Bon Jovi

In 1984, Bon Jovi released their first album and their debut single "Runaway" managed to crack the Top 40. In 1986, the band achieved widespread success and global recognition with their third album, Slippery When Wet, which sold over 20 million copies and included three Top 10 singles, two of which reached No. 1 ("You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer")^[3] Their fourth album, New Jersey (1988), was also extremely successful, selling over 10 million copies and featuring five Top 10 singles, two of which reached No. 1 ("Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You"). After the band toured and recorded extensively during the late 1980s, culminating in the 1988–1990 New Jersey Tour, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora released successful solo albums in 1990 and 1991, respectively.


In 1992, the band returned with the double-platinum Keep the Faith. This was followed by their biggest-selling and longest-charting single "Always" (1994) and the album These Days (1995), which proved to be a bigger success in Europe than in the United States, producing four Top Ten singles in the United Kingdom. Following a second hiatus, their 2000 album Crush, particularly the lead single, "It's My Life", successfully introduced the band to a younger audience, and the band considered this their comeback album. The band followed up with Bounce in 2002. The platinum albums Have a Nice Day (2005) and Lost Highway (2007) saw the band incorporate elements of country music into some of the songs, including the 2006 single "Who Says You Can't Go Home", which won the band a Grammy Award and became the first single by a rock band to reach No. 1 on the country charts. The Circle (2009) marked a return to the band's rock sound. The band also enjoyed great success touring, with both the 2005–2006 Have a Nice Day Tour and 2007–2008 Lost Highway Tour ranking among the Top 20 highest-grossing concert tours of the 2000s. After recording and releasing Because We Can in 2013, lead guitarist Richie Sambora left the band just before an April concert during the supporting tour to spend more time with his family. The band released their first studio album without Sambora, Burning Bridges, in 2015 and the follow-up album This House Is Not For Sale in 2016, the tour for which encompassed 2017–2019. Their most recent album 2020 (2020) was re-worked to include songs inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests; its supporting tour was delayed to 2022.


Bon Jovi has released 15 studio albums, five compilations and three live albums. They have sold more than 120 million records worldwide,^[4] making them one of the best-selling American rock bands,^[5][6] and performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans.^[7][8] Bon Jovi was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.^[9] The band received the Award of Merit at the American Music Awards in 2004,^[10] and Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.^[11][12]

Solo projects

During the band's first sabbatical between 1990 and 1991 Jon Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, Blaze of Glory, a soundtrack to the movie Young Guns II. Released in 1990, the title track, "Blaze of Glory" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1991 "Blaze of Glory" won an award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single at the American Music Awards^[87] and awarded a Golden Globe, as well. The song also earned Jon Bon Jovi an Academy Award nomination and a Grammy nomination. The album featured guitarist Jeff Beck throughout, as well as guest musicians Elton John, Little Richard, Kenny Aranoff and Benmont Tench.


Richie Sambora, with the help of Tico Torres and David Bryan, released a solo album titled Stranger in This Town, in 1991. The album featured Eric Clapton on the song "Mr. Bluesman". David Bryan recorded a soundtrack for the horror movie The Netherworld, which was the brighter part of that year after he was hospitalized with an illness caused by a South American parasite. Alec John Such fell off his motorcycle, injuring his bass-playing hand and forcing him to develop a whole new way to hold and play his instrument.


In 1997, Jon Bon Jovi landed lead roles in several movies. While he was free between filming movies, Jon wrote what would become his second solo album, 1997's Destination Anywhere. A short movie of the same name was recorded 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.


Torres used the opportunity to further pursue his painting while Bryan started writing and composing various musicals. In 1998, Sambora released his second solo outing titled Undiscovered Soul.


In 2012, the band members embarked on solo projects once again while recording What About Now. Returning to film composing for the first time since Blaze of Glory, Jon Bon Jovi wrote and recorded two songs for the Al Pacino film Stand Up Guys,^[88] while Sambora recorded and released his third studio album, Aftermath of the Lowdown, and supported it with a short world tour in October 2012.^[89] Torres focused on playing golf, taking part in several tournaments, while Bryan made a short performance at Fantiscritti, Carrara on May 26, 2012.