Bon Jovi | 25 years of rock
Published Friday June 26th, 2009
• 1980 - New Jersey native Jon Bongiovi began recording songs while working at his cousin’s recording studio in the early 1980s.
The first professional recording that was ever released featuring the singer was on the 1980 compilation Christmas In The Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album. Bongiovi sang lead on the track R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas.
• 1982 - Bongiovi recorded a demo of his tune Runaway in 1982, which went on to become a hit for the then-unsigned artist. Appearing on the track were several session musicians, including Hugh McDonald on bass (who would later become Bon Jovi’s permanent bassist), Tim Pierce on guitar and E-Street band member Roy Bittan on keyboards.
• 1982 - After the success of Runaway, Bongiovi changed the spelling of his name to Bon Jovi and formed an eponymous band with keyboardist David Rashbaum (who later changed his name to David Bryan), drummer Tico Torres, bassist Alec John Such and guitarist Richie Sambora. Dave Sabo, who later went on to form popular rock band Skid Row, was an early member of the group before Sambora joined.
• 1984 - Dubbed simply Bon Jovi, the band recorded two albums, 1984’s self-titled album and its 1985 follow-up, 7800˚ Fahrenheit, both of which yielded somewhat successful singles including She Don’t Know Me, In & Out Of Love and Tokyo Road.
• 1986 - It was in 1986 that Bon Jovi went from being a fledgling band to becoming a household name. The band released one of its most successful albums, Slippery When Wet, which was recorded in Vancouver.
The album yielded numerous hit singles including Wanted Dead or Alive, Livin’ On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name and Never Say Goodbye. Billboard named Slippery When Wet the topselling album of 1987.
• 1988 - Bon Jovi, by 1988 one of the world’s biggest bands, released New Jersey, a hugely successful album named after the band’s home state. The album featured the hits Bad Medicine, Lay Your Hands On Me, Living In Sin and I’ll Be There For You.
• 1988 - After the band’s hugely successful, two-year, 200-plus date Jersey Syndicate Tour, the five members of Bon Jovi went on indefinite hiatus. The band has mentioned in interviews since that the lengthy tour simply burned them out. By the end of it, nearing total exhaustion, the band members were hardly even speaking to one another.
• 1988 - During the band’s lengthy break, its members took time to explore other projects.
Jon Bon Jovi released a soundtrack to the film Young Guns II titled Blaze of Glory and he started dabbling in acting. Blaze of Glory served as the singer’s first solo effort, and it featured guest appearances by Elton John, Jeff Beck and others. Richie Sambora released his own solo effort, Stranger In This Town, with the help of bandmates Bryan and Torres.
Bryan also wrote the score to the horror movie Netherworld.
• 1992 after an 18-month break from each other, the members of Bon Jovi reconvened in Vancouver to record their fifth album, Keep The Faith. A more mature offering from the rejuvenated band, it yielded several hits including Bed of Roses, In These Arms, the title track and I Believe.
• 1993 - On Dec. 13, 1993, Bon Jovi made its debut at the Moncton Coliseum with Canadian blues-rockers Wild T & The Spirit opening the show.
Bon Jovi had been encouraging fans to bring nonperishable food items to their shows to benefit local food banks. Any food raised from this show was to benefit the Mapleton Food Bank.
• 1994 was a big year for the group for both good and bad reasons. The band released a hugely successful compilation of hits, Cross Road, which featured three new tunes, including the monster hit Always. However, after the album’s release, the band fired bass player Alec John Such, saying that Such had become a liability during live performances by making mistakes regularly. Such was replaced on new albums and in live performances by Hugh McDonald, who has been with the band since, but to this day is not regarded as an official member of the group and does not appear in promotional photos or album art.
• 2000 - In 2000, the band reunited for a new album, Crush. While other bands from their heyday had come and gone and still others were struggling to retain their popularity, Bon Jovi’s new album yielded a huge hit in It’s My Life and had a few other successful singles as well.
The band embarked on another lengthy world tour.
Since Crush, the band has released several albums and toured consistently.
The albums Bounce, Have A Nice Day and Lost Highway, in addition to various other projects (a live album, DVDs, a box set and a compilation of new versions of classic tunes) have consistently sold well and Bon Jovi continues to sell out virtually everywhere the band plays.
Row Your Boat (2000) U-571 (2000) Pay It Forward (2000)
• 2002 - In 2007, the band took a left turn and released an album “inspired by Nashville” and its new country sound, Lost Highway. The album was, of course, another hit for the band, yielding the hit title track along with (You Want To) Make A Memory and ‘Til We Ain’t Strangers Anymore.
• 2008 -In 2008, the band played 99 sold-out concerts, the number one tour for the year, according to Billboard.
The band played to 2,157,675 fans worldwide.
• 2009 - As of this year, its 25th, Bon Jovi is now eligible to be entered into the Rock ’N’ Roll Hall of Fame. The band is also reportedly working on a new album, which Richie Sambora told the Times & Transcript in a recent interview is a return to the band’s rock roots.
• June 27 2009 - Bon Jovi rocks Magnetic Hill.
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