Bon Jovi

 

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Biographie

 

John Bongiovi was born in 1962 in New Jersey. He got his first guitar when he was seven and that was the beginning of a great career of one of the biggest rock and roll bands ever. At High School John played in some different bands where he met the keyboard player David Rushbaum.

In September 1980, he took up an offer of a low-paid job at the Power Station Studios in NY which where owned by his cousin Tony. Whenever there was spare time, John was in the studio working

away at his own imaginary album. In 1982 the song of John and The Wild Ones called "Runaway" began to circulate in NY. A Power Station assistant entered the song to a talent contest and suddenly The

Wild Ones were the hottest unsigned property on the US east coast.

In 1983 John signed at Polygram and he changed his name into Jon Bon Jovi, because that was easier to spell. Together with David, the drummer Tico Torres, the bassist Alec John Such and last but not

least the guitarist Richie Sambora he founded the band Bon Jovi. After doing some promo-gigs they went straight into Power Station to record their debut album called "Bon Jovi" which was released in

1984.

 

Touring in the US with the Scorpions and in Europe with Kiss gave the band solid road experience.

 

In 1985 they released their second album "7800 Degrees Fahrenheit". By the time, David Rushbaum changed his name into David Bryan. The album entered the Top 40 and Bon Jovi had reached

headlining status. They toured in Europe and played at big festivals like the "Monsters of Rock Festival" with bands like Cinderella and Skid Row.

 

In 1986 Bon Jovi had the ultimate break-through with their third album "Slippery When Wet" which topped the US charts twice and reached number six in the UK. Also the singles "You give love a bad name" and "Livin' on a prayer" entered no. 1 in the States. Because of this great success Bon Jovi started their first world tour. They played nearly 200 shows over 16 months on the "Slippery ... Tour". After that tour they didn't take a well-earned time of rest. No, they went straight back to the studio to record the next album named "New Jersey" which was released in October 1988. Reaching the top of the charts world wide, "New Jersey" was more successful than "Slippery When Wet" and Bon Jovi started their second big world tour for another six months and 237 shows. One of the highlights of that tour was the headlining appearance at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

 

In 1989 Jon finally married his childhood sweetheart Dorothea Hurley on April 29 in Las Vegas.

 

The "New Jersey"-period had augmented Bon Jovi's place as the premier hard rock band on the planet. But by the beginning of 1990 the guys were in danger of burning out from their exhausting schedule and

they took a break. But Jon, a self-confessed workaholic, decided to write the soundtrack for the movie "Young Guns II" which came out during the summer of 1990. The album racked up major sales figures, topping the two million mark in the States. The single "Blaze of Glory" was voted Best Original Song at the Golden Globe and Best Pop/Rock Single at the American Music Awards.

 

Richie also released his debut solo-album "Stranger In This Town" in 1991. Sadly for him, the album wasn't a huge success, but it was a valuable experience. After Richie completed his touring commitments for "Stranger In This Town" the guys went back to the Studio as the band Bon Jovi. Jon decided to part company with the manager Doc McGhee and take on the management responsibilities himself at his own label Jambco. In October 1992, after a six-months-work, the guys released their next album "Keep The Faith".

 

After this comeback Bon Jovi were more successful then ever and the concerts of the "Keep The Faith"-tour were almost sold out. In 1994 The Best-Of-album "Cross Road" entered the shops and later in that year Jon played the male lead in the movie "Moonlight & Valentino". In the end of 1994 Bon Jovi started to work on their next record. By this time Richie married soap star Heather Locklear. Alec left the band and the guys engaged a new bassist called Hugh MacDonald.

 

In the spring of 1995 "These Days", their last album as yet came out. And after another spectacular world tour they decided to take another break. Jon played the leading parts in the movies "The Leading Man" and "City Of Love". And he also released his second solo-album "Destination Anywhere". But between all of this activity, on had also found time for his family: He's the proud father of his two children Stephanie Rose and Jesse James Louis. Richie also released his second solo-album "Undiscovered Soul" and he's the proud father of a daughter, too. A few months ago the guys went back to the studio and recorded the song "Real Life" for the movie "Ed TV". The new Single "It's my life", is released in Germany on 2nd May, 2000. And the new Bon Jovi-album "Crush" is a great album, as the other ones before!

 

Copyright © 2000 Peter Kraus                                                           
Stand: 12. November 2000  
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