Jon Bon Jovi is an American singer and songwriter. He gained the greatest popularity as the founder and leader of the soft rock band Bon Jovi. In addition, he is known as an actor and is one of the most successful musicians, having sold over 130 million albums throughout his career.
Early years and early career
John Francis Bongiovi was born on March 2, 1962 in Perth Emboy, New Jersey. His grandfather, Louis Bongiovi, was from Sicilian Italians, and his grandmother, Elisabeth Benkovski, was of Slovak origin. Father John Frank Bongiovi worked as a hairdresser, and Carol's mother was one of the Playboy "bunnies".
Educated at St. Joseph's School in New Jersey, John showed little interest in science. As a teenager, he loved to visit local nightclubs, assuring visitors that one day he would become a famous rock star. The idols of his youth were stars who came from the same area as him: singer Bruce Springsteen and the band The Asbury Jukes. John tried to imitate their style, starting to perform in nightclubs at the age of 16. During his studies, he met David Brian, who played keyboards, and the two formed the Atlantic City Expressway, a teenage blues group. Also at various times, John performed with the bands "The Rest", "The Lechers" and "John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones".
In 1980, John recorded his first single "Runaway", which local radio stations began to include in their playlists. The popularity of this song led John to believe that he could achieve success across the country. John called David, who in turn invited his friends. This is how guitarist Alec John Sach, Tiko Torres and Richie Sambora appeared in the group. The band began giving their first performances, and during one of the shows in New York, they caught the attention of Derek Schulman, who signed them to a contract with PolyGram. Also, on the advice of Shulman, John Bongiovi changed his name to Bon Jovi.
Commercial success
The group debuted in January 1984. The group's album, filled with the later become signature ballads and guitar riffs, went gold. In April 1985, Bon Jovi released their next album, 7800 Fahrenheit, which earned the band's fans approval but was coldly received by the press. Many critics were disappointed with the band's "sleek" hard rock image.
Performing in concert with the Scorpions, Kiss and Judas Priest helped Bon Jovi find a new audience who appreciated the band's compositions about how difficult it is to be teenagers. The band's third album, "Slippery When Wet," earned gold status again, then went platinum just 6 weeks after release and sold 14 million copies.
John decided to build on his success by working with singer Cher, writing several songs for her and performing as a backing vocalist for "We All Sleep Alone". He also produced several tracks from her album. In 1989, he continued to collaborate, co-producing her new album Heart of Stone.
New Jersey's new album entered the Billboard charts. Celebrating the success of the album, Bon Jovi embarked on an 18-month world tour.
Solo career. Reunion "Bon Jovi"
After the tour ended in early 1990, the band decided to temporarily retire. John focused on his solo career and first dabbled in acting in Young Riflemen 2, for which he later received a Golden Globe for the soundtrack to Blaze of Glory. In 1991 he founded his own music studio, Jambco Records, producing albums for Aldo Nova and Billy Falcon. In the same year, he dismisses the manager of the Bon Jovi group and founds Bon Jovi Management.
In 1994, Bon Jovi reunited, but their new album, Keep The Faith, did not delight the audience. Great success returned to the group after the next release - the best hits compilation "Crossroads". This was followed in 1997 by John's solo album Destination Anywhere. Two years later, the band got back together to record the Grammy-nominated album "Crush".
From 2002 to 2009, the band released the albums Bounce, Have A Nice Day, Lost Highway and The Circle to tremendous commercial success. During these years John took part in the TV series The West Wing and When We Were Beautiful. At the same time, the documentary "Bon Jovi" was released.
In 2009, the band released the album "Circle". Jon Bon Jovi took part in the recording of the single "Everybody Hurts", dedicated to the earthquake in Haiti. 21 artists took part in the recording of the project. He also appeared in one of the Studio 30 episodes.
Released in 2013, "What About Now" was certified gold in the UK, selling 1 million copies. In support of the album, the band embarked on a massive Because We Can: The Tour.
In 2015, the band released Burning Bridges (2015), the first album since guitarist Richie Sambora left the band.
In 2017, Bon Jovi was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a long musical history and record 130 million sales.
Other projects
In the 90s, Jon Bon Jovi decided to try his hand at other projects, starring in the films "Moonlight and Valentino" in 1995 and "Leader" in 1996. He also took part in the filming of independent films ("Pay Another" and "U-571" in 2000). He was also a regular guest star on Ellie McBeal until the show ended in 2002, and appeared on an episode of Sex and the City.
In 2004, Bon Jovi co-founded and co-owned the Philadelphia Soul football team. The following year, he and his group donated $ 1 million to Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network.
In 2006, Jon Bon Jovi founded the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. According to their website, the organization is helping to fight poverty and homelessness.
Personal life
In 1984, Jon Bon Jovi was in a relationship with actress Diana Lane, then with guitarist Lita Ford. The press also credited him with romances with models Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen and actress Calista Flockhart.
In 1989, Jon Bon Jovi married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley. The family has four children: Stephanie Rose, Jiss James, Jacob and Romeo, born in 1993, 1995, 2002 and 2004, respectively.
