Bon Jovi Tickets

Short Biography

Short Biography
For nearly three decades, Bon Jovi have steadfastly earned their reputation as ambassadors of American rock ‘n' roll, performing for more than 34 million fans and selling more than 125 million albums around the globe. Along the way, the New Jersey-based quartet - lead singer Jon Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, and drummer Tico Torres - have racked up a stellar resume of career highlights and accomplishments.

Beginning with their 1986 breakthrough album Slippery When Wet and back-to-back #1 songs "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer," Bon Jovi's unique blend of straight up rock ‘n' roll and lyrics which speak directly to fans' lives have made the band a mainstay on the charts worldwide. A phenomenon in the mid-‘80s, Bon Jovi bucked labels and defied the music industry to not only survive but thrive in the ‘90s, emerging in 2000 with the hit single "It's My Life" which ushered in a decade of unprecedented popularity and success in the band's career, including a Grammy Award for the 2005 #1 hit single "Who Says You Can't Go Home." Led by charismatic frontman and namesake Jon Bon Jovi, the band has cultivated a devoted fan base energized by Bon Jovi's legendary live performances. Part jukebox-come-to-life, part rock ‘n' roll-revival-tent, a Bon Jovi concert is a marathon performance of songs which have permeated the pop culture zeitgeist. For nearly 30 years, Bon Jovi have consistently released new music and toured the globe, establishing themselves as one of the most beloved and enduring bands in rock ‘n' roll history.

Similar Artists:
Aerosmith, U2, Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen

In-depth Biography
Vanguards of the ‘80s melodic rock era, Bon Jovi transcended the big-haired decade and emerged as global rock ‘n' roll icons by evolving, embracing new styles and sounds while remaining faithful to the sound and identity inherently Bon Jovi. The Bon Jovi songbook encompasses rock anthems to electrify a stadium crowd and mid-tempo pop songs and ballads which permeate the charts, seamlessly blending country, folk, storytelling, and hard-rock influences. Bon Jovi never abandoned their New Jersey roots and represent the definition of American rock ‘n' roll.

In the early ‘80s, a young John Bongiovi worked as a gofer at legendary NYC recording studio The Power Station.  After hours, he'd use empty studios and lingering musicians to record original demos. After little luck with labels in New York and L.A., he took his demos to a DJ at a new local rock station. WAPP included "Runaway" on an LP of homegrown talent and the song became a hit locally, then nationally on sister stations.  Label execs scrambled to find the talent behind the hit. Mercury Records won the bidding war, signing John Bongiovi in 1983. A run of showcase dates were scheduled in the NY/NJ market but John Bongiovi needed a band. So, he brought in bassist Alec John Such and drummer Tico Torres, both veterans of the local scene, and longtime friend David Bryan to play keyboards. A childhood friend filled in on guitar but a young, hungry guitarist named Richie Sambora witnessed one of these showcases and backstage told an incredulous Bongiovi the two should work together. After one band rehearsal, Sambora's talent was obvious and the band was complete. Two record company decisions followed: John Bongiovi became Jon Bon Jovi and in order to capitalize upon the name recognition of "Runaway," the band would be called Bon Jovi.

Bon Jovi released their eponymous debut album in 1984, generating a Top 40 hit with the original version of "Runaway," and in 1985 7800° Fahrenheit was released, going gold - both preludes to the band's 1986 breakthrough, Slippery When Wet.  
Jon and Richie had begun writing songs for their third album in the basement of Sambora's parents' New Jersey home before heading into a local recording studio to record demos.  They played some of the songs to local teenagers who hung out at the nearby pizzeria; they listened to the kids' feedback which helped the band determine which songs would make the album and launched the legend of "The Pizza Parlor Jury." Bon Jovi relocated to Vancouver where months of decadent living and intensive studio work forged the career-making Slippery When Wet. The essence of Bon Jovi was captured on film via straightforward performance videos for the # 1 single "You Give Love a Bad Name," the follow-up "Livin' on a Prayer" (which also went to #1), and the iconic documentary-style black and  white video for "Wanted Dead or Alive," all of which dominated MTV programming. Slippery When Wet stayed at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts for fifteen weeks, at one point selling one million copies per month. Bon Jovi was a household name in the U.S. and, thanks to aggressive touring, superstars worldwide.

Eager to prove success was no fluke, the band rushed back to Vancouver. Same studio, same production team, same result:  1988's New Jersey shot to #1 upon its release, selling five million copies and generating two #1 singles, "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You," as well as the Top 10 hits "Born to Be My Baby," "Lay Your Hands on Me," and "Living in Sin." Following the completion of a sold-out, 18-month tour that zig-zagged all over the globe, an exhausted band went on a much needed hiatus.
During this window, solo albums were released by both Richie Sambora (Stranger in This Town) and Jon Bon Jovi, who wrote a collection of songs that became the soundtrack for the motion picture Young Guns II. Released in 1990 as Blaze of Glory, the #1 title track was nominated for a Grammy and Oscar, taking home the Golden Globe for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture.

After taking over management duties himself, Jon Bon Jovi led his band back to Vancouver to work on their fifth studio album. 1992's Keep The Faith was a testament to the band's brotherly resolve to move forward into the future and though sales didn't match the blockbuster status of its predecessors,  its success cannot be understated.  Bon Jovi managed to leapfrog out of the ‘80s and thrive in the ‘90s when the music scene, especially in America, was dominated by hip-hop and grunge. The hit ballad "Bed of Roses" maintained the band's superstar status in the U.S. but a focus on touring the world expanded their fame exponentially. 

When the greatest-hits collection Cross Road was released in 1994, the ballad "Always" became the band's biggest selling single. During this period, original bassist Alec John Such departed the band. Hugh McDonald took over bass duties in the studio and on tour.

In early summer of 1995, Bon Jovi released These Days.  Top 10 in America, it exploded elsewhere, especially in Japan and Europe, where it spawned four Top 10 hits. The These Days tour sold out soccer stadiums in Europe, South America, and Asia, taking the band to countries they'd never reached before.
During the mid- and late-‘90s, Jon Bon Jovi acted in several films and released his second solo album, 1997's Destination Anywhere. Richie Sambora released his sophomore solo CD, 1998's Undiscovered Soul. But by early 1999, songwriting began for a new Bon Jovi project.

Recorded in new, state-of-the-art studios on Jon Bon Jovi's property, Crush was released in June 2000 and debuted in the Top 10.  The label "comeback album" was misappropriated - Bon Jovi had never left the public's consciousness, hearts, or iPod playlists. The smash single "It's My Life" reached a wide audience across an array of radio formats, introducing Bon Jovi to new generations of fans.  Crush went double platinum in the U.S. and sold more than eight million copies worldwide.  Right on the heels of Crush, the band returned to their Jersey studios and created 2002's Bounce.  An optimistic call for resilience in the wake of 9/11, the album's release, promotional push, and subsequent world tour solidified Bon Jovi's status among the world's elite rock ‘n' roll institutions.  
In 2003, the band released This Left Feels Right, an experimental, creative exercise which saw the band reinterpreting and re-recording many of their most-beloved hits. In 2004, Bon Jovi released the boxed set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong... as a thank you to their devoted fan base. (Among the 38 never-before-released tracks was a hidden bonus: the original demo of "Livin' on a Prayer.")

While finishing the boxed set in LA, the band worked simultaneously on material for their 2005 album Have a Nice Day.  All copies of the Have A Nice Day CD include the song "Who Says You Can't Go Home," but the U.S. version included a 13th track, a duet version featuring Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland.  The "country" version of "Who Says You Can't Go Home" hit #1 on the Hot Country charts (an historic first for a rock band) and remained there for two weeks.  It also garnered a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

Longtime fans and frequent visitors to Music City, Jon and Richie were inspired by the songwriting and storytelling tradition of their counterparts in the country music community and returned to Nashville to work on their next album. The result was Lost Highway.  Released in June 2007, the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts in the U.S. Slated to do promotional appearances and christen the new Prudential Center with ten concerts in Newark, New Jersey, Bon Jovi had no real tour plans but the overwhelming reception of the album encouraged the band to head back out on the road. The Lost Highway tour went on to be the biggest grossing concert tour of 2008. The documentary film When We Were Beautiful captured life on the road during this tour and explored the band members' relationships as the core of their continued success. 

Bon Jovi returned to the studio and their trademark rock shortly thereafter with the release of 2009's The Circle. The Circle represented the band's career journey and unbreakable bond, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts.  Bon Jovi is currently on The Circle World Tour which will continue until July 2011. The Circle was announced as Billboard's #1 Tour of 2010.

In November 2010, Bon Jovi released Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection, featuring all of the band's biggest chart-topping hits, the most beloved fan-favorites, and four new tracks, including the lead single, "What Do You Got?" The band envisions the collection as a bridge between their past and their future.

In-depth Biography
After ushering in the era of pop-metal with their 1986 blockbuster Slippery When Wet and its hit singles “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and “Living on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi wound up transcending the big-haired ‘80s, withstanding changes in style and sound to become one of the biggest American rock bands of their time, selling over 120 million albums worldwide, and sustaining their popularity well into the new millennium. As the times changed, so did the band’s sound. They slowly peeled away the arena rock guitars of the ‘80s, occasionally scoring on the adult contemporary charts and sometimes singing country music without ever rejecting hard rock, a move that illustrated how they never abandoned their roots and became second only to Bruce Springsteen in defining the sound and spirit of New Jersey rock & roll.

Bon Jovi took their name from lead singer Jon Bon Jovi (born Jon Bongiovi), who spent his adolescence playing in local Jersey bands with David Bryan (born David Rashbaum). Jon’s cousin, Tony Bongiovi, owned the celebrated New York recording studio the Power Station and Jon spent many hours there, working as a janitor and recording demos after hours, sometimes supported by members of the E Street Band or Aldo Nova. One of those demos, "Runaway," became a hit on local New Jersey radio and lead to the formation of Bon Jovi the band, as Jon and Bryan were supported by guitarist Dave Sabo, bassist Alec John Such, and drummer Tico Torres. “Runaway” spurred a major-label bidding war leading to a contract with Polygram/Mercury in 1983. Before the group entered the studio, though, Bon Jovi replaced Sabo with Richie Sambora, a working guitarist with a long résumé including a stint as a member of Message.

Bon Jovi released their eponymous debut album in 1984, generating a Top 40 hit with the original version of "Runaway." The following year, 7800° Fahrenheit was released and went gold, all serving as a prelude to the band's 1986 breakthrough, Slippery When Wet. Paul Stanley had given Jon and Richie the phone number of professional songwriter Desmond Child, and together they wrote two of the album's biggest hits in Richie's parents' basement. The trio composed 30 songs in total and auditioned them for local New Jersey and New York teenagers, basing the album's running order on their opinions. Supported by several appealing, straightforward videos that received heavy rotation on MTV, the record took off on the strength of “You Give Love a Bad Name,” followed quickly by “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Those three Top Ten Hits helped propel Slippery When Wet to sales of nine million in the U.S. alone, establishing Bon Jovi as superstars in their home country. Their fame was not limited to the U.S., though, as the album also turned into a significant hit in Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia.

Bon Jovi built upon Slippery When Wet's formula with 1988's New Jersey, which shot to number one upon its release. New Jersey was only slightly less successful than its predecessor, selling five million copies and generating two number one singles, "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You," as well as the Top Ten hits "Born to Be My Baby," "Lay Your Hands on Me," and "Living in Sin." Following the completion of an 18-month international tour, the band went on hiatus. During the time off, Jon Bon Jovi wrote the soundtrack for Young Guns II, which was released in 1990 as the Blaze of Glory album. The record produced two hit singles -- the number one title track and the number 12 "Miracle" -- and earned several Grammy and Oscar nominations.

The following year, Bon Jovi reunited to record their fifth album, Keep the Faith, which was released in the fall of 1992. While the album didn't match the blockbuster status of its predecessors, it did produce a hit with "Bed of Roses," an adult contemporary-styled ballad that helped sustain the band’s popularity. A greatest-hits album called Cross Road appeared in 1994 and yielded another Top Ten ballad, "Always." Around the same time, bassist Alec John Such left the band; Hugh McDonald, who appeared on Bon Jovi recordings stretching back as far as “Runaway,” became his unofficial replacement and featured prominently on the band’s next album. Released in the fall of 1995, These Days turned into another U.S. Top Ten, as well as a popular European hit. After appearing in the 1996 film Moonlight and Valentino, Jon Bon Jovi released his first official solo album, Destination Anywhere, in the summer of 1997.

During the tail end of the '90s, the members of Bon Jovi engaged in different projects -- Sambora released a sophomore solo set called Undiscovered Soul in 1998 -- before easing back into work in 1999 via a song for EdTV, then beginning work on a full-length record. The resulting album, Crush, appeared in 2000 and constituted something of a comeback in America thanks to the smash single “It’s My Life,” a cross-platform hit single with long legs. “Thank You for Loving Me” also turned into a hit, helping Crush go double platinum in the U.S. and selling eight million copies worldwide. Bon Jovi quickly followed Crush with their eighth studio effort, Bounce, which appeared in fall 2002, and supported the record with another international tour. In 2003, the band re-recorded many of its most well-known songs for the acoustic-based release This Left Feels Right, which also saw an accompanying DVD in 2004.

The ambitious outtakes and rarities box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong arrived later that November, followed by the all-new Have a Nice Day -- the first of several albums produced by John Shanks. That album's success was aided in part by the single “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” featuring guest vocals from Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, which eventually won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals -- as well as topping the charts in Japan, Australia, Europe, and Canada. The band spent the following year in the studio, putting the finishing touches on a collection of pop-infused heartland country anthems. The resulting Lost Highway, which featured duets with LeAnn Rimes and Big & Rich, arrived in the summer of 2007 and grabbed the band a healthy new country music fan base in the process. Lost Highway's cross-genre formula proved to be quite potent, securing the band its third number one album in the U.S. Bon Jovi returned to rock shortly thereafter, though, with the release of the somber, searching The Circle in 2009. One year later, Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection offered plenty of hits along with two new tracks, “No Apologies” and “What Do You Got?” ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi