Bon Jovi is a rock band with global appeal. The group has sold more than 130 million albums worldwide, including the megahits Slippery When Wet and Living On A Prayer. Lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi is also an accomplished actor, philanthropist and record producer.
The hard rockers from Sayreville, New Jersey, exploded into fame in the 1980s and have continued to tour extensively ever since. The band’s oeuvre is enormous, covering everything from the goings-on at strip clubs to the practical repercussions of labor disputes. Its sound has been influenced by punk, metal and pop, but it always has a hard-rocking edge.
Despite coming of age amid the excess of Eighties hair metal, Bon Jovi, now 62, has maintained a reputation for clean living. He’s kept his hair relatively short, and he’s eschewed the booze and drugs that have plagued some of his rocker peers. He’s even remained sober enough to stay married for three decades, though he says he didn’t set out to be a model citizen.
In a video screened on Fresh Air, he describes how an early experience helped him to rethink his priorities. “My sister had a bad drug problem and was in rehab. She was a good kid, but she got addicted to cocaine,” he recalls. “So I said, ‘What’s it gonna take for me to stop doing this?’ And I cut my hair.”
His decision prompted him to reassess his life. He started doing charitable work and found a new appreciation for his children. He also began writing again, and in 1990 he formed a band that became Bon Jovi with bassist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres and guitarist Richie Sambora. The band’s first album, Runaway, earned a big response from fans, and soon the group was in demand for high-profile gigs.
The band’s second album, Indestructible, was another huge hit. Its first single, Bad Medicine, was an instant classic. Its soaring chorus, which rises to the sky, could fill any stadium. You can’t go to a party or a club without hearing this song being belted out, and it definitely makes for an excellent gym workout playlist.
When Bon Jovi released their third album, The
From the Heart, in 1994, the music took a more commercial direction. The album produced the hits Livin’ on a Prayer and You Give Love A Bad Name, but it also saw a departure from the band’s signature hard rock sound. It marked the first time that Bon Jovi recorded an album without any creative input from original guitarist Richie Sambora, who left the band in 2013. That album, Like a Prayer, did not perform as well as the previous two, but it was still a solid effort for the group. Bon Jovi regrouped with Sambora for the following year’s Blackbird, which was a return to their successful roots. It was followed by It’s My Life in 2000, and The Circle in 2002. The band’s next album, What Do You Got, was less well received, but it wasn’t a total failure.