Richie Sambora (lead guitar, backing vocals)
- David Bryan (keyboard, backing vocals)
- Tico Torres (drums, percussion)
- Alec John Such (bass guitar, backing vocals)
1980s
Once the band began playing showcases and opening for local talent, they caught the attention of record executive
Derek Shulman, who signed John to Mercury
Records, part of the PolyGram company. Because John wanted a group name, Jerry Jaffe,
head of A&R at PolyGram, came up with Bon Jovi, changing the spelling and rationalizing that
it had the cadence of Van Halen and also seemed to make an oblique reference to AC/DC's,
Bon Scott. The band didn't really like it. (Manager Doc McGhee scoffed that it made the band
sound like "French ice cream"). But within a week it was adopted without much fanfare. Also, John then removed the 'h' in his
first name to make it Jon.
With the help of their new manager Doc McGhee, the band's debut album, Bon Jovi, was released on January 21, 1984. The album went gold in the US (sales of over 500,000) and was
also released in the UK. The group found themselves opening for ZZ Top at the Madison Square
Garden (before their first album had been released), and for Scorpions and
Kiss in Europe. They also made an appearance on the popular television program
American Bandstand.
In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album 7800°Fahrenheit was released. While
embarking on a tour opening up for Ratt, the album received a poor response by critics. The leading
British metal magazine Kerrang!, who had been very positive about the debut record,
called the album "a pale imitation of the Bon Jovi we have got to know and learned to love." Jon Bon Jovi himself later said it
could have and should have been better. The band members, in later interviews, have said they will not perform any songs off that
album anymore.
The turning point came when they brought in songwriter Desmond Child for their third
album, Slippery When Wet. With Child co-writing many of their hits, the band
shot to super-stardom around the world with songs "You Give Love a Bad
Name", "Livin' On A Prayer", and "Wanted Dead or Alive". Bon Jovi has said the album was named after the ubiquitous
highway warning signs, but Bryan has said the following about the album's title:
"During the recording of the record we frequently wound up in a striptease club where incredibly good looking girls were
putting water and soap on each other. They became so slippery because of that, that you couldn't hold on to them even if you
wanted to really bad. 'Slippery when wet!' one of us yelled out and the rest of us immediately knew: that had to be the title of
the new album! Originally we were going to put a picture of some huge breasts, the really big ones, on the cover; but when the
PMRC [a moral board chaired by Tipper
Gore, wife of future Vice President Al Gore ] found out, we were in big trouble. So we
made it into a very decent cover."
The album has sold in excess of 26 million copies worldwide since its release in late 1986. In 1987, the band headlined
England's "Monsters of Rock" festival with Dio,
Metallica, W.A.S.P., Anthrax, and Cinderella. The tour took its toll on singer Jon Bon Jovi when
he began having vocal difficulties. The extremely high notes and unrelenting schedule threatened to damage his voice permanently.
With the help of a vocal coach, he made it through the tour. Bon Jovi has tended to sing
slightly lower pitches since then.
The next album was 1988's New Jersey. The album was recorded very shortly
after the tour for Slippery, because the band wanted to prove that they were not just a one hit wonder. The resulting
album is considered a fan favorite, a pop-metal masterpiece, and was a mammoth commercial success, with hit songs
"Bad Medicine", "Lay Your Hands on Me"
and "I'll Be There for You", which are still in their live
repertoire. New Jersey was a commercial smash and became the first hard rock album to spawn five Top Ten singles. "Bad
Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You" both hit number one, and "Born to Be My Baby"
(#3), "Lay Your Hands on Me (#7), and "Living in Sin" (#9) rounded out the list.
New Jersey was supported by video releases such as New Jersey: The Videos and Access All Areas, as well
as a massive 18-month tour, originally billed as The Jersey Syndicate Tour. In
1989, the band headlined the Moscow Music Peace Festival along with the
Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, and Skid Row. Despite the band achieving
massive success, New Jersey almost led to the end of the band as they went straight back out on the road so soon after the
heavy touring for their previous album. This constant living on the road tested the strong bond between Jon Bon Jovi and Sambora.
As mentioned in Behind the Music, at the end of the tour, each band member went
their own way and departed in separate jets. It was during this time that Sambora offered the lead singer position to Billy
Rogers, known for his hit single with Ike Turner, "I'm Blue". However, the band made it
through and took a healthy break before their next studio effort. To date, the album has sold 18 million copies worldwide.
1990s
Between 1990 and 1992, the band members went their separate ways for a while to refocus before writing and recording their
next album. This time off also helped them determine where Bon Jovi would fit within the rapidly changing music scene upon their
return. Jon recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie "Young Guns II", more
commonly known as Blaze of Glory, (in which he had an extremely brief cameo).
Released in 1990, the album featured high profile guests such as: Elton John,
Little Richard, and Jeff Beck, among others. The album
fared well commercially, received positive reviews and quickly achieved platinum status. The title track, "Blaze of Glory", hit number one on the Billboard Hot
100 and earned Jon an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. That same year,
however, "Blaze of Glory" was awarded a Golden Globe.
His bandmates kept busy as well. Sambora, with the help of Tico Torres and David Bryan, also released a solo album entitled
Stranger In This Town, in 1991. The album had a predominant blues influence
to it and featured Eric Clapton on the song "Mr. Bluesman". David Bryan recorded a
soundtrack for the horror movie The Netherworld, which was the brighter part of that year
after he was hospitalized with an illness due to a South American parasite. Such took a fall
off of his motorcycle which injured his bass-playing hand, forcing him to develop a whole new way to hold and play his
instrument.
In 1992, the band returned with the album Keep the
Faith. Produced by Bob Rock, it featured more a mature sound and lyrical content.
Their fans were pleasantly surprised and the album became a moderate hit amidst the rise of grunge. Singles "Bed of Roses", "Keep the Faith" and "In These Arms", all hit the
Top 40 in the U.S. Other songs on the album were released as singles internationally, mainly the
epic "Dry County", "I Believe", and the crowd favorite "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead." This album is also notable for being the first in a
string of albums which proved more popular worldwide than in the U.S. It went double platinum in the U.S., but sold much more
worldwide.
In 1994, Bon Jovi released a greatest hits album titled Cross Road, which also
contained two new tracks: the hit singles "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday
Night", as well as an updated rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer" entitled "Prayer '94", available only on the U.S. version. The
diction of 'prayer' in the new version was altered due to a mixing error, and is heard as "'rayer" on some pressings. "Always"
was originally written for a soundtrack to the film Romeo Is Bleeding, but
after seeing (and disliking) the movie, the band decided not to lend the song to the producers and instead released it on "Cross
Road". The video for "Always" featured Carla Gugino, an actress known for her roles in
several TV shows' and films such as Son In Law and actor Jack Noseworthy, best known for his role in the 2000 film U-571.
"Always" spent thirty-two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of Bon Jovi's biggest hits.The song peaked at #4 on the
US charts and at #1 in countries across Europe, Asia and in Australia. The single sold very
well, going platinum in the U.S.
That same year, bassist Alec John Such left the band, the first lineup change since Bon Jovi began. Hugh McDonald, who was the
bassist on "Runaway", unofficially replaced Such as bassist. To this day, there is still speculation on whether Alec was fired or
left on his own accord. Jon has claimed that Such was making too many mistakes onstage as a result of intoxication while
performing. Such denied many of these claims in an interview soon after his departure, but later admitted there was some truth to
them. Jon has made it public that there has been contact between Such and other band members recently. He even rejoined the band
on stage for one song ("Wanted Dead or Alive") during their "homecoming" show at Giants
Stadium in 2001. While he has not been officially replaced, Hugh McDonald has handled studio and live bass duties since
then, with rumours that he had also recorded bass on previous albums. Jon said, regarding the departure of Such: "Of course it
hurts. But I learned to accept and respect it. The fact that I'm a workaholic, studio in, studio out, stage on, stage off, want
to be dealing with music day and night, doesn't mean everyone else has to adjust to that pace. Alec wanted to quit for a while
now, so it didn't come as a complete surprise."
With the 1995 album These Days, Bon Jovi took the mature rock
sound they had developed on Keep the Faith further. The record as a whole was darker and more downbeat, with some songs
showing R&B influences. As a result, These Days went platinum in the U.S. and topped the UK charts. Despite critical
kudos[citation needed], it spun off only one hit
single in the U.S., "This Ain't A Love Song". Nevertheless, the other tracks proved to be popular European singles, including
"Hey God", "Something for the Pain", "Lie to Me", and the title track. In 1996, Bon Jovi claimed in an interview with the German
magazine Bravo that as a result of the overwhelming success of the "These Days" tour, the album had sold in excess of 20 million
copies worldwide[citation needed].
By 1996, Bon Jovi had established themselves as a "force" in the music industry, proving much more durable than most of their
'80s glam peers. At the end of the These Days Tour, the band once again decided to take a break and pursue other interests. Tico
used the opportunity further pursue his passion for painting while David started writing and composing various musicals. In 1998,
Richie released his second solo outing called Undiscovered Soul.
Jon had also been bitten by the acting bug. He landed lead roles in movies Little
City and The Leading Man, and supporting roles in Moonlight and Valentino, Tranny Freakout!, Homegrown, and U-571, among others. While he was free between
filming different movies, Jon wrote what would become his second solo album, 1997's Destination Anywhere. The album received positive reviews and was a success across Europe. It
was rumored that the record company was pursuing Jon to name the record "These Days, Part 2", since the album was somewhat of a
moody progression from These Days. A short movie of the same name was recorded right around the record's release, based
entirely on the songs from the record and starring Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon and Whoopi Goldberg. Dave Stewart of Eurythmics played guitar on the record, as well as
produced some of the tracks.
Bon Jovi reunited in 1999 to record the song "Real Life" for the movie EdTV. David Bryan
didn't make it to the filming of the video for the song because of a hand injury sustained in a home improvement mishap, so the
band used a cardboard cutout of him for the shoot.
2000s
After a nearly three-year hiatus, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999
to begin work on their next studio album. Their 2000 release, Crush, enjoyed
overwhelming success both in the US and overseas, thanks in part to the smash-hit single "It's My Life", co-written by famous Swedish producer Max
Martin. Crush, which also produced such hits as "Say It Isn't So" and "Thank You For Loving Me", soon became the band's most successful studio album since Keep the
Faith, and helped introduce them to a new, younger fan base.
The Crush Tour, which began that summer, originally encompassed only 60 or so shows and was extended due to Bon Jovi's
newfound popularity, with the band remaining on tour through mid-2001. While on tour, Bon Jovi released a collection of live
performances from throughout their career in an album entitled, One Wild
Night: Live 1985-2001. The Crush tour was notable in that the European 2000 leg included the band headlining two
nights at Wembley Stadium. These would be the final shows at the venue before it
was demolished. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001, the band performed as part of the star-studded
The Concert for New York City benefit for victims and their families. They
performed an acoustic medley of "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" with a stirring finale of "It's My Life".
In late 2002, Bounce hit stores. Though Bounce did not enjoy quite the
level of success of its predecessor, the album did produce hit singles "Everyday" and the title track. The band went on the U.S. Bounce
Tour for this album, during which they made history as the last band to play Veterans
Stadium in Philadelphia before it was torn down. The band also
released a promotional album through Target, featuring eight demo and live
tracks.
Following the end of the Bounce Tour in August 2003, Bon Jovi embarked on what would become a unique and ambitious project.
Originally intending to produce an album consisting of live acoustic performances, the band ended up rewriting, re-recording and
reinventing 12 of their biggest hits in a new and much different light. This Left
Feels Right was released in November 2003, with the title referring to the "left turn" of sorts that the band took in
redoing the songs heard on this record.
The following year the band released a box set entitled 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong, the title being an homage to
Elvis Presley's 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong. The
set consisted of four CDs packed with 38 unreleased and 12 rare tracks, as well as a DVD. The box
set marked the sales of 100 million Bon Jovi albums and also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the release of the band's first
record in 1984.
In November 2004, Bon Jovi was honored with the Award for Merit at the American Music
Awards, where they performed a sneak preview of an unfinished song, "Have a Nice Day". Bon Jovi also participated in Live 8
on July 2, 2005, where they debuted the full, final version of
"Have a Nice Day", alongside the classics, "Livin' on a Prayer" and "It's My Life". On August
20, 2005, the band headlined Miller Brewing Co.'s Big Brew-Ha, celebrating its 150th
anniversary. The free stadium concert at Miller Park in Milwaukee included one preview song from the band's forthcoming album.
Bon Jovi's long-awaited ninth studio album, Have a Nice Day, was
released in September 2005. The album topped the charts around the world, giving Bon Jovi its career-best first week sales of
over 202,000 albums. "Have A Nice Day" was the first single off the new
album, and debuted at radio worldwide on July 18, 2005. The second
single, "Who Says You Can't Go Home", was released in the U.S. in the spring
of 2006, although internationally it was the third single release after "Welcome to Wherever You Are". In the U.S. a duet version of "Who Says You Can't Go
Home" with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland was released, and in May 2006, Bon Jovi became the first Rock & Roll Band to have a #1
hit on Billboard's Hot Country Chart[citation needed]. On February 11, 2007, Bon Jovi also finally won the elusive Grammy Award, for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" for "Who
Says You Can't Go Home".
Soon after the release of Have A Nice Day, the band started gearing up for the new 2005-2006 worldwide Have A Nice Day Tour. This tour, being shorter than previous ones with only seventy-five shows
originally planned, took the band to numerous stages and arenas throughout the world. During the tour, Bon Jovi performed as the
headlining act at Nascar's Daytona 500 on February 19 2006. Originally it was planned for them to be the first act to
perform at the new Wembley Stadium in London, however, the construction company Multiplex who were behind the stadium's rebuilding project said the completion of the stadium had been delayed
until 2007. The concerts were therefore moved to the Milton Keynes National Bowl and Hull, KC
Stadium with the same performance dates.[8]
Following dates in Japan and Europe, Bon Jovi extended the tour and returned to the US in the
summer of 2006 for a few stadium shows, including 3 sold-out shows in the band's native New Jersey at Giants Stadium. Jon Bon Jovi thanked the crowd for their support
because the group had now sold out Giants Stadium eight times. On February 7,
2006, a promotional album, Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour, was released through
Wal-Mart, which contained six live tracks recorded in December 2005 in Boston. Three of these tracks were released in the U.K. in June 2006 as B-sides on the single
"Who Says You Can't Go Home".
On November 14, 2006, Bon Jovi were inducted into the
UK Music Hall of Fame alongside James Brown and Led Zeppelin, joining music
legends such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones,
U2, Madonna and
Elvis Presley. They will not be eligible for the U.S. equivalent until 2009.
With the end of the Have A Nice Day Tour, Bon Jovi began to throw around ideas
for their next project. Among the potential offerings were going to Nashville to record with country stars (following the success
of "Who Says You Can't Go Home"), a second greatest hits CD, a new studio
album, and even new movies.
In June 2007, Bon Jovi released their new tenth studio album, Lost
Highway. The album debuted at number #1 on the Billboard charts, the first time that Bon Jovi have had a number one
album on the US charts since the release of New Jersey in 1988. Thanks to the
band's new country music fanbase, the album sold 292,000 copies in its first week on sale in the U.S., and became Bon Jovi's
third US number one album. The first single from the new album was "(You Want to)
Make a Memory", which debuted (and peaked) at #27 in the Billboard Hot 100, Bon Jovi's highest ever debut in the U.S.
charts. The album reached Number #1 in Japan, Canada, Australia and Europe, and reached number #2 in the UK.
To promote the new album, Bon Jovi made several television appearances, including the 6th annual CMT Awards in Nashville, American Idol, and MTV
Unplugged, as well as playing at the Live Earth concert at Giants
Stadium[1]. Also to
promote the album, the band performed ten promotional gigs in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Japan, a mini-tour which has
unofficially been called the Lost Highway Tour by fans. As part of the 'tour', Bon
Jovi were the first group to perform at London's new O2 Arena (formerly the Millennium
Dome) when it opened to the public on June 24, 2007. The
23,000-seater stadium sold out within one minute of tickets being released.[9] They also played at Summerfest in Milwaukee on July 5 to a crowd that broke the Marcus Amphitheater attendance record[citation needed].
On June 6, 2007, Richie Sambora checked himself into a
rehabilitation facility[10].
This meant that he was missing for a concert in Puerto Rico as well as several television appearances, with backup guitarist
Bobby Bandiera taking his place. He checked out on June
13, and was present for Bon Jovi's remaining summer concerts.[11]
When questioned on American Idol, Jon Bon Jovi revealed that the band would embark on a
tour beginning in January, after playing ten dates in New Jersey in the fall. According to Richie Sambora this tour will be a greatest hits tour, so it will not be in direct support of Lost
Highway. The Jersey dates will be to open the new Prudential Center in Newark, and
will feature guest support acts My Chemical Romance, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Daughtry, and The All-American Rejects. Each support
act will play two of the ten dates, which take place between October 25 and November 10 2007.
Band members
Current members
with
- Bobby Bandiera - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2003-present)
- Jeff Kazee - keyboards, backing vocals (2003-present)
- Hugh McDonald - bass, backing vocals (1994-present)
Former members
Discography
-
Tours
Awards
References
- ^
