Bon Jovi

The title of Bon Jovi’s 2013 single, ‘Because We Can’ says everything about a group that has been the rock band of choice for so many since they burst onto the scene with their album, Slippery When Wet in 1986. Now into their fourth decade, they are playing as well as ever, having honed their hook-writing to perfection. After four American chart-topping albums and another seven that have made the top 10 they now sit at rock’s top table.

Formed in New York they recorded the eponymous debut album in 1983, releasing it in early 1984 and followed it with 7800° Fahrenheit a year later. Both albums made the Billboard Top 50 but it was Slippery When Wet that changed everything. Coming out in 1986 it hurtled up the charts to No.1 where it stayed for two months, helped in no small way by ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ and the exultant ‘Living on a Prayer’ which both topped the American singles chart.

In 1988 ‘Bad Medicine’ topped the singles chart helping the album New Jersey, from which it was taken, to also make No.1; the third single from the album, ‘I’ll Be There For You’ also went to No.1 in America. In 1990 ‘Blaze of Glory’ from the movie Young Guns, which was a Jon Bon Jovi solo project also topped the US charts. In the UK the band have had over forty hit singles and although they have never topped the charts almost twenty have made the top 10. Their albums, however, have topped the UK charts with New Jersey, Keep The Faith, These Days and Crush all making No.1.

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 autumn 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 autumn 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 autumn 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 sombre, 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?”

What About Now was produced by John Shanks, who also worked with the boy-band, now man-band, Take That and was released in March 2013. It debuted at No.1 in the U.S. and was the fifth of their career to make No.1 in America. And then, following the departure of Sambora, the boys dropped Burning Bridges, a fine compilation with new cuts ‘We Don’t Run’ and ‘Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning’ adding spice to formerly unreleased and unfinished material.

And 2016 proved to be a notable year thanks to the release of This House Is Not for Sale, which sticks to the tried and trusted template and is studded with great songs. Also available in a variety of deluxe editions, This House Is Not For Sale is “going back to the beginning”, according to Jon. And that’s a great place to start.

Format: UK English