Bon Jovi, John

Childhood

John Francis Bondzhovi Jr. was born on March 2, 1962 in Perth Amboy ( New Jersey , USA ). He is the son of hairdresser John Francis Bongovi and florist Carol Bongovi (nee Sharkey ). ^{[2] [3]} His father has Sicilian and Slovak roots, and his mother has German and Russian roots ^{[4] [5]} .

Youth

From a young age, he was fond of music, played the guitar, performed as part of local groups, and wrote songs from the age of 13. Earning money in the recording studio of his cousin , John had the opportunity to use her equipment. His early song “Runaway” was popular on local radio stations. In 1983, he organized a group that included his friend David Rashbaum, guitarist Dave Szabo (then replaced by Richie Sambora), bassist Alec Joe Sach and drummer Tiko Torres. The name of the group was a slightly modified surname of its leader - “Bon Jovi”. Soon, the musicians signed a contract with the label "Mercury".

In 1984, the debut album of the band “Bon Jovi” was released, and the song “Runaway” entered the Top 40. The following year, the 7800 Fahrenheit album was released, becoming gold. The new success of the group was the album "Slippery When Wet" (1986), sold over 28 million copies worldwide and raised John Bon Jovi to "stellar" heights. Two songs from him “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Livin 'On A Prayer” occupied the first positions in the charts, and “Wanted Dead or Alive” entered the top ten. Another album “New Jersey” (1988) also enjoyed success, in support of which the band conducted a tour.

Then John Bon Jovi began to pay more attention to his other projects: he started producing - he worked, in particular, with the groups “ Gorky Park ” and “ Cinderella ”. Then Bon Jovi performed as a composer, creating the soundtrack for the film Young Arrows II , which was soon released as a solo disc, Blaze of Glory (1990). Seven years later, the world saw his second “solo album” “Destination Anywhere”. Then he himself shot a short film with songs from this album.

In 1995, John Bon Jovi made his debut as an actor in the melodrama Moonlight and Valentino , where his partners were Kathleen Turner, Whoopi Goldberg, Gwyneth Paltrow. In 2000, the military drama Jonathan Mostow “U-571” was released, in which Bon Jovi played the role of Lieutenant Pete Emmett.

If you ask John Bon Jovi, what is the difference between composing songs for Bon Jovi's album and his own album, he will not stop answering.

“When you do a group recording, it's a collaboration ... it's not always my story, or its story, it becomes our story. But this time, ”John pauses,“ This is my voice only. ”

This voice will show its full force in an album called Destination Anywhere. This album of one of the leading singers and composers includes emotional, complex sounding compositions. The musician wanted to show what Bon Jovi was like as an artist. And this goal was achieved by abandoning the stereotypes that prevailed about his music. Chaotic, more rhythmic, but built more on exquisite passages than on guitar chords, songs from the Destination Anywhere album do not sound like a heart-rending scream, but like a passionate whisper. And if the album does not sound like the soundtrack to New Jersey or Your Guns Soundtrack, then we can assume that John came to what he wanted.

John drew a diverse and incredibly diverse group of musicians to work on Destination Anywhere, including producer and composer Dave Stewert (Eurythmics, Tom Petty) and Steve Lironi, known for Black Grape's It's Great When You're Straight "... As John himself says:" I was getting ready to shoot, and if my idea didn’t work, I would immediately abandon it. In theory, I planned the participation of five producers, with two tracks each! That would be an album! But then I selected two compositions with Steve, I liked them very much, in addition, I was amazed at how it works. We started with the plan and worked in the reverse order ... This is fundamentally different from my style of working on the album. As a result, I prepared eight tracks for Steve, and he did three more. Most importantly, I understood that this recording method allows you not to be afraid to experiment with new ideas and gives my music new colors. ”

All these radical changes in recording methods took place in London. John spent three months there on the set of The Leading Man and, apparently, new rhythms hung in the British air. John recorded the first ten songs of the album on an acoustic guitar during the breaks, having secluded himself in a filming trailer, and eventually completed most of the compositions in his main studio.

John Javi keyboardist David Bryan, Eric Bazilian (The Hooters), drummer Kenny Aronoff, Dave Stewart, and a lot of musicians, friends, and babies helped John work on Destination Anywhere. -siter. “Everyone who went into the studio took part in the album to some extent,” John laughs.

Despite the unorthodox ways of creating this album, some things have remained unchanged: namely, the lyrical theme of John’s songs: faith and the absence of illusions. Although this time these topics have become more autobiographical in tone. In the famous single “August 7, 4:15”, John addresses the painful theme of the murder of his manager’s daughter. Midnight in Chelsea, the first single of the album, is a sublime narrative of time spent in London. The full of energy composition “Janie, Don't Take Your Love To Town” is a chronicle of family battles with his wife, who, as John jokes, “always pretended to be a simpleton,” and in the composition “Every Word Has a Part of My Heart” (“Every Word Has A Piece Of My Heart ") sounds inherent Bon Jovi lyrical sincerity.

This sincerity and determination to follow his style lies at the heart of the work of Bon Jovi (both soloist and ensemble). Bon Jovi has reigned in the music industry for over 13 years, selling over 75 million albums worldwide. In addition, the group actively performs concerts, gathering arenas and stadiums around the world. The 1995 CD of These Days became multi-platinum and demonstrated the creative maturity of the musicians. They are currently working on solo projects, but are planning a joint studio work in the near future.

As for John Bon Jovi himself, he plans to continue filming; his film career began in 1995 with the warmly received criticism of the film Moonlight and Valentino. In addition, he starred in the short film for the album "Destination Anywhere". Soon, John will appear in Miramax's Little City and Homegrown, which also stars academic award winner Billy Bob Thornton. John also starred in the movie "Long Time, Nothing New" directed by Ed Burns ("She's The One" and "The Brothers McMullen"). John also does not refuse music. “The biggest thing I do in life is writing songs. This is much more important than recordings and concerts. Because the song is what I created and what will remain forever. "

All 12 songs from the Destination Anywhere album - funny and sad, provocative and playful - are another stage in Bon Jovi’s creative life.

Career

At seventeen, John worked as a janitor at his cousin's recording studio Tony Bongovi , The Power Station . In 1980, when Meco recorded “ Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album, ” Tony recommended John for the song “ R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas .” This was his first professional record (under the name of John Bongovi) ^{[6 ]} . He left there in 1983 when he secured a record deal for the album ^[7] .

Together with Hugh MacDonald , who will replace Alec John Sach as Bon Jovi bass player in 1984, and David Szabo , John releases the song “ Runaway ”, one of the few songs that, according to one version, John wrote during his bus rides from Sayreville at The Power Station. He was with several record companies, including Atlantic Records and Mercury (PolyGram) , but was refused everywhere. In the end, he went to a disc jockey on WAPP-FM (a Manhattan radio show) and asked the DJ to listen to Runaway . DJ liked her, and he put her on the air; he even included it in the WAPP record. " Runaway " became a hit. The record company Mercury offered John a contract in 1983, and John invited guitarist Richie Sambora , keyboardist David Brian , drummer Tico Torres and bassist Alec John Sach and organized the band. John later found Doc McGee , who would then become the group manager. While searching for a name for the new band, one of the members suggested “ Bon Jovi ”. Although Doc McGee did not approve of this proposal (claiming it sounds like French ice cream ), the name stuck, and John changed his own name a little to John Bon Jovi.

With the help of Doc McGhee's new manager, the band's debut album, “ Bon Jovi, ” was released on January 21, 1984. The album went gold in the United States (more than 500,000 copies were sold) and was also released in the UK. The band played in support of ZZ Top at Madison Square Garden (before the release of their first album), and Scorpions and Kiss in Europe. They also appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand .

Bon Jovi's second album, 7800 ° Fahrenheit , was released in 1985, but its success was negligible. Leading British rock magazine Kerrang! ", Which responded very positively to the debut album, called the new album" a pale imitation of those Bon Jovi that we knew and loved. " John Bon Jovi later himself said that he could and should have been better. Members of the group claim in numerous interviews that they will not perform “live” a single song from this album.

The turning point came when they invited the poet and composer Desmond Child to create their third album, Slippery When Wet . With Child as co-author of many hits on this and future albums, the group became extremely popular around the world with songs such as " You Give Love a Bad Name ", " Livin 'On A Prayer " and " Wanted Dead or Alive ".

The album has sold 28 million copies worldwide since its release in 1986 ^[8] .

Bon Jovi's next album was " New Jersey " released in 1988. The album was recorded immediately after the tour in support of “ Slippery When Wet ”, as the group wanted to consolidate their success. The resulting album won both fan love and gigantic commercial success with hits such as “ Bad Medicine ”, “ Lay Your Hands on Me ” and “I'll Be There for You”, which are still vivid decorations of the band’s live performances. . “ New Jersey ” was a commercial breakthrough and became the first hard rock album to enter the top five Top Ten singles. “ Bad Medicine ” and “ I'll Be There for You ” - both were in first place, “ Born to Be My Baby ” (No. 3), “ Lay Your Hands on Me ” (No. 7 ) and Living in Sin (No. 9) complete this list. Blood on Blood was just as popular with fans. New Jersey was supported by such video releases as New Jersey: The Videos and Access All Areas , and a huge 18-month tour, originally called The Jersey Syndicate Tour . In 1989, the band was headlining the Moscow Music Peace Festival . Despite the huge popularity of the group, “ New Jersey ” practically led to the breakup of the group, as they hit the road almost immediately after a long tour in support of the previous album. On a new tour in support of New Jersey , John Bon Jovi began to experience voice problems. Very high notes and an exhausting concert schedule were a constant threat to the voice. With the help of a vocal coach, he finished the tour, but has since begun to sing in lower tones. Permanent life on the road almost destroyed the good relationship between the group. Sambora co-authored many songs, but he was not happy with the fact that most of the attention was given exclusively to John. As seen in VH1's Behind the Music , the band even flew different planes at the end of the tour in Guadalajara (Mexico) in early 1990.

Political Activities

Bon Jovi also participated in the Live Earth concert in Medaulands in 2007, where it was represented by former Vice President Al Gore . In 2008, John Bon Jovi supported the election campaign of Hillary Clinton ^[9] .

Family

John Bon Jovi has been married to Dorothea Hurley since April 1989. Four children: Stephanie Rose (1993), Jesse James Lewis (1995), Jacob (2002) and Romeo John (2004).

• John expressed a high opinion of the album Thin Lizzy Live and Dangerous , claiming that it was he who prompted him to go on stage ^[10] .
• John Bon Jovi is the owner of the Philadelphia Soul American futsal team ^[11] .
• John Bon Jovi said that he wants to be buried under the song “ In My Life ” by The Beatles ^[12] .
• The John Bon Jovi established the Poverty Alleviation Fund, the John Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, and has already paid for the construction of 260 low-income locals in his home state of New Jersey.
• In the fall of 2011, Bon Jovi opened the first Soul Kitchen restaurant in New Jersey as part of his poverty alleviation project. The essence of the restaurant is that customers who do not have money will simply be offered to do some kind of housework. In general, it is assumed that everyone will pay as much as he has and how much he considers necessary. For these purposes, the menu does not prudently indicate prices. The creation of the Soul Kitchen restaurant took about a year and 250 thousand dollars.
• In the cartoon "The Lion King", Simba grew the mane of a grown-up Simba from the hairstyle of John Bon Jovi.

• bonjovi.com is the official site of John Bon Jovi.
• John Bon Jovi interview with Larry King , aired on CNN on August 16, 2006 .
• John Bon Jovi (link unavailable) on Allrovi .