Formation (1975–1983)
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Jon Bon Jovi began playing piano and guitar in 1975, at the age of 13, with his first band 'Raze'. At 16, Bon Jovi met David Bryan and formed a band called Atlantic City Expressway. 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 1980, he formed another band, "The Rest", and opened up for New Jersey acts such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
By mid-1982, out of school and working part-time at a women's shoe store, Jon Bon Jovi took a job at the Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility where his cousin Tony Bongiovi was co-owner. Bon Jovi made several demos—including one produced by Billy Squier—and sent them to record companies, though failing to make an impact. His first professional recording was as lead vocals in "R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas," which was part of the Christmas in the Stars album which his cousin co-produced.
Bon Jovi visited local radio station WAPP 103.5FM "The Apple" in Lake Success, New York. He spoke directly to the promotion director, John Lassman, who accepted the song "Runaway" for inclusion on the station's compilation album of local homegrown talent. Bon Jovi was initially reluctant, but eventually gave them the song, on which Bon Jovi had used studio musicians to play on the track. The studio musicians who helped record "Runaway"—known as The All Star Review—were guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan, drummer Frankie LaRocka, and bassist Hugh McDonald.
New Jersey beach towns.
The song began to get airplay in the New York area, then other sister stations in major markets picked up the song. In March 1983, Bon Jovi called David Bryan, who in turn called bassist Alec John Such (b. Alec John Such, November 14, 1952, Yonkers, New York, USA) ex-Phantom's Opera and an experienced drummer named Tico Torres. Tapped to play lead guitar was Bon Jovi's neighbor, Dave Sabo (a.k.a. The Snake)—who later formed the group Skid Row. Sabo was eventually replaced by Richie Sambora (b. Richard Stephen Sambora, July 11, 1959, Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA). Before joining the group, Sambora had toured with Joe Cocker, played with a group called Mercy and had 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 and played live with Phantom's Opera, The Marvelettes, and Chuck Berry. He appeared on 26 records and had recently recorded with Franke and the Knockouts, a Jersey band with hit singles during the early 1980s.
David Bryan had quit the band that he and Bon Jovi had founded in order to study medicine. While in college, he realized that he wanted to pursue music full-time, and was accepted to Juilliard School, a New York music school. When Bon Jovi called his friend and said that he was putting together a band, and a record deal looked likely, Bryan followed Bon Jovi's lead and gave up his studies.
Early years (1984–1985)
Once the band began playing showcases and opening for local talent, they caught the attention of record executive Derek Shulman, who signed them to Mercury Records and who was part of the PolyGram company. Because Jon Bon Jovi wanted a group name, Pamela Maher, a friend of Richard Fischer and an employee of Doc McGhee, suggested they call themselves Bon Jovi, following the example of the other famous two word bands such as Van Halen. This name was chosen instead of the original idea of Johnny Electric. Pamela's suggestion of the name was met with little enthusiasm, but two years later they hit the charts under that name.
With the help of their new manager Doc McGhee they recorded the band's debut album, Bon Jovi, which was released on January 21, 1984. The album included the band's first hit single, "Runaway", reaching top forty on the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked at number forty-three on the Billboard 200 album chart. And the group found themselves opening for Scorpions in U.S. and for Kiss in Europe.
In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album 7800° Fahrenheit was released. The band released three singles "Only Lonely", "In And Out Of Love" and the ballad "Silent Night". The album peaked at number thirty seven on Billboard 200 and certified Gold by RIAA. While the album did not do as well as they'd hoped in terms of sales, it allowed Bon Jovi to get out on the road touring again. In May 1985, Bon Jovi headlined venues in Japan and Europe. At the end of the European tour, the band began a six month run of U.S. tourdates supporting Ratt. In the midst of that tour they managed to make appearances at the Texas Jam and Castle Donington's Monsters of Rock concerts in England. Jon Bon Jovi also did a solo appearance at the very first Farm Aid in 1985.
Slippery When Wet (1986–1987)
After two moderately successful albums, the group changed their approach for their next album and hired professional songwriter Desmond Child as a collaborator. Bruce Fairbairn was chosen as the producer of the album. In early 1986 Bon Jovi moved to Vancouver, Canada to record their third album. The band spent six-months recording the new album. The band decided to name the album "Slippery When Wet" after visiting a strip club in Vancouver[8]
On August 16, 1986, Slippery When Wet was released. "You Give Love a Bad Name" was released as the first single; it eventually went on to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the band's first number one single in United States. "Livin' on a Prayer" was released as a second single, reaching number one in both the US and Canada and made the top five in the UK, Ireland and Australia and became one of the band's most recognizable songs. The album's third single "Wanted Dead or Alive" was reached top ten in both the US and Ireland and still remains to this day, the Bon Jovi "National Anthem". The album reached number one in US, Canada and Australia as well. Slippery When Wet was named the top selling album of 1987 by Billboard[9] "Livin' On A Prayer" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance.[10] The band won an award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band at the American Music Awards[11] and an award for Favorite Rock Group at the People's Choice Awards.[12]
When Slippery When Wet was released in August 1986, Bon Jovi was the support act for 38 Special. By the end of 1986, Bon Jovi were well into six months of headline dates in arenas across America. In August 1987, the band headlined England's "Monsters of Rock" festival. During their set Dee Snider, Bruce Dickinson and Paul Stanley joined the band to perform "We're an American Band". The band ended the year having headlined 130 shows in the "Tour Without End", grossing $28,400,000.
Jon Bon Jovi was asked what all this astronomical success meant, to which he answered, "Everything is bigger, and it moves twice as fast. You're recognized twice as often. This is bigger, the whole world gets bigger. You have to sell more records, be huger. You get smarter and you understand the business a little more, so it's more responsibility. You understand it now, and you want to make sure everything goes right".
Following the group’s success, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were asked to assist in producing Cher’s ‘comeback’ self-titled album in 1987. Jon and Richie co-wrote and sang backing vocals on Cher’s single "We All Sleep Alone" and also produced several other tracks on the album, later going on to co-produce Cher’s multi-platinum album Heart of Stone in 1989.
New Jersey (1988–1990)
Promotional poster for Bon Jovi's New Jersey Syndicate Tour.
Determined to prove that the success of Slippery When Wet was not a fluke, Bon Jovi released their fourth effort New Jersey in September 1988. New Jersey debuted at number in both the UK and Australia, spending four consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard 200 in US. The lead single "Bad Medicine" reached number one in US and made the top ten in Canada, Ireland and Australia. The ballad "I'll Be There for You" reached number one in US as well and made the top ten in Canada and Ireland. The album's three other singles "Born to Be My Baby", "Lay Your Hands on Me", and "Living in Sin" reached the top ten in US. Bon Jovi even made the news when the video for "Living In Sin" was banned by MTV for featuring some too racy romance/sex scenes. After that it was re-edited and MTV put it in heavy rotation.
 | 30 second sample of the Hot 100 No. 1 hit, "I'll Be There for You" by Bon Jovi |
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |
Bon Jovi mounted another huge worldwide tour that continued throughout 1989 and 1990. They visited more than 22 countries and performed more than 232 shows before it was all over. The personal highpoint for the band was their June 11, 1989 sell-out homecoming at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. In August 1989, the band headed to the Soviet Union for the Moscow Music Peace Festival. Bon Jovi were the first band officially sanctioned by the Soviet government to perform in the Soviet Union and New Jersey, became the first U.S. album to be released legally in the U.S.S.R..[1][13]
In September 1989, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora performed Livin' On A Prayer and Wanted Dead Or Alive only with two acoustic guitars on the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance has generally been acknowledged as the inspirational spark that led to the MTV Unplugged series and the catalyst for the subsequent popularity of the unplugged movement in popular music.[14]
The non-stop touring was taking its toll on the band. By the end of the New Jersey tour, Bon Jovi had 16 months of concerts under their belt and the band members were exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. Finally, following the last tour date in Mexico, and without any clear plans for their future, the band members just went home.
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