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Bon Jovi

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Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi is a rock band originating from New Jersey. Fronted by lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi, the group originally achieved large-scale success in the 1980s as a hair band.

Bon Jovi has sold more than 35 million albums in the United States, and over 120 million albums worldwide, and has played live concerts in major cities in Asia, Europe, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and South America, in addition to a large number of cities in the U.S.

Bon Jovi have released nine studio albums, 2 best of albums and a live album. Bon Jovi's biggest selling album is Slippery When Wet. The band has had seven number one albums on the European charts, six number ones on the World Charts, two number one albums in the USA and five number one albums in the UK. As well as many number one albums throughout Australia, Japan, Canada and Germany. Bon Jovi has had many smash hits around the world including "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", "Have a Nice Day" and "Who Says You Can't Go Home".

History

Formation

Jon Bon Jovi began to play piano and guitar at thirteen, taking lessons from his neighbor, Al Perinello. At that same age, Bon Jovi founded his first band, called Raze. Jon enrolled in an all-boys Catholic school St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey but left after pleading his case to his parents; 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 founded a 12-piece cover band with him named Atlantic City Expressway. They played at New Jersey clubs, even though they were minors. Still in his teens, Bon Jovi played in the band Jon Bongiovi and the Wild Ones, playing New Jersey 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, one of his jobs being in a shoestore, Jon took a job at the Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility where his cousin, Tony Bon Jovi, was the co-owner. Bon Jovi 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" (which was written in 1980). The studio musicians who helped record "Runaway" were known as "The All Star Review." They were:

The song began to get airplay in the New York metro area, and then other sister stations in major markets began to play the song. Suddenly, all the record label A&R execs who had passed on the demo they had heard were scrambling to find out who this unsigned artist was. WAPP was doing showcases -- 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 of 1983. Bon Jovi gave David Bryan a call, who in turn called bassist Alec John Such and experienced drummer Tico Torres.

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 guitarist. Bon Jovi wrote him off and didn't think much of it but told him to learn the material and show up for rehearsal. Sambora was early and 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 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.

Tico Torres was also an experienced musician, having recorded with Miles Davis and playing live with Phantom's Opera, The Marvelettes, and Chuck Berry. He had played on 26 records and had recently recorded with Frankie and the Knockouts (a Jersey band with hit singles in the early 1980s).

David Bryan was a natural recruit. He had quit the band he and Bon jovi founded and went to college for pre-med studies. While in college, he realized he wanted to pursue music full-time, eventually being accepted to the legendary 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.

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

Atlantic and Mercury came calling. Once Bongiovi had put together his band and 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. John Bongiovi then de-ethnicized his last name, changing the gi in Bongiovi to a j to make it Bon Jovi, and then removed the h in his first name to make it Jon. He re-emerged as Jon Bon Jovi.

File:BonJoviSlipperyWhenWetalbumcover.jpg
Slippery When Wet

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 American Bandstand.

In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album 7800° Fahrenheit was released, but the response was poor. 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 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 on this and future albums the band shot to superstardom around the world with songs such as "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 under command of Tipper Gore, wife of former Vice President of the United States 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. On the tour that followed, singer Bon Jovi 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.

New Jersey

The next album from Bon Jovi was New Jersey released in 1988. 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 a fan favorite, a pop-rock masterpiece, and a mammoth commercial success, with hit songs such as "Bad Medicine", "Lay Your Hands On Me" and "I'll Be There For You", which are still nightly stalwarts 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. "Blood on Blood" was also popular among fans. 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 "The Jersey Syndicate Tour". In 1989, the band headlined the Moscow Music Peace Festival. 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 almost destroyed the strong bond between Jon Bon Jovi and Sambora. As mentioned in Behind the Music, the band members note that at the end of the tour, each band member went their separate 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 17 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 Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie "Young Guns II" (in which he also appeared for less than a second), more commonly known as "Blaze of Glory". The album featured high profile guests such as: Elton John, Aldo Nova, Little Richard, and Jeff Beck, among others. The album fared well commercialy and received very positive reviews[citation needed]. The title track, "Blaze of Glory", earned Jon an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but he did not win the award. That same year, however, "Blaze of Glory" was awarded a Golden Globe.

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 a performance by Eric Clapton on the song "Mr. Bluesman". David Bryan also 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.

File:Bon Jovi Keep The Faith.jpg
Keep the Faith

The band returned with the album Keep the Faith in 1992. The album featured a more mature sound and lyrical content than any of their previous efforts. Their fans were pleasantly surprised and the album became a moderate hit amidst the rise of grunge. Its most recognizable tunes were the hit singles "Bed of Roses", "Keep the Faith" and "In These Arms", but some other songs on the album were released as singles in other parts of the world, mainly the fan favorite epic, "Dry County" the hooky "I Believe", and the crowd favorite "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

In 1994, Bon Jovi released a "greatest hits" album entitled Cross Road, which also contained 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 US version. The diction of 'prayer' in the new version was altered due to a mixing error, and is heard as 'rayer. The song "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 Keri Russell, popular American actress known for her role in the TV show Felicity and actor Jack Noseworthy, best known for his role in the 2000 film U-571. The song peaked at #4 on the US charts and at #1 in countries across Europe, Asia and in Australia.

That same year, bassist Alec John Such left the band, causing the first and only lineup change since Bon Jovi began. Hugh McDonald, who was the bassist on Runaway, unofficially replaced Such as bassist. Although, to this day, there is still speculation on if Alec was fired or left on his own accord. Jon has claimed that due to being intoxicated on stage, too many mistakes were being made by the bass player. Mistakes could be covered up whilst in the studio, but were harder to cover live on stage. 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 him and other band members recently. Alec 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 he recorded bass on previous albums. Bon Jovi 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."


File:Bon Jovi These Days.jpg
These Days

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 than the usual Bon Jovi fare, with some songs showing R&B influences. As a result, despite critical kudos[citation needed], it spun off only one hit single in the US, "This Ain't A Love Song" and it sold "only" a little over a million records. Nevertheless, the other tracks proved sufficiently popular to garner various successful European singles. In 1996, Bon Jovi claimed in an interview with the German Bravo magazine that, due to the overwhelming success of the These Days Tour, the album had sold in excess of 20 million copies worldwide.

It was on the These Days Tour, that Bon Jovi played at Wembley Stadium in 1995 on a sell-out three night running concert. It is widely considered to be their best rock concert, featuring such hits as "Livin' On A Prayer", "Keep the Faith", "Bad Medicine", an excellent, heart-felt rendition of "Always", and showcasing new songs from These Days. It is particularly memorable because it is the same weekend that the album got to #1 in the UK charts. This tour date can be viewed on video, and has been re-issued on DVD, both titled Live From London. Jon Bon Jovi makes note of this achievement in the video, thanking their fans saying "It was just announced today that These Days kicked Michael Jackson off the top of the charts." Jon also says in the video that the concerts in London in 1995 were not only some of the best days of their careers, but quite possibly the best days of their lives.

By 1996, Bon Jovi had established themselves as a "force" in the music industry, proving much more durable (and successful) 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, Homegrown and U-571, and 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 very 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". However, most fans will agree that "Destination Anywhere" was a departure from the signature Bon Jovi brand of rock music. 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 producing 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 due to a recent hand injury sustained in a home improvement mishap, so the band used a cardboard cutout of him for the shoot.

2000s

Crush

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 Bon Jovi 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 ever at the venue before it was demolished.

Shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001, the band performed as part of the historic star-studded The Concert for New York City benefit concert 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".

Bounce

In late 2002, Bounce, the band's follow-up to Crush, hit stores. Though Bounce did not enjoy quite the level of success of its predecessor, the album did produce the hit singles, "Everyday" and "Misunderstood". The band went on a U.S. 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. The album featured eight demo and live tracks.

Following the Bounce Tour, which wrapped up 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 of various songs, 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 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 participated in Live 8 on July 2, 2005. The full, final version of "Have a Nice Day" was debuted at the event, alongside the classics, "Livin' on a Prayer" and "It's My Life".

On August 20th, 2005, Bon Jovi 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.

In September 2005, Bon Jovi was honored with the Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for selling 100 million albums. To date, they have sold 120 million albums (excluding singles) worldwide.

File:Bon Jovi Have a Nice Day.jpg
Have a Nice Day

Bon Jovi's long-awaited new album, Have a Nice Day, was released on September 20th, 2005 (U.S.), followed by an international tour which kicked off in early November. The album topped the charts around the world, landing on the number two spot on Billboards the first week of sales. Bon Jovi had a career-best first week, selling 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", has since debuted as well, including a duet version with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland. In May of 2006, Bon Jovi made history by becoming the first Rock & Roll Band to have a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Chart. The third single in the album is entitled "Welcome to Wherever You Are".

Soon after the release of Have A Nice Day, the band started gearing up for a new 2005/2006-world tour. This tour, being shorter than previous ones with only seventy-five shows planned - brings the band to numerous stages and arenas throughout the world. Originally it was planned for them to be the first act to perform at the new Wembley Stadium, however, the construction company Multiplex who are behind the stadium's rebuilding project have said that the stadium will not be ready until 2007. The concert was therefore moved to the Milton Keynes National Bowl with the same performance dates. 1 2 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 shows in the band's native New Jersey at Giants Stadium as well as in Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.

On January 21, 2006, in Hamilton, Ontario, Bon Jovi's plane overshot and skidded off the runway after a show in Buffalo; the band members were unharmed.

On February 7, 2006, a promotional album, Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour, was released through Wal-Mart. It contains six live tracks recorded in December 2005 in Boston.

On February 19, 2006, Bon Jovi performed as the headlining act prior to Nascar's Daytona 500. The band performed "It's My Life" and their two new singles "Have a Nice Day" and "Who Says You Can't Go Home", the latter with Jennifer Nettles. The country version of this song would hit #1 on the Country Billboard Charts on May 6, 2006.

On May 13, 2006, Bon Jovi kicked off their European leg of the "Have A Nice Day" tour in Dusseldorf, Germany. During the encore, they played the 10 minute epic "Dry County", from 1992's Keep The Faith, for the first time in ten years, to the delight of their fans.

On July 29, 2006, the band played their final show of their Have A Nice Day Tour to a sold out crowd of 55,000 at Giants Stadium. Jon Bon Jovi thanked the crowd for their support because it was the 8th time the group had sold out Giants Stadium.

On September 7, 2006, Bon Jovi, along with other top recording artists, participated in Fashion Rocks. The red carpet event, held at Radio City Music Hall, kicked off New York's Fashion Week. The concert, curated by Elton John, raised money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Bon Jovi began with an acoustic rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer," then jumped into a spectacular full electric performance of their latest single "Who Says You Can't Go Home."

With the end of the Have A Nice Day Tour, Bon Jovi have begun to throw around ideas for their next project. Among the potential offerings are 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.

Also on September 20, 2006, a Hurricane Katrina-based episode of Oprah was broadcast. At the end of the program, Bon Jovi performed "Who Says You Can't Go Home" to suit the Hurricane Katrina theme.

On October 13, 2006, it was announced that Bon Jovi were to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, joining music legends such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna and Elvis Presley. At the awards ceremony on November 14, 2006, Bon Jovi performed acoustic versions of "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive", along with "It's My Life".

In the 11-17 November 2006 issue of Radio Times, Jon Bon Jovi revealed that the band were back in the studio working on a new album, and will be touring again. In a more recent fanclub event, Jon Bon Jovi revealed that the new album has the working title "Lost Highways," containing a song of the same name. It is rumored to be finished in December, and released sometime in April.

On Saturday the 18th of November Bon Jovi appeared on T4 in the UK. Jon confirmed that the album would be finished by Christmas.

In December, it was announced that Bon Jovi would be nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "Who Says You Can't Go Home."

Discography

Main article: Bon Jovi discography

Tours

  • Slippery When Wet Tour
  • New Jersey Tour
  • Keep the Faith Tour
  • These Days Tour
  • Crush Tour
  • One Wild Night Tour
  • Bounce Tour
  • Have A Nice Day Tour

Awards

Jon Bon Jovi

  • 1990: Golden Globe: Best Song, "Blaze of Glory" (from Young Guns II soundtrack)
  • 1991: American Music Award: Favorite Pop/Rock Single, "Blaze of Glory"
  • 1997: MTV Europe Music Awards: Best Male
  • 1998: Brit Awards: Best International Male
  • 2001: Humanitarian of the Year by The Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties for his charitable work on behalf of the people of New Jersey
  • 2001: Honorary Doctorate in Humanities degree from Monmouth University in New Jersey, for his success as an entertainer and his humanitarian work
  • 2006: HELP USA honors Jon for his philanthropic work with Habitat for Humanity
  • 2006: Becomes first ambassador to Habitat for Humanity

Bon Jovi - the band

See also

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