80's Music Junkies: Bon Jovi - Essential 80s Rock

Bon Jovi is a Hard 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.

Jon Bon Jovi began to play piano and guitar at thirteen, taking lessons from his neighbour, 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 John 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 shoe store, Jon took a job at the Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility where his cousin, Tony Bongiovi(the authentic spelling), was the 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 home-grown 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:

Dave Sabo (guitar)
Tim Pierce (guitar)
Roy Bittan (keyboards)
Frankie LaRocka (drums)
Hugh McDonald (bass)

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 line-up 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 neighbour, 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 Franke 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 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 line-up, 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)

Slippery When Wet is the third studio album by Bon Jovi released on August 18, 1986 (see 1986 in music). It is the band's most commercially successful album, selling over 12 million copies in the U.S. Today it stands as one of the six best selling hard rock albums ever, and spawned two #1 singles, "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer". The third single "Wanted Dead or Alive" was a Top 10 hit, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The fourth single, "Never Say Goodbye", the album's signature ballad, reached #28 on the strength of airplay alone. Slippery When Wet stayed at #1 for 15 weeks, the record for a hard rock album on the Billboard 200. The album is the band's biggest selling album in the USA and the world. The album has sold over 27 million albums worldwide.

New Jersey was an immediate success, debuting at #1 in the United States and across the world. It shipped 2 million copies straight out of the gates in the U.S. alone. Additionally, it spawned two #1 singles, "Bad Medicine" and the ballad "I'll Be There For You", both of which ran in excess of five minutes, showing how powerful a force Bon Jovi became in the music industry. The album's three other singles ("Born to Be My Baby", "Lay Your Hands On Me", and "Living in Sin") reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. In addition to their success in the states, the band's singles all made a significant impact worldwide, more so than in the past, a trend which would continue for Bon Jovi well into the 21st Century.

New Jersey holds the record for the rock album to spawn the most Top 10 singles, with five singles charting on the Top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. No other hard rock album has since equalled or broken this feat.

"New Jersey" in charts: No.1 in CNN Worldbeat, Europe, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Brazil, Mexico. No.2 in Japan. RIAA: 7x platinum BPI: 2x platinum CRIA: 5x platinum

"Bad Medicine" was featured in the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, in the scene where Jay (Jason Mewes) first sees Justice (Shannon Elizabeth) and fantasizes about her.

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