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Straight of New Jersey (circa
1983), Bon Jovi was named for their timeless vocalist, John Francis
Bongiovi, Jr., who evidently decided that his last name needed a bit of
fixin'. Early iterations of the band had names like Atlantic City
Expressway, John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones, and
The Rest. Jon Bon Jovi's first professional recording was on an
album called R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas. After
hitting the pavement, Bon Jovi was able to get local air time for the
song "Runaway", a song that was originally recorded by paid studio
musicians (not original band members).
Bon Jovi originally hired Jon Sabo to play lead guitar
for the band, but he was soon replaced by Sambora. Sabo went on to
create the band Skid Row. After being signed by Mercury records,
the band was going to call themselves Johnny Electric, but were
encouraged to name the band Bon Jovi by executives (think Van Halen), a
name that fellow band members did not care for much.
In the early days, Bon Jovi went on tour opening for
bands like The Scorpions, Ratt, and Kiss, but in Japan and Eurpose, they
were a much bigger hit. By 1985, Bon Jovi was headlining for tours
in the UK and Japan. It was the 1986 album, Slippery When Wet,
that put them over the top in the USA. They started out the year
as an opening act for 38 Special, but six months later, they were the
headliner.
The band members of Bon Jovi have
basically remained the same over the years, including guitarist Richie
Sambora, Tico Torres, and David Bryan. From their
self-titled album in 1984
("Runaway"), to
New Jersey in 1988 ("I'll Be There for You; Bad Medicine"), Bon Jovi
has survived based on sheer talent, continuing to
produce great albums such as
Keep the Faith (1992),
Bounce (2002)
and
Have a Nice Day (2005). Bon Jovi is still one of our
favorite 80's hair bands.
At the time of this writing, Bon
Jovi was still active on the music scene, making appearances on TV
shows, etc. The Bon Jovi Discography to date is as follows:
1984: Bon Jovi
1985: 7800 Fahrenheit
1986: Slippery When Wet
1988: New Jersey
1992: Keep the Faith
1995: These Days
2000: Crush
2002: Bounce
2005: Have a Nice day
2007: Lost Highway
2009: The Circle |
