Info. And History
Jon Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jovi's real name is John Frank Bongiovi. He was born on 2 March 1962 in Sayreville, New Jersey, born as the son of a hairdresser (!) and a Playboy bunny (!!). Nowadays Jo(h)n is, from is fashionable boots up to his nicely styled hair, about 1 meter and 78 centimeters tall. The color of his eyes always stayed the same: blue. Our main character was never afraid to take the initiative. As a young boy he held a job at the record studio of his cousin Tony Bongiovi, but in between washing and mopping he had the oppurtunity to make some recordings. One of those songs, the happy sing-along tune "Runaway" (with a borrowed intro from Billy Joel -'All for Leyna' -, that should be mentioned too some time) found it's way to a collection album filled with local Rock and turned out to be the most requested songs on the local radio stations in no time. The above mentioned situation resulted in the contract offer of the Mercury record company to the curly head entrepreneur. With a band that he arranged himself, consisting of David Bryan (a highschool buddy that was born on 7 February 1962 as David Rashbaum), guitarist Richie Sambora (11 July 1959), bassist Alec John Such (14 November 1956) and drummer Tico Torres (7 October 1953), they made the debut album "Bon Jovi" in 1984. A record filled with easy listening powerpop with the emphasis on easy sing-along choruses, with a nice guitar solo every now and then ("Roulette"). Extra contributions came from star-guitarist Aldo Nova en the -later to be- Rainbow drummer Chuck Burgi. And in no-time the band was opening for Kiss in Europe. Four years earlier the same thing happened to Iron Maiden and we all know how that band did after that. World-fame couldn't get away from Bon Jovi anymore! Tracklist:'Runaway / Roulette / She don't know me / Shot through the heart / Love Lies / Breakout / Burning for love / Come back / Get Ready'. The first band that Jon was ever part of had the beautiful name Atlantic City Expressway. Supposedly the 17 year old singer/gitarist was practically playing in the doorway of the emergency exit during his debut performance at the loca Stone Pmy Club. This because he was only 17 at the time while the minumum age was 18 for the club the A.C.E played at. In case of a police-check Jon would be out the back door in no-time! In his school school days Jon Bongiovi hang out day and night with his big buddy, Dave Sabo, a guy with the exact same interests. The two made an agreement for live: if one of the two would ever reach the top as a musician, then he'd do everything to get the other one there too. And they kept their word. Jon reached the top first, but didn't feel to big to come down again and take his friend by the hand and guide him to success. Sabo's band was put under the management of the Bon Jovi's and played together with them on stage. Now, many years later, Dave Sabo's band turned out to be a world-act too. The name of the band? Skid Row! The logo on the inner record cover of the debut album was designed by Jon's four year younger brother Anthony Michael Bongiovi. We haven't seen that logo again after that. At one point in time Jon auditioned for the movie "Footloose". Not him , but the well-known actor Kevin Bacon got the part. Jon didn't make his movie debut until 1991 in the western 'Young Guns II'. The performance isn't overly impressive; within several minutes he gets killed. Jon's favorite drink is called 'Muff Dive' which is a mix of Vodka, peach brandy and 'vossebessensap'. <<<*Note from Erik: this is the first time I don't know the translation for a word in one of the facts. Vossebessensap is some sort of berry juice. Litteraly translated it's fox-berry-juicy. I have have never heard of it in Dutch nor can I think of anything in English that might be it. Last time I checked berry's don't grow on foxes so that's unliklely to be the translation :-) *>>> When Jon started to make milions he made a remarkable decision: he bought four houses at once! One for himself and his newly wed wife Dorothea and one for his parents, while brothers Anthony and Mat both got an apartment. "We are Americans of Italian descent", Bongiovi said, "so our family ties are very strong. That's why I wanted to share my success with the ones I care for". Jon, even more serious: "If there is something we have in common within the band it's our believe in God. I went to catholic school myself and that influenced me tremendously. Well, it doesn't hurt to believe in something." About a man with the status of Jon Bon Jovi of course the wildest rumors are going around. When the, used-to-be-long-hair, singer showed up with a shorter haircut one day, the pulp press (so not us!) saw a wonderful opportunity to make up a story. They wrote that Jon burned his hair at a Bruce Springsteen bbq party! "Complete nonsense!" Jon Said. "I just wanted something different." Those who want to see Jon Bon Jovi from up close - and who doesn't, girls? should go to the Piccadilly circus in the center of London. But don't lean on him with a cigarette becaus he will melt. The artist in the Rock circus are made out of wax. Jon is not only active as singer, guitar player, model and actor he also seems do be doing well being a producer. When Bon Jovi quit playing for a while (after the exhausting New Jersey tour) Jon lead the recording of 'Blood on the bricks', an album of friend and guitarist Aldo Nova. On this side of the ocean we mainly know him from his tight panther suits and the controversial words "Ritchie Blackmore is a bad guitar player." Jon Bon Jovi is a good human being. Not all the songs that he writes he keeps for himself. 'Sometimes it's a bitch' (appropriate?) went to Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks, while the duo Hall & Oates were made happy with the song 'So Close'. Jon purposely didn't work with Richie on 'Stranger in this town', Richie Sambora's solo record . And that while the other band members did show up in the studio. Jon: "I purposely didn't work with Richie, because it would wind up sounding like a Bon Jovi record anyhow, this time with Richie's voice. I felt it had to be his record. He also needed to feel what it is like to work on a record alone. And because of it, he's a lot more self-confident now." Bon Jovi likes being in Holland. Jon tells us why. "In Holland at least they treat you like a normal human being. Of course, as a rockband you sometimes feel the need for screaming fans outside your hotel door, but it's also nice to just talk to someone. And in Holland we can do that." Little joke from Jon. "Still bus loads of people arrive to my house. I always tell to go a little further down the road, to Bruce Springsteen, but they keep coming..." Recently Jon did a photo session for the cover of a Japanse guitar magazine. "Strange", he thought, "because I'm certainly not the world's best guitar player. But Tico told me: 'It doesn't matter that you only know three chords. As longs as you compose hit singles that sell millions, there is nothing wrong withyou'." The secret of Bon Jovi's success? Jon: "I wish I knew, then I would have sold the formula and I wouldn't have to work as hard anymore. May be it's a matter of keep on going. You either love us or you don't, but we will keep on going until the people that originally didn't like us will change their opinion about us." As a really generous gesture Jon decided to put the house he grew up in for an MTV competition. "To make one of my fans happy", was the motivation. He was really angry when he found out the winner immediately put the house up for sale. "What's going to be the kids name?" was the most heard question that Jon had to listen to when his wife was pregnant. At one point he was so sick of it that he said:"No matter if it's going to be a boy or a girl, we will call it little Elvis!". Mid '93 the baby was born and was named Stephanie Rose Bongiovi. For a while now, Jon has been married to his highschool sweetheart Dorothea Hurley. The secret to their marriage? Jon reveals a small part of the secret: "Dorothea is not really bothered when I go of the sly sometimes, that's just part of the Rock&Roll life." The guitar player that Jon admires most is... Richie Sambora. "He's a guitar miracle, Bon Jovi couldn't do without him. He gets amazing sounds out of his instrument, it almost seems like he uses twenty fingers. Jon has a secret passion that he gives in to almost every day. Sadomasochism? Cocaine? Animal sex? No, the singer/guitarist loves cartoons! We hear from reliable sources that his favorite paper hero is Uncle Scrooge. Probably because he can best identigy himself with this rich duck.. Jon Bon Jovi and the pecunia. "Money is not important in my life. As a kid I never had money. The first years that I made music, I didn't make anything either. What kept me going was pride: I played my own songs. The firsts two records didn't bring in any money either. That started with the third record. And then all of a sudden I had so much, that again it wasn't important anymore. Jon doesn't collect stamps, Jon collects cars. "I have a Ferrari, a Camero, two Corvettes a couple Jeeps, a Mustang Shelby and a unique Lincoln Premier from 1957." "I was never a big heavy metal fan," Jon says now. "We got that label because, at one point in time, we opened for Kiss and the Scorpions. No, we make pop music. Just like Alice Cooper." For Jon Bon Jovi Aerosmith, a band that he knows from the times that he cleaned the studio of his cousin, still stands on a pedestal. "I would love it if I could be half as long half as cool." Jon, self-confident: "As soon as I'm afraid of the bands that open for us I don't deserve to be a star anymore". Jon, even more self-confident: "There a lot of panties thrown on stage during our shows. But trust me: panties are better than bottles!" "The philosophy of this band," according to Jon, "has always been: staying down to earth." Which is strange since Jon made a habit out of it for years to float above the audience on a cable during concerts. Jon, down to earth: "I know I will never be recognized as an important figure in Rock music. I always stayed to normal for that." Jon: "I like being in Amsterdam, even though the hookers are getting uglier." Sometimes you hear these things that make you tired, very very tired. Look at Jon Bon Jovi, a relatively good looking guy. He is jealous of the sexual attraction that his pal Richie Sambora has. Jon: "Richie's sexlife is on the border of the unreal. He's the Warren Beaty of Rock. In a next life I want to come back as Richie." Jon passionately hates the former Go Go's singer Belinda Carlisle. "That bitch just copied our song 'Livin' on a prayer and turned it in to a overly sweet, nagging song: 'Heaven is a place on earth'. When I tried to point that out to her one day, the bitch just laughed at me". Jon, reflecting his thoughts: "The moment you sign a record contract you're in debt. You sign an IOU that takes you years to pay back." Richie Sambora Amazing but true: when he was a kid Richie Sambora tried to play piano, saxophone and trumpet. Inspired by people like Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, he decided to pick up a guitar when he was fourteen. A good choice! True words from Richie Sambora: "A professional musican must be able to listen which many people forget. In a band you have to able to see that others sometimes also have good ideas. You can't play well yourself until the others do too so discussing things properly is absolutely necessary". Stage animal Richie Sambora: "Life is fun, a lot of fun if you'd see our bank accounts. But still it's al about one thing: playing. Of the 24 hours, 22 are in service of the two hours on the stage. If you have the flu, having a fight with your wife or just so your dog being run over by a truck: the second you walk forward and the kids start screaming, you forget everything and you become Superman. No dope or pussy can compete with that. It's the ultimate thing." As good Rock&Rollers are supposed to you will almost always find the Bon Jovi's with dark sunglasses on. Richie even claims to own between 25 to 30 pairs. We don't know if he was speaking the truth though. When he told us we couldn't look in the eyes, those were hidden behind.....yep!. Again: the secret of Bon Jovi's success? Richie: "Our power is that we write very visual songs. Who listens to the compositions, feels part of it. That's David's influence, that's why he's so good in composing film music. When Richie Sambora doesn't have a guitar in his hands, his fingers are on the graceful body of his wife Heather Locklear, the gorgeous blonde from 'Dynasty' and 'Melrose place'. Sambora took her over from Motley Crue drummer Tommy 'T-Bone' Lee, who after that played doctor with Bobbie Brown (the ex of Warrant singer Jani Lane) and even bigger brested Pamela Anderson. Mrs. Locklear Sambora is now benefitting from the love lessons that Richie took from (s)expert Cher, not too long ago. When Richie passes aways he would like to be burried with his guitar. David Bryan Another shocking thing: David Bryan did so well in school that he was heading to be a medical student right after getting his highschool diploma. He folks liked the idea of him becoming a doctor. His pal Jon convinced him that his parents were wrong and put a keyboard in David's hands. And David Bryan is a Rock & Roll doctor. A advantage to that is that you don't have to ask a keyboard everytime: "Does it hurt when I press here". "I never would want to live in a city like Los Angeles", David Bryan admits. "It like you're constantly touring over there.You can never be yourself, you always have to play the famous rockstar. In New Jersey the people are much more down to earth." Unfortunately for the keyboard player that a Bon Jovi member is hardly home.... "Thank god we're not ugly!" David Bryan said to the reporter of the American magazine Circus. A remarkable thing to say, because Bryan certainly isn't the biggest heart breaker of the band. Before it was even worse; in his early years he wore glasses with an extremely heave frame that shows resemblance with sleepers. Tico Torres Tico 'The Hitman' Torres had second thoughts in the beginning about forming a band around the young Jon Bon Jovi. "The guy was only 21 and hadn't really done anything. I had already jammed with Miles Davis, for example. And I had supported Chuck Berry. Before we started Bon Jovi I had already worked on 26 records! But the things Jon did on stage, and especially the response of the girls, pulled me over the line. That young god that was just waving to the chicks with his but, had something. I decided to join the band. For two hundred dollars a week". The moments that Tico Torres leaves his drums alone, he's with Eva Herzigova, an incredible beautiful model from the former Czechoslovakia. Eva was the woman that the makers of the so-called Wonderbra used to promote their product. The wonderbra, the best invention since the Microwave oven, is a bra for women that gravity had it's play on. By creating a upward force in the bra.....anyway, let us not forget this is a music magazine! 'Wanted: dead or alive' is Tico Torres's favorite Bon Jovi song. "That song perfectly describes the true story to the band. I can't listen to the songs of the early days any more though, I guess that's something that every Musician has though." Not only as a drummer Tico Torres flies high. He also has an official Pilot's licence. Alec John Such Alec John Such, who played the four string guitar for Bon Jovi from start until last year, collects antique guns for a hobby. He is so proud of his colllection that at one point in time he took one of his guns to a concert. He was stopped by the authorities and it took him hours to explain that he didn't mean any harm. Jon And Alec Jon regarding the leaving of Alec John 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. 7800 Fahrenheit In 1985, when synthi-pop was really popular, Bon Jovi's second album was introduced. The title was '7800 Fahrenheit', but the response on it was mellow. The leading British metal magazine Kerrang!, that was positive about the debut record earlier, said 'a pale imitation of the Bon Jovi we have got to know and learnt to love'. Also Jon himself later said it could and should have been a better disc. We do find a little highlight on the cover; on it John Bongiovi Senior is thanked for....the hair styling! By the way: 7800 degrees fahrenheit is the melting point of 'rock'. Tracklist: 'In and out of love / Price of love / Only lonely / King of the mountain / Silent night / Tokyo road / Hardest part is the night / Always Run to you / To the fire / Secret dreams'. Although the success for Bon Jovi came really quick, the mega-success took a little longer. Because in 1985, shortly after the release of '7800 Fahrenheit', Jon and Co. opened for, eh, Ratt. Slippery When Wet "Slippery when wet" is a warning that you see at the side of swimming pools in America, but that is not where Jon and his buddies got their inspiration from when their new album needed a title. David: "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. "Slipper when wet!" one of us yelled out and the rest of use immediately knew: that had to be the title of the new album! Originally we were going to put a picture of some huge brests, the really big ones, on the cover; but when the PRMC (a moral board under command of Tipper Gore, the wife of the current vice-president of the United States, ed.) found out we were in big trouble. So we made it into a very descent cover." When they recorded the first versions of 'Slippery when wet', they went over to the nearest Pizza Hut to 'recruit' some kids to listen to the music, see what they thought. Jon: "We wanted to hear what they thought of it, being representative for the record-buying public". The ruling British metal magazine Kerrang! described the music on 'Slippery' back then as 'perfect adult oriented rock for the late eighties'. See, that's a lot better than the 'teenybopper band' label! "Slippery when wet" made it to the first slot on the American album charts. World wide they sold about 8 milion copies. But we're not completely sure since we haven't counted the sales slips of the Free Record Shop of this pas month. Because of they amazing amount of sales of 'Slippery when wet' the respected paper The Times was talking about 'the Beatles of th eighties'. To promote 'Slippery when wet' our new superstars did a monster tour of 130 shows! They picked the correct name for the tour: 'Tour Without End'. The superstar status, that the band earned after "Slippery", was confirmed in the summer of 1987 when the band after Cinderella, W.A.S.P., Anthrax, Metallica en Dio climbed the stage as the main act at the 'Monsters of Rock' festival in Donington, England. The party started with a smile but ended with angry, unhappy faces. In his enthusiasm Jon went up to Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield (Metallica) back stage with the words: "Let's jam together, we'll do 'We're an American Band' from Grand Funk Railroad." But instead of a friendly answer the New Jersey cowboy got yelled at. Later he found out why. To enjoy the view of some many metalheads the Bon Jovi's had circled above the stadium for minutes in helicopters. Metallica, the band that was playing at the time, didn't really appreciate the constant noise, to say the least. After the 'Tour without end' was over the wallets were filled and the heads empty. Physically and mentally exhausted the rockers went to bed. At the same time Bon Jovi manager Doc McGhee was arrested for possesing an amount of drugs that were definately not for personal use (to be exact: twenty thousand kilo pot). So that was for dealing, which is still illegal. The unfortunate business man was sentenced to five years of prison but got out by setting up the 'Make a difference foundation', a fund that would help out with alcohol- and drug abuse. One of the first initiatives of the MADF was organizing the Moscow Music Peace Festival, an enormous heavy metal party in the 'Lenin stadium' in the Russian capital. Other than headliner Bon Jovi they had acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, Skid Row, Cinderella, Scorpions and eh, eh, Gorky Park. New Jersey Jon, sincere: "The fact that the press keeps writing about our relationship with Bruce Springsteen is pretty much our own fault. We never should have called one of our albums 'New Jersey'." If someone doesn't agree they can write to the editorial office of Free Magazine, but according to us the song 'Lay your hands on me' of the 'New Jersey album' has the longest intro in rock history. 1990-1992 Between 1990 and 1992 all the band members did their own thing. Jon used that time to play a part in the movie 'Young guns II'. He is in it for 16 seconds!. Jon also made the soundtrack for the movie which he was helped with by Elton John, Aldo Nova and Jeff Beck among others. In the above mentioned period Richie worked on his emotional solo-album 'Stranger in this town', that hit the record strores in '91. David made the music for the science fiction movie 'The Netherworld', but also got really ill. A parasite from South America caused David to have to go to the hospital. Tico was so stressed out he couldn't hear another note of music. And Alec fell of his motor bike "Just like that, right in front of my door." Because of that accident he damaged a crucial muscle, which forced him to develop a whole new way to hold his instrument. But he did have plenty of time for that..... Keep The Faith In 1992 Bon Jovi, the band that had been written off by many people, suprised everyone with the fantastic new album (the fifth one) "Keep the faith". The record, with the striking cover photography of 'our' Anton Corbijn, can certainly be called the artistic highlight of the band. From the epic, long and nice guitarwork 'Dry County', the happy up-tempo rockers 'I'll sleep when I'm dead' and 'In these arms' to the hearttrending ballad 'Bed of roses': here we hear a close group of talented musicians that should be takes seriously by everyone. In any case the critics from Kerrang! were really enthusiastic and called the the record 'perhaps the ulitmate mainstream American rock record'. Tracklist: 'I believe / Keep the faith / I'll sleep when I'm dead / In these arms / Bed of roses / If I was your mother / Dry County / Woman in Love / Fear / I want you / Blame it on the love of Rock&Roll / Little bit of soul / Save a prayer'. The European part of the "Keep the faith" tour was sponsered by Coca-Cola. Everyone did benifit from that, the fans too. Jon, at the time: "Because of that financial support we were able to fly over the complete American production. We are on the road with seventy people and ten trucks and the costs for that are unbelieveable. Usually you could still make some money by making the tickets more expensive but in these times of economic recession we really don't want to do that. 'Keep the faith' made it to the third place in the album division of the Dutch Top 40. The record was on the list for over a year. 'Slippery when wet' made it to the second spot but 'only' lasted 30 weeks. 'New Jersey' didn't make it higher than number 17 and was out of sight after 21 weeks. CrossRoad For the junior-fans of Bon Jovi recently the fine greatest hits album 'Crossroad' came out, again with Anton Corbijn's cover photography. Who looks at the cover, will notice that Alec John Such sits seperate from the rest of the band, like he's putting he's letter of resignation in an enveloppe. Shortly after the album came out the news came that the bassist had left the band. The first change in the members of the band. For now Such's is being replaced by Hugh McDonald, a man that also helped with the first record in 1984. If he can call himself a full band member now, we don't know yet. Tracklist: "Livin' on a prayer / Keep the faith / Someday I'll be saturday night / Always / Wanted: Dead or alive / Lay your hands on me / You give love a bad name / Bed of roses / Blaze of glory / In these arms / Bad medicine / I'll be there for you / In&out of love / Runaway / Never say goodbye'. Misc Facts Readers of the British magazine Kerrang! were able to choose the the warm-up band for the Bon Jovi concert on 27 june. The chose the formation Skin. So far there are six buy-video's for sale, which are: Breakout, Slippery when wet, Access all areas, New Jersey-The videos, Keep the faith: An evening with Bon Jovi and Cross Road. Record company Polygram had a really good year in 1994. World wide they made approx $476 million profit selling CD's. In comparsion to the previous year that's an increase of 20 percent. The best sold CD in the genre of, lets call it 'lighter music', was, not a big surprise, Bon Jovi. More than 8 milion people bought the compilation album 'Cross road'. In a wider prospective the had to give way to the tenor trio Pavarotti/Domingo/Carreras, they sold over 11 million copies. The fact that the new album 'These Days' is recorded in Los Angeles, has everything to do with Richie Sambora's private life. That way he could spend more time with his newly wed wife Heather, who was working in that area on the tv-show 'Melrose place'. Making of 'These Days' took 11 months in total. Also in the Dutch Top 40 Bon Jovi is a welcome and highly appreciated guest. The first single that climbed the Dutch hit stairs was 'You give love a bad name', a single that made it up to the fifth spot in '86. 'Livin' on a prayer' made it to the second spot while 'Wanted: Dead or alive' made it to number 24. After that we had 'Never say goodbye' (tip-parade), 'Bad Medicine' (10), I'll be there for you (21), Lay your hands on me (tip-parade), Blaze of Glory (Jon solo, 18), Keep the faith (10), Bed of roses (14), In these arms (8), I'll sleep when I'm dead (15) and I believe (28). The recent 'Always' made it , without too much trouble, to number 2.
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