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Jon Bon Jovi (born '''John Francis Bongiovi Jr''' on March 2 , 1962 ) is an American singer, Musician , Businessman , and Actor . As lead singer of the rock band, Bon Jovi , he has sold over 120 million albums worldwide. He is also the owner of Arena Football League team, the Philadelphia Soul . BIOGRAPHY Jon Bon Jovi was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey , on March 2 , 1962 , and was raised in nearby Sayreville . His mother, Carol Sharkey (of Serbian / Italian descent), was a U.S. Marine as well as a florist. And his father, John Bongiovi, Sr., also a Marine, was a barber of Italian ancestry. Jon Bon Jovi attended , March 23 , 2006 . "Students chat with Sayreville class of '80 grad-turned-rock-star." He adopted the stage name Jon Bon Jovi at the behest of the record company that he signed with. He also plays acoustic guitar, harmonica, and rhythm guitar but makes the most of his part as lead singer. His early career was assisted by his second cousin, '', was released in 1999 without Jon's permission. Jon Bon Jovi later then married his highschool sweetheart Dorothea Hurley on April 29 , 1989 at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Together they have 4 children; Stephanie Rose ( May 31 , 1993 ), Jesse James Louis ( February 19 , 1995 ), Jacob Hurley ( May 7 , 2002 ), Romeo Jon ( March 29 , 2004 ). 1980s Atlantic and Mercury came calling. Once Bon Jovi had put together his band and began playing showcases and opening for local talent, they caught the attention of record executive Derek Shulman , who signed John to Mercury Records, part of the PolyGram company. Because John wanted a group name, Jerry Jaffe, A&R head at PolyGram at the time, came up with Bon Jovi, changing the spelling and rationalizing that it had the cadence of Van Halen and an oblique reference to AC/DC's, Bon Scott. The band didn't really like it. (Doc McGhee scoffed that it made the band sound like "French ice cream"). But within a week it was adopted without much fanfare. John then removed the 'h' in his first name to make it Jon. He re-emerged as Jon Bon Jovi. The group was collectively known as Bon Jovi. With the help of their new manager Doc McGhee , the band's debut album, '' Bon Jovi '', was released on January 21 , 1984 . The album went Gold in the US (sales of over 500,000) and was also released in the UK. The group found themselves opening for ZZ Top at the Madison Square Garden (before their first album had been released), and for Scorpions and Kiss in Europe. They also made an appearance on '' American Bandstand ''. In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album '' 7800°Fahrenheit '' was released, but the response was poor. The leading British metal magazine '' Kerrang! '', who had been very positive about the debut record, called the album "a pale imitation of the Bon Jovi we have got to know and learned to love." Jon Bon Jovi himself later said it could have and should have been better. The band members, in interviews, have said they will not perform live any song off that album anymore. The turning point came when they brought in songwriter Desmond Child for their third album, '' Slippery When Wet ''. With Child co-writing many of their hits on this and future albums the band shot to super-stardom around the world with songs such as " You Give Love A Bad Name ", " Livin' On A Prayer ", and " Wanted Dead Or Alive ". Bon Jovi has said the album was named after the ubiquitous highway warning signs. The album has sold in excess of 26 million copies worldwide since its release in late 1986. On the tour that followed, singer Bon Jovi began having vocal difficulties. The extremely high notes and unrelenting schedule threatened to damage his voice permanently. With the help of a Vocal Coach , he made it through the tour. Bon Jovi has tended to sing slightly lower pitches since then. The next album from Bon Jovi was ''. In 1989, the band headlined the Moscow Music Peace Festival . Despite the band achieving massive success, ''New Jersey'' almost led to the end of the band as they went straight back out on the road so soon after the heavy touring for their previous album. This constant living on the road almost destroyed the strong bond between Jon Bon Jovi and Sambora. As mentioned in ''Behind the Music'', the band members note that at the end of the tour, each band member went their separate way and departed in separate jets. It was during this time that Sambora offered the lead singer position to Billy Rogers, known for his hit single with Ike Turner, I'm Blue. However, the band made it through and took a healthy break before their next studio effort. To date, the album has sold 18 million copies worldwide. 1990s Between 1990 and 1992, the band members went their separate ways after the very rigorous two year New Jersey Tour. This time off also helped them determine where Bon Jovi would fit within the rapidly changing music scene upon their return. Jon Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie ", Aldo Nova , Little Richard , and Jeff Beck , among others. The album fared well commercially and received very positive reviews and quickly achieved platinum status. The title track, " Blaze Of Glory ", hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Jon an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but he did not win the award. That same year, however, "Blaze of Glory" was awarded a Golden Globe . The band returned with the album '' Keep The Faith '' in 1992. The album, which was produced by Bob Rock , featured a more mature sound and lyrical content than any of their previous efforts. Their fans were pleasantly surprised and the album became a moderate hit amidst the rise of Grunge . Its most recognizable tunes were the hit singles " Bed Of Roses ", " Keep The Faith " and " In These Arms ", which all hit the Top 40 in the U.S. Some other songs on the album were released as singles in other parts of the world, mainly the fan favorite epic, " Dry County " the hooky "I Believe", and the crowd favorite " I'll Sleep When I'm Dead ." This album is also notable for being the first in a string of subsequent albums for Bon Jovi which proved more popular worldwide than in the U.S. The album went double platinum in the U.S., but has sold much more worldwide. In 1994, Bon Jovi released a "greatest hits" album titled ''" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night", as well as a new, updated rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer" entitled "Prayer '94" available only on the U.S. version. The diction of 'prayer' in the new version was altered due to a mixing error, and is heard as "'rayer" on some pressings. The song "Always" was originally written for a soundtrack to the film '' Romeo Is Bleeding '', but after seeing (and disliking) the movie, the band decided not to lend the song to the producers, and instead released it on "Cross Road". The video for "Always" featured Carla Gugino , an actress known for her roles in several TV shows' and films such as '' Son In Law '' and actor Jack Noseworthy , best known for his role in the 2000 film '' U-571 ''."Always", spent thirty-two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of Bon Jovi's all-time biggest hits.The song peaked at #4 on the US charts and at #1 in countries across Europe, Asia and in Australia . The single sold very well, going platinum in the U.S. That same year, bassist Alec John Such left the band, the first and only lineup change since Bon Jovi began. Hugh McDonald, who was the bassist on "Runaway", unofficially replaced Such as bassist. To this day, there is still speculation on whether Alec was fired or left on his own accord. Jon has claimed that Such was making too many mistakes onstage as a result of intoxication while performing. Such denied many of these claims in an interview soon after his departure, but later admitted there was some truth to them. Jon has made it public that there has been contact between Such and other band members recently. He even rejoined the band on stage for one song ("Wanted Dead or Alive") during their "homecoming" show at Giants Stadium in 2001. While he has not been officially replaced, Hugh McDonald has handled studio and live bass duties since then, with rumours that he had also recorded bass on previous albums. Jon said, regarding the departure of Such: "Of course it hurts. But I learned to accept and respect it. The fact that I'm a workaholic, studio in, studio out, stage on, stage off, want to be dealing with music day and night, doesn't mean everyone else has to adjust to that pace. Alec wanted to quit for a while now, so it didn't come as a complete surprise." With the 1995 album '' These Days '', Bon Jovi took the mature rock sound they had developed on ''Keep the Faith'' further. The record as a whole was darker and more downbeat than the usual Bon Jovi flare, with some songs showing R&B influences. As a result, These Days went Platinum in the U.S. and topped the UK charts. Despite critical kudos, it spun off only one hit single in the U.S., "This Ain't A Love Song". Nevertheless, the other tracks proved sufficiently popular to garner various successful European singles, including "Hey God", "Something for the Pain", "Lie to Me", and the title track "These Days". In 1996, Bon Jovi claimed in an interview with the German Bravo magazine that, as a result of the overwhelming success of the "These Days" tour, the album had sold in excess of 20 million copies worldwide. By 1996, Bon Jovi had established themselves as a "force" in the music industry, proving much more durable (and successful) than most of their 80s glam peers. Jon had since been bitten by the acting bug. He landed lead roles in movies '' Little City '' and '' The Leading Man '', as well as in '' Moonlight And Valentino '', '' Tranny Freakout! '', '' Homegrown '', and '' U-571 '', among others. While he was free between filming different movies, Jon wrote what would become his second solo album, 1997's '' Destination Anywhere ''. The album received very positive reviews and was a success across Europe. It was rumored that the record company was pursuing Jon to name the record "These Days, Part 2", since the album was somewhat of a moody progression from ''These Days''. However, most fans will agree that "Destination Anywhere" was a departure from the signature Bon Jovi brand of rock music. A short movie of the same name was recorded right around the record's release, based entirely on the songs from the record and starring Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Moore , Kevin Bacon and Whoopi Goldberg . Dave Stewart of Eurythmics played guitar on the record, as well as producing some of the tracks. Bon Jovi reunited in 1999 to record the song "Real Life" for the movie '' EdTV ''. David Bryan didn't make it to the filming of the video for the song because of a recent hand injury sustained in a home improvement mishap, so the band used a cardboard cutout of him for the shoot. 2000s After a nearly three-year hiatus, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 to begin work on their next studio album. Their 2000 release, ''''. The crush tour was notable in that the European 2000 leg included the band headlining two nights at Wembley Stadium , these would be the final shows ever at the venue before it was demolished. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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