The artistic career of Jon Bon Jovi and his band is not
a subject of great interest for the journalists and musical
critics. But one thing is for sure - the artist's name,
which later became the band's name as well, is a synonym for
the word "success".
And that's how it began: two young students - David
Rushbaum and Jon Bon Jovi - from a small town
Sayreville (New Jersey), organized a rock-band, which was
influenced by the soul-music and such artists as Diana Ross,
Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson. Ater the school was over,
Rushbaum left the band to become a student of a prestige
Juliards's musical school while Jon Bon Jovi went to New-York.
There he was able to work in a studio owned by one of his
relatives.
The very first demo single "Runaway" (appeared in 1982),
much to Jon's surprise, was very successful and got aired on a
local radio. The next year the band called Bon Jovi was
formed. The same year the new band signed a contract with
Mercury/Polygram Records.
The first LP-album "Bon Jovi"
was released in 1984 and certainly "Runaway" was the
first song on it. The album quickly became popular, and the band
began with their tours. In 1985 the next album - "7800 Fahrenheit" became a gold
record.
"Slippery When Wet" - band's
third album - appeared in 1986. During some months more than 6
million copies were sold, and for 2 more years the album was
present in many countries' charts. Four songs from this
record ("You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer",
"Wanted Dead or Alive", "Never Say Good Buy") were included
in the band's "Greatest Hits" album ("Crossroad",
1994).
After 2 years of silence, Bon Jovi awarded their fans for
the patience, releasing their next super-project - "New Jersey". Three songs from this
album ("Lay Your Hands on Me", "Bad Medecine", "I'll Be There
for You") appeared in the "Crossroad" album.
In 1990 Bon Jovi tried themselves as the soundtrack
makers. The new band's album "Blaze of
Glory" was a soundtrack for the "Young Guns II" movie.
The album became popular, and the title-song "Blaze of Glory" was another
super-hit.
The album "Keep the Faith"
released in 1992 became double-platinum and was sold 8 million
worldwide. Another three songs ("In These Arms", "Keep the
Faith", "Bed of Roses") were taken by the band for the
"Crossroad" super-album,
which appeared in 1994 and contained 15 tracks: 13 good old
songs from previous 6 albums and two new ones - "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night"
. 12 million copies of the album were sold worldwide.
But that wasn't all. The next year the prolific guys issued
their 8th album - "These Days", including a
super-hit of 1995 - "This Ain't a
Love Song".
This is the last paragraph for now. The band got their vacation,
which they needed already for a long time. The last thing that
appeared in 1997 is the Jon Bon Jovi's solo-album
"Destination Anywhere", but that's already an absolutely
another story.
Bon Jovi - Runaway
7800 Fahrenheit - In and Out of Love
Slippery When Wet - You Give Love a Bad Name
New Jersey - Born to Be My Baby
Blaze of Glory - Santa Fe
Keep the Faith - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Crossroad - Livin' on a Prayer
These Days - If That's What It Takes