name	Jon Bon Jovi
background	solo_singer
birth name	John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.
alias	Jon Bon Jovi
born	March 02, 1962Sayreville, New Jersey, USA
instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica, percussion, trumpet, horn, trombone
genre	Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, country rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, actor, philanthropist
years active	1980–present
label	Island, Mercury
associated acts	Bon Jovi
website	}}

Jon Bon Jovi (born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.; March 2, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him. Throughout his career, he has released two solo albums and eleven studio albums with his band, which to date have sold over 120 million albums worldwide. Тhe band was declared the second richest band for 2011, behind U2, earning an approximate $125 million income. In addition, Jon Bon Jovi is one of the majority-owners of the Philadelphia Soul, a team playing in the Arena Football League. In 2010, President Barack Obama named Jon Bon Jovi to the White House Council for Community Solutions.

As a solo artist, Bon Jovi has received numerous awards for his work, including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for his solo hit, "Blaze of Glory". He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Monmouth University in 2001. He campaigned for Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential election, John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election, and Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election.

He was ranked 31st in the Hit Parader's top Metal vocalists of All Time.

Early life

Jon Bon Jovi was born John Francis Bongiovi Jr. in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of two former Marines, barber John Francis Bongiovi, Sr. and florist Carol Sharkey. He has two brothers, Anthony and Matthew. His father was of Sicilian and Slovak ancestry and his mother was of German and Russian descent. He has stated that he is a blood relative of Frank Sinatra. He spent summers in Erie, Pennsylvania, with his grandparents as a newspaper salesman. As a child, Bon Jovi attended St. Joseph High School, in Metuchen, New Jersey, during his freshman and sophomore years. He later transferred to Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey.

Bon Jovi spent most of his adolescence bunking school to opt for music activities instead, and ended up playing in local bands with friends and his cousin Tony Bongiovi, who owned the then famous New York recording studio, The Power Station. As a result, his academic records displayed less than spectacular achievements and poor grades. By the time he was 16, Bon Jovi was playing clubs. It was not long before he hooked up with keyboardist David Bryan (real name: David Bryan Rashbaum), who played with him in a ten-piece rhythm and blues band called ''Atlantic City Expressway''. Bon Jovi also performed with bands called ''The Rest'', ''The Lechers'' and ''John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones''.

Music career

Early career

When he was seventeen, Bon Jovi was working sweeping floors at his cousin Tony Bongiovi's recording studio. In 1980, when Meco was there recording ''Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album'', Bongiovi recommended Bon Jovi for the song "R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas." This became his first professional recording (credited as John Bongiovi). He left in 1983 when he got a record deal.

Bon Jovi recorded a song, ''Runaway'', one of a few songs John wrote during his bus travels from Sayreville to The Power Station. He went to several record companies, including Atlantic Records and Mercury (PolyGram), but they all turned him down.

He visited major rock station WAPP 103.5FM "The Apple" in New York City. He spoke directly to the promotion director John Lassman, who accepted the song "Runaway" for inclusion on the station's compilation album of local homegrown talent. Bon Jovi was initially reluctant to have it included but eventually gave them the song on which Bon Jovi had used studio musicians to play on the track. The studio musicians who helped record "Runaway" – known as The All Star Review – were guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan, drummer Frankie LaRocka, and bassist Hugh McDonald.

''Runaway'' became a local hit on the charts. Along the way, Mercury gave Bon Jovi a recording contract in 1983, and to promote ''Runaway'', Bon Jovi called up Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and Alec John Such and formed a band. After Bon Jovi claimed he wanted a group name (and rejecting "Johnny Lightning"), one of the group suggested "Bon Jovi", slightly changing the spelling of Jon's last name.

Bon Jovi

In October 1984, Bon Jovi supported the group Kiss at the Queens Hall in Leeds.

With the help of their new manager Doc McGhee, the band's debut album, ''Bon Jovi'', was released on January 21, 1984. The album went gold in the US (sales of over 500,000). In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album ''7800°Fahrenheit'' was released, and though the response weaker, it proved to be a fan favorite. The turning point came when they brought in songwriter Desmond Child for their third album, ''Slippery When Wet''.  With Child co-writing many of their hits on this and future albums the band shot to super-stardom 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 in excess of 28 million copies worldwide since its release in late 1986.

During their 1986-1987 tour, Jon's attempt to give it his all during live shows (plus the tour's exhausting schedule) greatly strained his vocal cords. In the band's Behind The Music special, he notes that his vocal cords were given steroids to help him sing. With the help of a vocal coach, he was able to continue doing the tour. Contrary to popular belief, Bon Jovi did not have voice damage during the New Jersey Syndicate Tour. However by the time of the recording of Slippery When Wet, Bon Jovi could no longer reach the extreme high notes heard across some of the songs in his first two albums.

The next album from Bon Jovi was ''New Jersey'' released in 1988.  The album was recorded very shortly after the tour for ''Slippery'', because the band wanted to prove that they were not just a one hit wonder.  The resulting album is a fan favorite and a mammoth commercial success, with hit songs such as "Bad Medicine", "Lay Your Hands on Me" and "I'll Be There for You", which are still nightly stalwarts in their live repertoire.

Despite the band achieving massive success, ''New Jersey'' almost led to the end of the band as they went straight back out on the road so soon after the heavy touring for their previous album. This constant living on the road almost destroyed the strong bond between the band members. Sambora is noted on the albums as co-writer for many songs, yet he resented the lack of attention that was heaped on Jon alone.  As mentioned in ''VH1's Behind the Music'', the band members note that at the end of the tour, each band member went their separate way, even departing in separate jets after the tour ended in Guadalajara, Mexico in early 1990.

Between 1990 and 1992, members of Bon Jovi went their separate ways after the very rigorous two year New Jersey Tour, which exceeded 200 shows on 5 continents.  This time off also helped them determine where Bon Jovi would fit within the rapidly changing music scene upon their return.

In 1992, the band returned with the album ''Keep the Faith''. The album was released in November 1992. Produced by Bob Rock, the album signified an ending to their early metal roots in previous albums and introduced a more "rock n roll"-driven groove to the album. Much more complex, lyrically and musically, the album proved that Bon Jovi could still be a viable band in 90's, despite the industry's and audience's growing affinity for Grunge.

In 1994, Bon Jovi released a "greatest hits" album titled ''Cross Road'', which also contained two new tracks: the hit singles "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night". Always spent six months on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of Bon Jovi's all-time biggest hits. The song peaked at #4 on the U.S. charts and at #1 in countries across Europe, Asia and in Australia.  The single sold very well, going platinum in the U.S. That same year, bassist Alec John Such left the band, the first and only lineup change since Bon Jovi began.  Hugh McDonald, who was the bassist on "Runaway", unofficially replaced Such as bassist.

Their sixth studio album ''These Days'' was released in June 1995 to the most critical acclaim that the band had ever received. With the album ''These Days'', Bon Jovi took the mature rock sound they had developed on ''Keep the Faith'' further.  The record as a whole was darker and more downbeat than the usual Bon Jovi flare.  By 1996, Bon Jovi had established themselves as a "force" in the music industry, proving much more durable than most of their 80's glam peers.

After another lengthy hiatus of nearly three years, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 to begin work on their next studio album. Their 2000 release, ''Crush'', enjoyed overwhelming success all around the world, thanks in part to the smash-hit single "It's My Life", co-written by famous Swedish producer Max Martin.  ''Crush'', which also produced such hits as "Say It Isn't So", helped introduce Bon Jovi to a new, younger fan base.

In late 2002, ''Bounce'', the band's follow-up to ''Crush'', hit stores.  Though ''Bounce'' did not enjoy the level of success of its predecessor, the album did produce hit singles such as "Everyday" and the title track.

Bon Jovi's ninth studio album, ''Have a Nice Day'', was released in September 2005. "Have A Nice Day" was the first single off the new album and the second single from the album "Who Says You Can't Go Home", was released in the U.S. in the spring of 2006. In the U.S. a duet version of "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland was released, and in May 2006, Bon Jovi made history by becoming the first Rock & Roll Band to have a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Chart.  On February 11, 2007, Bon Jovi also won a Grammy Award, for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" for "Who Says You Can't Go Home".

In June 2007, Bon Jovi released their studio album, ''Lost Highway''.  The album debuted at number #1 on the Billboard charts, the first time that Bon Jovi have had a number one album on the US charts since the release of ''New Jersey'' in 1988.  Thanks to the band's new country music fanbase, the album sold 292,000 copies in its first week on sale in the U.S., and became Bon Jovi's third US number one album.

On April 6, 2009, it was announced that the Tribeca Film Festival will screen a Bon Jovi documentary called ''When We Were Beautiful''. The film follows the band on the Lost Highway Tour during 2008. The film is directed by Phil Griffin and will be the centerpiece of the festival and is considered a work-in-progress.In November 2009, Bon Jovi released their latest studio album ''The Circle''.

Solo career

Jon Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie ''Young Guns II'' (in which he also appeared for less than a second), more commonly known as ''Blaze of Glory''. Released in 1990, the album featured high profile guests such as: Elton John, Aldo Nova, Little Richard, and Jeff Beck, among others. The album fared well commercially and received very positive reviews and quickly achieved double platinum status. The title track, "Blaze of Glory", hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Jon an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but he did not win the award. That same year, however, "Blaze of Glory" was awarded a Golden Globe.

Jon wrote what would become his second solo album, 1997's ''Destination Anywhere''. The album received very positive reviews and was a success across Europe. It was rumored that the record company was pursuing Jon to name the record "These Days, Part 2", since the album was somewhat of a moody progression from ''These Days''. A short movie of the same name was recorded right 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. Dave Stewart of Eurythmics played guitar on the record, as well as producing some of the tracks. That year Jon Bon Jovi earned a BRIT Award for Best International Male and also won a MTV Europe Music Award for Best Male.

In 1998, Jon Bon Jovi joined Luciano Pavarotti in his then annual charity concert "''Pavarotti and Friends''" in Italy.

Other ventures

Acting career

Jon Bon Jovi is a credited actor in the movies ''Moonlight and Valentino'', ''The Leading Man'', ''Destination Anywhere'', ''Homegrown'', ''Little City'', ''No Looking Back'', ''Row Your Boat'', ''Vampires Los Muertos'', ''U-571'', ''Cry Wolf'', and ''National Lampoon's Pucked''. He also had a supporting role in the movie ''Pay It Forward'', where he played Helen Hunt's abusive ex-husband. His TV series appearances include ''Sex and the City'', ''30 Rock'', ''Las Vegas'', ''The West Wing'', and an extended stint on ''Ally McBeal'' as a plumber who was Ally's boyfriend for a short period of time. He also had a brief, uncredited role in the 1990 film ''Young Guns II''. On January 24, 2011 it was confirmed that Jon will be cast in the film ''New Year's Eve'' as a successful rock star who is connected with the character of Katherine Heigl.

Presenting

He was guest star on ''American Idol'' in May 2007, during the show's "Rock Week" in which the contestants all performed his or his band's songs. On October 13, 2007 Jon hosted the third episode of the 33rd season of ''Saturday Night Live''. He guest starred on American Idol again on May 12, 2010, during the results show that would reveal the top three contestants.

Personal life

During a stop in Los Angeles on the New Jersey tour in 1989, Bon Jovi secretly took a trip to Las Vegas, where he married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley (born September 29, 1962) on April 29, 1989, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Together they have four children: Stephanie Rose, Jesse James Louis, Jacob Hurley, and Romeo Jon. Bon Jovi maintains a strong family foundation to this day.

In 2004, he became founder and primary owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. He appeared in several television commercials for the league, typically with John Elway, Hall of Fame quarterback for the Denver Broncos. The AFL will be returning in 2011, but Jon will no longer be part owner of the Soul.

In 2011, Bon Jovi expressed interest in purchasing 15% of the Atlanta Falcons for 150 million dollars.

He is also a supporter of Australian soccer team, Melbourne Heart FC.

Charitable work

Bon Jovi has worked on behalf of the Special Olympics, the American Red Cross, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Project H.O.M.E., The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (formerly the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation), and other groups.

He has been named the first Founding Ambassador of the Habitat for Humanity Ambassador program as part of the international-nonprofit organization’s new advocacy outreach initiative. Bon Jovi has been raising awareness with Habitat for Humanity since 2005 when he provided the funds to build six homes in Philadelphia and built the homes alongside the homeowner families, as well as with members of his Philadelphia Soul Arena Football Team (now non existent). The construction site also served as the video shoot location for his band’s single, "Who Says You Can’t Go Home". In 2006, Bon Jovi made a $1 million donation to build 28 Habitat homes in Louisiana in partnership with low-income families on the hurricane-stricken coast. In July, 2007, Bon Jovi announced a project that will rehabilitate a block of 15 homes in north Philadelphia. During an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005, the band donated $1 million to the Angel Network foundation.

The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (formerly the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation) was founded in 2006 and exists to combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair. Through the funding and creation of programs and partnerships, they support innovative community efforts to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

He is one of 21 artists singing on "Everybody Hurts", a charity single organized by Simon Cowell in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Political activism

As a Democrat, Bon Jovi toured extensively on behalf of Presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004, appearing at and playing acoustic sets (with Richie Sambora) at rallies for the Kerry-Edwards ticket throughout the United States. Bon Jovi also played as a part of the Live Earth concert at the Meadowlands in 2007, and was introduced by former Vice President Al Gore. In 2008, Jon Bon Jovi supported Barack Obama for President, even holding an exclusive fundraiser at his home for him; he also played a 2009 Manhattan fundraiser for now Secretary of State Clinton to lessen some of her $6.3 million dollar campaign debt. On Sunday, January 18, 2009 Bon Jovi performed a duet at the Obama Inauguration Concert of the Sam Cooke classic "A Change is Gonna Come" with Bettye LaVette. On June 4, 2009 Bon Jovi performed an acoustic benefit show for democratic Gov. Jon Corzine at the NJPAC in Newark, New Jersey.

On June 24, 2009, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Andy Madadian recorded a musical message of worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran. The handwritten Persian sign in the video translates to "we are one".

On 15 December 2010, Bon Jovi was appointed by Barack Obama to the new White House Council for Community Solutions. Bon Jovi's efforts with his own The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation in recent years have resulted in creative public/private partnerships as well as more than 260 units of affordable housing for low income individuals and families. In addition to providing advice to the President on solving specific community needs, the White House Council for Community Solutions has been tasked with three key functions: enlisting leaders in the non-profit, private, and philanthropic sectors to make progress on key policy goals; providing strategic input and recommendations to help the federal government promote greater innovation and cross-sector collaboration; and honoring and highlighting those making a significant impact in their own communities.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" ; |- style="text-align:center;" ! style="background:#b0c4de;" | Year ! style="background:#b0c4de;" | Film ! style="background:#b0c4de;" | Role |- | 1990 | ''Young Guns II'' | Long haired corpse in coffin |- | 1995 | ''Moonlight and Valentino'' | The Painter |- | 1996 | ''The Leading Man'' | Robin Grange |- |rowspan="2"| 1997 | ''Destination Anywhere'' | John |- | ''Little City'' | Kevin |- |rowspan="3"| 1998 | ''Homegrown'' | Danny |- | ''No Looking Back'' | Michael |- | ''Row Your Boat'' | Jamey Meadows |- | rowspan="2"| 2000 | ''U-571'' | Lieutenant Pete Emmett |- | ''Pay It Forward'' | Ricky McKinney |- | 2001–2002 | ''Ally McBeal'' | Victor Morrison (10 Episodes) |- | 2002 | ''Vampires: Los Muertos'' | Derek Bliss |- | 2005 | ''Cry Wolf'' | Rich Walker |- | rowspan=2|2006 | ''National Lampoon's Pucked'' | Frank Hopper |- | ''The West Wing'' | Himself |- | 2010 | ''30 Rock'' | Himself |- | 2011 | ''New Year's Eve'' | Unspecified Role |}

Awards

1985: Kerrang: Sex Object Of The Year

1987: Metal Edge Reader's Choice Awards: Best Male Performer.

1989: American Music Award: Best Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group; award shared with his band.

1990: Golden Globe: Best Song, Blaze of Glory (from ''Young Guns II'' soundtrack).

1990: Academy Awards: Nominated, Original Song, "Blaze of Glory" (from Young Guns II soundtrack).

1991: ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures for YOUNG GUNS II - Blaze of Glory.

1991: MTV Michael Jackson: Video Vanguard Award; shared with his band.

1996: Sky Sport: Special Olympics Awards.

1997: Kerrang Awards: Classic Songwriter.

1997: MTV Europe Music Awards: Best Male.

1998: Brit awards: Best International Male.

1998: ECHO: Best International Male Artist.

2000: People: Sexiest Rock Star.

2001: Humanitarian of the Year by The Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties for his charitable work on behalf of the people of New Jersey.

2001: Honorary doctorate in Humanities degree from Monmouth University in New Jersey, for his success as an entertainer and his humanitarian work.

2002: People: Sexiest Rock Star.

2002: My VH1 Music Awards: From The Tour to The Tube - Best TV for ,,Ally McBeal".

2003: People: Sexiest Rock Star.

2004: American Music Awards: Received the Award of Merit for their long career.

2005: World Music Awards:KUMAD Received the Diamond Award for sales of 100+ million albums.

2006: Help USA: Tribute Dinner Honnores.

2006: Inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame

2006: VH1 Livin' on a Prayer-Greatest Song of the '80's

2007: Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration, "Who Says You Can't Go Home?" (with Jennifer Nettles).

2008: RIAA Diamond Album

2008: RIAA Gold Album

2008: RIAA Multiple Platinum Album

2008: VH1 The Greatest: 100 Sexiest Artists (20 - 1): 14th Sexiest Artist

2008: MTV1 The Best: Best Selling Song Of The Decade 1980. Most popular rock song since 1980-s to Present.

2009: Inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

2009: Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

2009: 12th in the Planet Rock radio station's poll of the greatest singers ever

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions											! rowspan="2"
		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
1990	style="text-align:left;"			* Released: July 26, 1990	* Label: Mercury Records	3	—	2	2	3	4	—	4	1	4	1		RIAA>US: 2× Multi-Platinum	CRIA>CAN: 2× Platinum
1997				* Released: June 17, 1997	* Label: Mercury Records	31	6	2	4	34	2	1	1	1	1	7		* CAN: Platinum	IFPI>ITA: Platinum

Compilation albums

! Year	! Album
2001	''The Power Station Years: The Unreleased Recordings''	* Released: September 18, 2001	* Label: Mercury Records

Solo singles

rowspan="2"	Year	Single	Peak chart positions												Album
! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
	style="text-align:left;"	1	1	1	1	1	13	3	16	5	2	16	3
style="text-align:left;"	12	20	6	8	6	29	20	47	20	—	65	15
	style="text-align:left;"	—	—	86	60	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992		37*	27	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994		—	—	—	—	—	7 +	6 +	—	—	—	—	—
		27*	—	3	17	—	4	13	9	5	8	16	49
	—	—	40	40	—	10	27	66	50	—	40	41
	48*	—	18	—	—	13	—	38	—	40	61	—
style="text-align:left;"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	75	41	39	—	—
	2010		121	—	69	28	17	1	1	16	16	—	—	25

⁺ "Please Come Home for Christmas" was originally credited as a solo recording by Jon Bon Jovi when included on the Christmas compilation ''A Very Special Christmas 2'' in 1992, but when released as a single in UK, Ireland and Europe in 1994 it was released as a Bon Jovi single under the band name. The cover artwork of the single was a still from the musicvideo of Jon Bon Jovi and Cindy Crawford and the same Bon Jovi logo as was used on the albums ''Keep the Faith'' and ''Cross Road'' and the singles taken from them.

Guest singles

! Year	! Single	! Artist	! style="width:45px;"	! Album
1998		Chris LeDoux	68

With Bon Jovi

;Studio albums

''Bon Jovi'' (1984)

''7800° Fahrenheit'' (1985)

''Slippery When Wet'' (1986)

''New Jersey'' (1988)

''Keep the Faith'' (1992)

''These Days'' (1995)

''Crush'' (2000)

''Bounce'' (2002)

''Have a Nice Day'' (2005)

''Lost Highway'' (2007)

''The Circle'' (2009)

;Compilation albums

''Cross Road'' (1994)

''Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)

''This Left Feels Right'' (2003)

''Greatest Hits'' (2010)

;Live albums

''One Wild Night Live 1985-2001'' (2001)

;Box Sets

''100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong'' (2004)

References

External links

Interview on CNN's Larry King Live, Aug 16, 2006

Jon Bon Jovi on Facebook

Category:1962 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American film actors Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:American humanitarians Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:American musicians of Slovak descent Category:American musicians of German descent Category:American musicians of Russian descent Category:Arena Football League executives Category:Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes members Category:Bon Jovi members Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Island Records artists Category:Jersey Shore musicians Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:New Jersey Democrats Category:People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey Category:People from Sayreville, New Jersey Category:Songwriters from New Jersey

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name	Bon Jovi
landscape	Yes
background	group_or_band
origin	Sayreville, New Jersey, United States
genre	Rock
years active	1983–present (hiatuses from 1990-1991 and 1997-1999)
label	Island, Mercury, Mercury Nashville
website
current members	Jon Bon JoviDavid BryanTico TorresRichie Sambora }}

Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi (John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.), guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald. The band's lineup has remained mostly static during their history, the only exception being the departure of Alec John Such in 1994, who was unofficially replaced by Hugh McDonald. The band became known for writing several rock anthems and achieved widespread recognition with their third album, ''Slippery When Wet'', released in 1986. After touring and recording non-stop during the late 1980s, the band went on hiatus after the New Jersey Tour in 1990, during which time Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora both released successful solo albums. In 1992, the band returned with the album ''Keep the Faith''. Their 2000 single "It's My Life", which followed a second hiatus, successfully introduced the band to a younger audience. Bon Jovi has been known to use different styles in their music, which has included country for their 2007 album ''Lost Highway''. Their latest album, ''The Circle'', was released on November 10, 2009 in the United States.

Throughout their career, the band have released eleven studio albums, three compilation albums and one live album, and have sold 120 million records worldwide. They have performed more than 2,600 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans, and were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006. The band was also honored with the Award of Merit at the American Music Awards in 2004. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009. Bon Jovi was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, but did not make it. They were included on the list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" VH1.

History

Formation (1975–1983)

! Jon Bon Jovi	! Richie Sambora	! Tico Torres	! David Bryan

Jon Bon Jovi began playing piano and guitar in 1975, at the age of 13, with his first band 'Raze'. At 16, Bon Jovi met David Bryan and formed a band called Atlantic City Expressway. Still in his teens, Bon Jovi played in the band "John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones," playing local clubs like "The Fast Lane," and opening for known acts in the area. By 1980, he formed another band, "The Rest", and opened up for New Jersey acts such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

By mid-1982, out of school and working part-time at a women's shoe store, Jon Bon Jovi took a job at the Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility where his cousin Tony Bongiovi was co-owner. Bon Jovi made several demos—including one produced by Billy Squier—and sent them to record companies, though failing to make an impact. His first professional recording was as lead vocals in "R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas," which was part of the Christmas in the Stars album which his cousin co-produced.

Bon Jovi visited local radio station WAPP 103.5FM "The Apple" in Lake Success, New York. He spoke directly to the promotion director, John Lassman, who accepted the song "Runaway" for inclusion on the station's compilation album of local homegrown talent. Bon Jovi was initially reluctant, but eventually gave them the song, on which Bon Jovi had used studio musicians to play on the track. The studio musicians who helped record "Runaway"—known as The All Star Review—were guitarist Tim Pierce, keyboardist Roy Bittan, drummer Frankie LaRocka, and bassist Hugh McDonald.

The song began to get airplay in the New York area, then other sister stations in major markets picked up the song. In March 1983, Bon Jovi called David Bryan, who in turn called bassist Alec John Such (b. Alec John Such, November 14, 1952, Yonkers, New York, USA) ex-Phantom's Opera and an experienced drummer named Tico Torres. Tapped to play lead guitar was Bon Jovi's neighbor, Dave Sabo (a.k.a. The Snake)—who later formed the group Skid Row. Sabo was eventually replaced by Richie Sambora (b. Richard Stephen Sambora, July 11, 1959, Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA). Before joining the group, Sambora had toured with Joe Cocker, played with a group called Mercy and had been called up to audition for Kiss. He also played on the album ''Lessons'' with the band Message, which was re-released on CD through Long Island Records in 1995. Message was originally signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label, although the album was never released.

Tico Torres was also an experienced musician, having recorded and played live with Phantom's Opera, The Marvelettes, and Chuck Berry. He appeared on 26 records and had recently recorded with Franke and the Knockouts, a Jersey band with hit singles during the early 1980s.

David Bryan had quit the band that he and Bon Jovi had founded in order to study medicine. While in college, he realized that he wanted to pursue music full-time, and was accepted to Juilliard School, a New York music school. When Bon Jovi called his friend and said that he was putting together a band, and a record deal looked likely, Bryan followed Bon Jovi's lead and gave up his studies.

Early years (1984–85)

Once the band began playing showcases and opening for local talent, they caught the attention of record executive Derek Shulman, who signed them to Mercury Records and who was part of the PolyGram company. Because Jon Bon Jovi wanted a group name, Pamela Maher, a friend of Richard Fischer and an employee of Doc McGhee, suggested they call themselves Bon Jovi, following the example of the other famous two word bands such as Van Halen. This name was chosen instead of the original idea of Johnny Electric. Pamela's suggestion of the name was met with little enthusiasm, but two years later they hit the charts under that name.

With the help of their new manager Doc McGhee they recorded the band's debut album, ''Bon Jovi'', which was released on January 21, 1984. The album included the band's first hit single, "Runaway", reaching Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 followed by "She Don't Know Me" which was a song Mercury requested Jon record and include on the album as part of his deal. To date, that song remains the only track that has ever been included on a Bon Jovi album for which Jon does not have any writing credit.

The group found themselves opening for Scorpions in U.S. and for Kiss in Europe. In August 1984 the band made an appearance at the Super Rock Festival as a special guest in Japan. However, "Runaway" became a hit and Bon Jovi attracted the attention in Japan. Bon Jovi got the very first gold disc for their first album in Japan. The album peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200 album chart in U.S. and a year after its release, it was certified Gold by RIAA.

In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album ''7800° Fahrenheit'' was released. The band released three singles "Only Lonely", "In And Out Of Love" and the ballad "Silent Night". The album peaked at #37 on Billboard 200 and certified Gold in U.S. While the album did not do as well as they'd hoped in terms of sales, it allowed Bon Jovi to get out on the road touring again. Their first Japanese performances as headliner which had been done immediately after the release of the album and eight shows in total became sold-out all, and the album hit the Top 5 and certified Gold in Japan.

In May 1985, Bon Jovi headlined venues in UK and Europe. 7800 Fahrenheit peaked at #28 in UK and #40 in Germany. At the end of the European tour, the band began a 6-month run of U.S. tourdates supporting Ratt. In the midst of that tour they managed to make appearances at the Texas Jam and Castle Donington's Monsters of Rock concerts in England. Jon Bon Jovi also did a solo appearance at the very first Farm Aid in 1985.

''Slippery When Wet'' (1986–87)

In April 1986 Bon Jovi moved to Vancouver to record their third album. Six months of studio work resulted in ''Slippery When Wet''. The album, produced by Bruce Fairbairn and mixed by Bob Rock, was released in August 1986 and became Bon Jovi's breakthrough album. The first single, "You Give Love a Bad Name", became the band's first #1 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. The follow-up single, "Livin' on a Prayer" hit #1 as well, spending four weeks at the top position, both co-written with a young virtually unknown songwriter named Desmond Child (b. John Charles Barrett, 28 October 1953, Gainesville, Florida, USA) whose songwriting talents were recommended by KISS frontman, Paul Stanley. The songwriting partnership of Jon Bon Jovi/ Richie Sambora/ Desmond Child has continued to the present day. The album's third single "Wanted Dead or Alive" was a major Top 10 hit and still remains to this day, the Bon Jovi "National Anthem".

MTV wholeheartedly embraced Bon Jovi, whose camera friendly good looks and live concert videos helped catapult the band into superstardom. With the overwhelming success of ''Slippery When Wet'' Bon Jovi had become the worldwide musical superstars they had been dreaming of. Slippery When Wet reached number one in Australia, Canada, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Switzerland and holds the record for the most weeks for a hard rock album at #1 in U.S., spending 8 weeks at #1 on Billboard 200. The album also hit the Top 10 in Austria, the Netherlands, Japan, and the United Kingdom, spending 107 weeks on UK Albums Chart.

In 1987, Slippery When Wet was named the top selling album of the year by Billboard and "Livin' On A Prayer" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance. In 1988, the band also won an award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band at the American Music Awards and an award for Favorite Rock Group at the People's Choice Awards.

When ''Slippery When Wet'' was released in August 1986, Bon Jovi was the support act for 38 Special. By the end of 1986, Bon Jovi were well into six months of headline dates in arenas across America. In August 1987, the band headlined England's "Monsters of Rock" festival. During their set Dee Snider, Bruce Dickinson and Paul Stanley joined the band to perform "We're an American Band". The band ended the year having headlined 130 shows in the "Tour Without End", grossing $28,400,000.

Jon Bon Jovi was asked what all this astronomical success meant, to which he answered, "Everything is bigger, and it moves twice as fast. You're recognized twice as often. This is bigger, the whole world gets bigger. You have to sell more records, be huger. You get smarter and you understand the business a little more, so it's more responsibility. You understand it now, and you want to make sure everything goes right".

Following the group’s success, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were asked to assist in producing Cher’s ‘comeback’ self-titled album in 1987. Jon and Richie co-wrote and sang backing vocals on Cher’s single "We All Sleep Alone" and also produced several other tracks on the album, later going on to co-produce Cher’s multi-platinum album ''Heart of Stone'' in 1989.

''New Jersey'' (1988–90)

Determined to prove that the success of ''Slippery When Wet'' was not a fluke, Bon Jovi released their fourth effort ''New Jersey'' in September 1988. The resulting album was a commercial hit. ''New Jersey'' spent four consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard 200 and two weeks on UK Albums Chart.

''New Jersey'' also holds the record for the hard rock album to spawn the most Top 10 singles, with five singles charting on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in United States. "Bad Medicine" and the ballad "I'll Be There for You", both of which hit #1 on Billboard Hot 100. The album's three other singles ("Born to Be My Baby", "Lay Your Hands on Me", and "Living in Sin") reached the Top 10 and were huge hits on MTV. Bon Jovi even made the news when the video for "Living In Sin" was banned by MTV for featuring some too racy romance/sex scenes. After that it was re-edited and MTV put it in heavy rotation.

Bon Jovi mounted another huge worldwide tour that continued throughout 1989 and 1990. They visited more than 22 countries and performed more than 232 shows before it was all over. The personal highpoint for the band was their June 11, 1989 sell-out homecoming at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. In August 1989, the band headed to the Soviet Union for the ''Moscow Music Peace Festival''. Bon Jovi were the first band officially sanctioned by the Soviet government to perform in the Soviet Union and New Jersey was released on the state-owned record label, Melodiya, a privilege no Western artist had ever been granted before. Monsters of Rock festival was cancelled in 1989 because of the deaths of two fans during the Guns N' Roses performance in 1988. It was replaced with another rock festival which took place in Milton Keynes with Bon Jovi, Europe, Skid Row, and Vixen as participants.

The non-stop touring was taking its toll on the band. By the end of the New Jersey tour, Bon Jovi had 16 months of concerts under their belt and the band members were exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. Finally, following the last tour date in Mexico, and without any clear plans for their future, the band members just went home.

Solo albums (1990–91)

Between 1990 and 1991 the band members went their separate ways. The exhaustion of recording both Slippery When Wet and New Jersey back to back, with highly paced world tours after each album, took its toll on the band. The band has since stated that there were few if any goodbyes between them at the end of the New Jersey tour. During the time they took off from the scene, the band retreated to their own interests and showed no desire for making another album.

Jon Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie ''Young Guns II'' more commonly known as ''Blaze of Glory''. Having been originally approached by his friend Emilio Estevez to lend "Wanted Dead Or Alive" as the theme song for his upcoming Billy The Kid sequel, Jon Bon Jovi ended up composing an all new theme song for the film's soundtrack and delivering his first solo album.

Released in 1990, the album featured high profile guests such as Elton John, Little Richard and Jeff Beck. The album fared well commercially and received positive reviews. The title track, "Blaze of Glory" hit #1 in United States. In 1991 "Blaze of Glory" won an award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single at the American Music Awards and awarded a Golden Globe, as well. The song also earned Jon Bon Jovi an Academy Award nomination and a Grammy nomination.

Sambora, with the help of Tico Torres and David Bryan, released a solo album entitled ''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 took a fall off of his motorcycle which injured his bass-playing hand, forcing him to develop a whole new way to hold and play his instrument.

Disillusioned with the music business, despite all his success, and unhappy with the status quo, in 1991 Jon Bon Jovi fired his management, business advisers, and agents, including his long time manager, Doc McGhee. Jon took on the quarterbacking responsibilities himself by closing ranks and creating ''Bon Jovi Management''.

In October 1991 the band went to a Caribbean island of St. Thomas to discuss plans for the future. They managed to resolve their differences by allowing each member to speak about his feelings without interruption from each other. Upon resolving their issues, they headed back into the Vancouver Little Mountain studios with Bob Rock to work on the band's fifth album in January 1992.

''Keep the Faith'' (1992–93)

Bon Jovi's fifth studio album ''Keep the Faith'' was released in November 1992, representing "the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Bon Jovi" and marking a change in the band's sound. To promote ''Keep The Faith'' they returned to their roots playing a few dates at the small New Jersey clubs where they had started their career.

The musical tastes had shifted in the four years between New Jersey and Keep the Faith. Despite the industry's and audience's growing affinity for Grunge, Bon Jovi's sound morphed itself to work in the 1990s music scene, and also their image changed. The media focused considerable attention on Jon Bon Jovi’s hair. When Jon Bon Jovi cut his hair he made headlines on CNN.

The album went double platinum in United States and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200. But on the other side of Atlantic, reaction was even more impressive. The album debuted at #1 in both UK and Australia and reached 5x platinum in Canada and 3x platinum in both Japan and Australia. Keep The Faith was also a huge success in Germany, and sold very well in both Asia and South America, two emerging and growing record markets.

The band appeared on ''MTV Unplugged'' in late 1992 but that was different from the other episodes of MTV Unplugged series. The performance captures Bon Jovi in an intimate, "in the round" experience, performing acoustic and electric renditions of classic hits (Bon Jovi and non-Bon Jovi tracks) and new material from ''Keep the Faith''. The concert was released commercially in 1993 as ''Keep the Faith: An Evening with Bon Jovi''.

To mark the beginning of the band's next phase, Bon Jovi embarked on an extensive international tour, visiting countries the band had never seen before and headlining stadiums in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. They visited 38 countries and performed 177 shows on the Keep the Faith Tour/I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Tour.

''Cross Road'' and ''These Days'' (1994–96)

In October 1994, Bon Jovi released a greatest hits album titled ''Cross Road'', with two new tracks: "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night". The first single off of the album, "Always", was a massive hit. "Always" spent six months on the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, hit the #1 in 21 countries certified platinum in the US, sold 3 million copies world wide and became Bon Jovi's highest selling single. That year Bon Jovi won an award for ''Best Selling Rock Band'' at the World Music Awards.

That same year, bassist Alec John Such left the band, the first lineup change since Bon Jovi began. Hugh McDonald who was the bassist on "Runaway," unofficially replaced Such as bassist, with rumours that he had also recorded bass on previous albums (McDonald's website lists every Bon Jovi album, with the exception of 7800° Fahrenheit, in the Discography section).

Jon Bon Jovi said, regarding the departure of Such: "Of course it hurts. But I learned to accept and respect it. The fact that I'm a workaholic, studio in, studio out, stage on, stage off, want to be dealing with music day and night, doesn't mean everyone else has to adjust to that pace. Alec wanted to quit for a while now, so it didn't come as a complete surprise."

Bon Jovi's sixth studio album, ''These Days'', was released in June 1995. This was the first album Bon Jovi released after the departure of bassist Alec John Such. Critics responded to ''These Days'' much as they had to ''Keep The Faith'', noting that the band had continued to mature lyrically and explore different styles of music, while keeping the music undeniably Bon Jovi. Jon Bon Jovi has stated that even though the album was their darkest, the band was in a very happy place at the time.

The album hit the Top 10 on Billboard 200 and managed to reach Platinum status by the RIAA in U.S. but fared better internationally than in the U.S. The album debuted at #1 in UK where it replaced Michael Jackson's album ''HIStory'' at number one on the UK Albums Chart and spent four consecutive weeks at #1. In Japan, the album topped the Oricon chart with sales of 379,000 copies in first week, becoming then-fastest selling album by a non-Japanese artist in history of the country's chart. The lead single ''This Ain't A Love Song'' reached #14 in the United States, and was the only significant US hit from the album. However, the album produced four UK Top 10 hits. That year the band earned a BRIT Award for best international band and also won a MTV Europe Music Award for Best Rock.

The world tour that kicked off in India took the band though Asia, Europe, Australia and South America before the band's first-ever shows in South Africa. A career highpoint came in June 1995 when Bon Jovi sold out three-nights at London's historical ''Wembley Stadium''. With film crews in tow, the concerts were documented for ''Bon Jovi: Live From London'', a Grammy-nominated video of their record-breaking appearance. Bon Jovi visited 35 countries and performed 126 shows on ''These Days'' tour.

Hiatus (1997–99)

Following the overwhelming success of the ''These Days Tour'', the members of Bon Jovi went their separate ways. But unlike the period following the New Jersey tour, tainted with uncertainty, this hiatus was a conscious group decision. The members of Bon Jovi agreed to a self-imposed two-year sabbatical from the band.

In 1997, Jon Bon Jovi landed lead roles in several movies. While he was free between filming different 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.

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

Bon Jovi reunited in 1999 to record the song "Real Life" for the movie ''EdTV'' minus Bryan who was recovering from an accident in which he nearly severed his finger. In 1999 Bon Jovi was ready to release a new album, under the working title ''Sex Sells'', however the album was suspended and only three of more than thirty songs written were used for ''Crush''. (In the "Real Life" music video you can see some posters of this album).

''Crush'' and ''One Wild Night'' (2000–01)

After a nearly four-year hiatus, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 to begin work on their next studio album. In June 2000, ''Crush'' was released as the band's seventh studio album. The first single "It's My Life" was noted as one of the group’s most successful releases in a decade and most importantly, becoming a symbol of the band's longevity as they prevailed through many different changes in the mainstream rock scene with admirable success. The album helped introduce them to a new, younger fan base. That year the band received two Grammy nominations for Best Rock Album ''Crush'' and Best Rock Performance by Duo/Group "It's My Life". The video for "It's My Life" won the My VH1 Music Awards for "My Favorite Video". VH1 also featured the band on the episodes of ''Behind The Music'' in 2000.

Bon Jovi played stadiums in Japan and Europe over the summer of 2000 including two sold-out concerts at London's historic Wembley Stadium, becoming the last ever concerts held at the legendary venue before its demolition. That summer the band played to more than one million fans in less than 30 shows. Upon their return to the U.S. the band did a sold-out arena tour in the Fall of 2000, followed in the Spring of 2001 with a sold-out arena–amphitheatre run of dates in America. They revisited stadiums in Japan and Europe including their first date in Wales at The Millenium Stadium. After this they had one more lap of shed dates in America. Bon Jovi sold out two homecoming concerts at New Jersey's Giants Stadium. Concerts were not only fulfilling career and personal highlights for the band but the broadcast broke ratings records for the VH-1 network.

While on tour, Bon Jovi released a collection of live performances from throughout their career in an album entitled ''One Wild Night Live 1985–2001''. This was Bon Jovi's first-ever live album. The songs were culled from archives of recorded material the band had been collecting from their earliest days on the road right through the current tour.

The band awarded for "Hottest Live Show" at the 2001 My VH1 Music Awards At this awards show, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora surprised a live theatre full of attendees and a live television audience with a beautiful rendition of "Here Comes The Sun" as a tribute to George Harrison.

When the Crush and One Wild Night tours were complete, the members of the band had anticipated a brief vacation before work would begin on the band's 8th studio album. But on September 11, the world changed. Within days of the terrorist attacks, Jon and Richie had filmed Public Service Announcements for the Red Cross, recorded "America The Beautiful" for the NFL and performed as part of the historic ''America: A Tribute to Heroes'' live telethon. One month later, the band participated at two Monmouth County Alliance of Neighbors concerts in Red Bank, NJ to raise funds for the families close the band's hometowns, which were affected by the World Trade Center disaster. And on October 21, 2001, Bon Jovi performed at the monumental ''Concert For New York'' at Madison Square Garden, raising relief funds and honoring those who worked to save lives during the attack. Bon Jovi also released a second greatest hits album titled Tokyo Road in 2001.

''Bounce'' and ''This Left Feels Right'' (2002–04)

In spring 2002, the group entered the studio to begin recording their eighth studio album, the title, ''Bounce'' was a reference not only to New York City's and the United States' ability to bounce back from the World Trade Center attacks as a nation but, it also referred to Bon Jovi, the band's ability to bounce back again and again, over the years. Bounce represented a return to Bon Jovi's "roots" with Richie Sambora playing heavily distorted guitars, gravelly vocals by Jon, keyboard effects and piano's by David Bryan and booming drums by Tico Torres. Jon Bon Jovi noted that "Bounce" was mainly a "Jon and Richie album". However, this return to a more "classic Bon Jovi" sound, while a relief to some fans, also brought out some critics that accused the band of being too "formulaic", a criticism that had been leveled at the band in the past .

The first single off the album "Everyday", nominated at the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The band went on the Bounce Tour for this album, during which they made history as the last band to play Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia before it was torn down. Following the end of the Bounce Tour in August 2003, Bon Jovi embarked on a project; originally intending to produce an album consisting of live acoustic performances, the band ended up rewriting, re-recording and reinventing 12 of their biggest hits in a new and much different light. ''This Left Feels Right'' was released in November 2003.

The following year, the band released a box set entitled ''100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong'', the title being a homage to Elvis Presley's ''50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong''. The set consisted of four CDs packed with 38 unreleased and 12 rare tracks, as well as a DVD. The box set marked the sales of 100 million Bon Jovi albums and also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the release of the band's first record in 1984.

In November 2004, Bon Jovi was honored with the Award for Merit at the American Music Awards, where they performed a sneak preview of an unfinished song, "Have a Nice Day".

''Have a Nice Day'' (2005–06)

Bon Jovi participated in Live 8 on July 2, 2005, where they debuted the full, final version of "Have a Nice Day", alongside "Livin' on a Prayer" and "It's My Life". Bon Jovi's ninth studio album, ''Have a Nice Day'', was released in September 2005. "Have A Nice Day", the first single off the album. The second single, "Who Says You Can't Go Home", was released in the U.S. in early 2006. In the U.S., a duet version of "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland was released, they also released "Welcome to Wherever You Are" as the third single. And in May 2006, Bon Jovi became the first Rock & Roll Band to have a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Chart. On February 11, 2007, Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles won the Grammy Award, for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" for "Who Says You Can't Go Home". The band also won an award for Favorite Rock Song at the People's Choice Awards with "Who Says You Can't Go Home".

Soon after the release of ''Have A Nice Day'', the band started gearing up for the new 2005–2006 worldwide Have A Nice Day Tour. This tour, being shorter than previous ones with only seventy-five shows originally planned, took the band to numerous stages and stadiums throughout the world. The tour was a significant commercial success, as the group played to 2,002,000 fans, and the tour grossed a total $191 million. The tour was the third-highest-grossing tour of 2006 taking in just over $131 million, just behind The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang World Tour and Madonna's Confessions Tour. On November 14, 2006, Bon Jovi were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame alongside James Brown and Led Zeppelin.

''Lost Highway'' (2007–08)

In June 2007, Bon Jovi released their tenth studio album, ''Lost Highway''. The album influences the band's rock sound with that of country music following the success of a country version of the band's 2006 single "Who Says You Can't Go Home", a duet with Jennifer Nettles.

To promote the new album, Bon Jovi made several television appearances, including the 6th annual CMT Awards in Nashville, ''American Idol'', and MTV Unplugged, as well as playing at the Live Earth concert at Giants Stadium. They also performed ten promotional gigs in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Japan. As part of the 'tour', Bon Jovi were the first group to perform at London's new O₂ Arena (formerly the Millennium Dome) when it opened to the public on June 24, 2007. The 23,000-seater stadium sold out within 30 minutes of tickets being released.

''Lost Highway'' topped the charts in United States, The Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Europe, and Canada. The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and the albums first single "(You Want To) Make a Memory" was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 2008 Grammy Awards. The albums third single "Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore" won the CMT Music Award for the Collaborative Video of the Year in 2008. Presenter LeAnn Rimes accepted the award on behalf of the band, as Bon Jovi was not at the awards ceremony. The song was also nominated for the Academy of Country Music Award for Vocal Event of the Year.

In October 2007 the band announced the Lost Highway Tour. Starting with the 10 shows to open the brand new, Newark, New Jersey Prudential Center, the band toured Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and then Europe, finishing in the summer. In early December 2007 the band took time off from their Canadian tour to become the first ever American band to headline the Royal Variety Performance in Liverpool, England, performing in front of the Queen herself. While the band was on tour in Australia, Bon Jovi have landed eight albums in ARIA Charts in the wake of their first tour in 12 years.

The tour was the highest grossing tour of 2008 in Billboard's rankings, with ticket sales of $210.6 million, reported from November 14, 2007 through Nov.11, 2008. In all, 2,157,675 tickets were sold during 2008. Combined with $16.4 million in 2007 from the Newark shows, making a combined gross of $227 million in ticket sales. In Pollstar's calculus for North America, the Lost Highway Tour had the highest gross for 2008 at $70.4 million.

''The Circle'' and ''Greatest Hits'' (2009–present)

In April 2009, Phil Griffin's documentary on the band, "When We Were Beautiful", debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival, chronicling Bon Jovi's ups and downs over 25 years and following the band on their latest Lost Highway tour.

In June 2009, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame. That month they also recorded a cover of the song "Stand By Me" with Iranian singer Andy Madadian, to show solidarity for those affected by political unrest in Iran. Parts of the song were sung in Persian.

On November 10, 2009, the band released their 11th studio album, entitled ''The Circle''. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 163 000 copies in its first week. The album is a return to rock n' roll after their Nashville influenced album, ''Lost Highway''. To promote the album, Bon Jovi performed "We Weren't Born to Follow", the first single off the album, on the result show of the rock week of the TV show, ''The X-Factor''. The song also was performed during the Fest der Freiheit on November 9 in Berlin, a memorial for the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

On December 12, 2009, Bon Jovi were ranked #9 on Billboard's top 25 touring artists of the decade after grossing (US)$419,481,741 from 249 shows, of which 244 were sellouts.

On January 31, 2010, Bon Jovi performed for the first time at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards. They performed the songs “We Weren’t Born to Follow” off their new album ''The Circle'', “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” from their album ''Have a Nice Day'', and fans voted for the last song and chose “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Bon Jovi was nominated for a 2010 Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for "We Weren't Born To Follow."

Bon Jovi headed out on the road once again on February 19, 2010, embarking on The Circle Tour. In 2011, the tour morphed into Bon Jovi Live.

On April 11, 2010, Bon Jovi played in Dallas. A short stream of this show was available through the band's website, and viewers were able to buy tickets to three of their shows in Toronto, Chicago, and New Jersey all of which would happen this coming summer.

On April 19, it was announced that special editions of Bon Jovi albums from 1984 to 2007 will be released. These albums will feature new artwork and photos from the time period of when the albums were released. They will also feature live recordings of select songs on the album recorded on the tour that supported the album. The albums were released on May 11.

Bon Jovi had planned to release a greatest hits album in 2009, but the project got sidelined after the group came up with enough material for a brand new studio album, Jon commenting that "the state of the world at this point in time gave us a lot to write about". That doesn't mean the best-of set has been put on hold forever, Jon says "it will come out in 2010". Along with a few never-before-released songs, the compilation will also feature tracks not featured on Bon Jovi's 1994 ''Cross Road'' greatest hits. "It'll be a new greatest hits because the last one was 15 years ago in '94. So you had everything from These Days forward. And what is this my fifth album in this decade? So at least six studio records and a solo thing. And then I'm sure you'll still end up having to put 'Living On A Prayer' on it but there won't be 'Runaway' on it. It won't have the early early stuff because we'll have had more hits since then."

In July 2010 Bon Jovi posted pictures on their Facebook page from the photo shoot for the ''Greatest Hits'' album. The first single from the ''Greatest Hits'', titled "What Do You Got?" was released on August 27, 2010.

On September 28, 2010, Bon Jovi was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On October 22, 2010, and October 25, 2010, full versions of the remaining three new songs were released on bonjovi.com.

It has been confirmed that the new ''Greatest Hits'' album will be made available as downloadable content for ''Rock Band 3''.

On October 31, 2010, Bon Jovi performed on the British version of the ''X Factor'', alongside Jamiroquai and Rihanna. They were joined by contestants during the performance.

On December 13, 2010, Bon Jovi reopened the National Stadium on October 1, with The Circle Tour, which was recognized by ''Billboard'' magazine as the group with the most profitable tour of 2010. The tour has raised $146,507,388 and a total audience of 1,591,154.

Musical style/genres

Bon Jovi's musical style has generally been characterized as 'hard rock', 'pop/hair metal', 'arena rock' and 'pop rock', although they have also experimented and varied from these genres at times.

The band's first four albums blended the pop metal and hard rock genres, although they had mostly shed the pop metal sound by their fifth studio album, ''Keep the Faith'', and their sixth, ''These Days'', utilizing a more mature hard rock sound. ''Crush'' was characterized as "far enough into pop/rock to actually stand a chance of getting airplay", while ''Bounce'' was described as "heavy, serious rock". ''Have a Nice Day'' was also characterized as being heavier than ''Crush''.

The band altered their sound dramatically in their next release, ''Lost Highway'', blending influences from country music and country rock, a sound Jon Bon Jovi described as "a Bon Jovi album influenced by Nashville". Bon Jovi returned to a more typical rock sound on ''The Circle'', which was described by Allmusic as "conjured by echoed, delayed guitars, shimmering keyboards, and spacious rhythms."

Band members

;Current members

Jon Bon Jovi – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1983–present)

David Bryan – keyboards, backing vocals (1983–present)

Tico Torres – drums, percussion (1983–present)

Richie Sambora – lead guitar, backing vocals (1983–present)

;Additional musicians

Hugh McDonald - bass guitar (1994-present)

;Past members

Alec John Such - bass guitar, background vocals (1983–1994)

Dave Sabo - lead guitar (1983)

Discography

''Bon Jovi'' (1984)

''7800° Fahrenheit'' (1985)

''Slippery When Wet'' (1986)

''New Jersey'' (1988)

''Keep the Faith'' (1992)

''These Days'' (1995)

''Crush'' (2000)

''Bounce'' (2002)

''Have a Nice Day'' (2005)

''Lost Highway'' (2007)

''The Circle'' (2009)

Awards and Nominations

Grammy Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	''Live From London''	Best Music Video, Long Form
align=center	"It's My Life"	Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group
align=center	''Crush''	Best Rock Album
align=center	"Everyday"	Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group
align=center	"Misunderstood"	Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group
align=center	"Who Says You Can't Go Home" with jennifer nettles	Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
align=center	''Lost Highway''	Best Pop Album
align=center	"(You Want To)Make a Memory"	Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group
align=center	"We Weren't Born to Follow"	Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group

MTV Video Music Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	"Livin' On a Prayer"
align=center	"You Give Love a Bad Name"
align=center	Bon Jovi	Video Vanguard Award

American Music Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	Bon Jovi	Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group
align=center	''Slippery When Wet''	Favorite Pop/Rock Album
align=center	"Livin' On a Prayer"	Favorite Pop/Rock Single
align=center	Bon Jovi	Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group
align=center	"I'll Be There For You"	Favorite Pop/Rock Single
align=center	Bon Jovi	Award of Merit

Tours

Bon Jovi Tour (1984)

7800 Fahrenheit Tour (1985)

Slippery When Wet Tour (1986–87)

New Jersey Syndicate Tour (1988–90)

Keep the Faith Tour (1993)

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Tour (1993)

Crossroad Promo Tour (1994)

These Days Tour (1995–96)

Crush Tour (2000)

One Wild Night Tour (2001)

Bounce Tour (2002–03)

Have a Nice Day Tour (2005–06)

Lost Highway Tour (2007–08)

The Circle Tour (2010)

Bon Jovi Live (2011)

Solo tours

Destination Anywhere Tour (1997–98)

References

Notes

External links

* Category:American hard rock musical groups Category:Heavy metal musical groups from New Jersey Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Glam metal musical groups Category:Brit Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1983 Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Island Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists

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Name	Don Was
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Don Fagenson
Born	September 13, 1952
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genre	RockNew Wave
Occupation	Musician, record producer
Instrument	Bass guitar, vocals, piano
Years active	1979–present
Associated acts	Was (Not Was)Orquestra Was }}

Don Was (born Don Fagenson; September 13, 1952) is an American musician, bassist and record producer.

Life and career

Was was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Oak Park High School (Michigan) in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year. A journeyman musician, he grew up listening to the Detroit blues sound and the jazz music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

Using the stage name "Don Was", he formed the group Was (Not Was) with school friend David Weiss (David Was). The group found commercial success in the 1980s - releasing four albums and logging several hit records. A jazz/R&B; album of Hank Williams covers, "Forever's A Long, Long Time" was released in 1996, under the name Orquestra Was. In 2008, Was (Not Was) reunited for a acclaimed new album and tour.

Don Was has earned his recognition as a record producer, and has recorded with an array of artists, including The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, Ziggy Marley, Bob Seger, Al Green, Garth Brooks, Ringo Starr, Iggy Pop, Lyle Lovett, Kris Kristofferson, Joe Cocker, Hootie and The Blowfish, Amos Lee and Willie Nelson to Elton John, Stevie Nicks, George Clinton, Randy Newman, The Black Crowes, Carly Simon, Travis Tritt, Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne, The Barenaked Ladies, Old Crow Medicine Show, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Richie Sambora, The Presidents of the United States of America, B.B. King, Paul Westerberg, Poison, Cheb Khaled, The B-52's, Zucchero, Todd Snider, Elizabeth Cook, Jill Sobule and Solomon Burke. He has received multiple Grammy Awards including Producer of the Year in 1995. He produced several albums for Bonnie Raitt including her ''Nick of Time'' album that won the 1990 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

He served as music director and/or consultant for several motion pictures such as ''Thelma and Louise'', ''The Rainmaker'', ''Hope Floats'', ''Phenomenon'', ''Tin Cup'', ''Honeymoon in Vegas'', ''8 Seconds'', ''Switch'', ''The Freshman'', ''Days of Thunder'', ''Michael'', ''Prêt-à-Porter'', ''Boys on the Side'', ''Toy Story'' and ''The Paper''.

In 1995, Don Was earned a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year. In 1997, he directed and produced a documentary, ''I Just Wasn't Made for These Times'', about former-Beach Boy Brian Wilson. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and won the San Francisco Film Festival's Golden Gate Award. He also received the British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Original Score in recognition of his compositions for the film ''Backbeat''.

Was, who is a fan of the Rolling Stones and saw them in concert when he was age 12 in 1964, worked on the remastered Rolling Stones's album ''Exile on Main Street'' that was released in May 2010. Was scoured old master recordings of the album for lost gems, remixing some songs while adding entirely new lyrics and tracks on songs.

In 2009, he began hosting a weekly radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio's Outlaw Country channel called ''The Motor City Hayride''. Was is the named Producer for a contest called,"Gimme The Gig", sponsored by Ford. He is To produce the winning band,"Perry Acker" from Gig Harbor Washington. On one of American Idol's 2011 broadcasts Was worked with contestants Haley Reinhart, Lauren Alaina, Paul McDonald, and Scotty McCreery.

Personal life

Don is the father of Eve 6 drummer Tony Fagenson and also Henry and Solomon Fagenson. He is the brother of public official Dr. Nancy Fagenson Potok, former Principal Associate Director and Chief Financial Officer of the US Census Bureau and currently Deputy Undersecretary for Economic Affairs in the Obama Administration.

Selected discography

1985: ''Spoiled Girl'' - Carly Simon (producer)

1989: ''Nick of Time'' - Bonnie Raitt (keyboards, producer)

1989: ''Cosmic Thing'' - The B-52s (producer)

1990: ''Take it to Heart'' - Michael McDonald (programming, producer, synthesizer, sequencing, synthesizer programming)

1990: ''Brick by Brick'' - Iggy Pop (producer)

1990: ''Under the Red Sky'' - Bob Dylan (bass, producer)

1991: ''Death Tongue'' - Wayne Kramer (producer)

1991: ''Luck of the Draw'' - Bonnie Raitt (producer)

1991: ''The Fire Inside'' - Bob Seger (bass, producer)

1992: ''Arkansas Traveler'' - Michelle Shocked (producer)

1992: ''Time Takes Time'' - Ringo Starr (producer)

1992: ''Good Stuff'' - The B-52s (producer)

1992: ''Strange Weather'' - Glenn Frey (producer)

1992: ''King of Hearts'' - Roy Orbison (producer, Hammond organ, background vocals)

1993: ''Across the Borderline'' - Willie Nelson (producer)

1993: ''Thousand Roads'' - David Crosby (producer)

1993: ''I'm Alive'' - Jackson Browne (producer)

1994: ''Longing in Their Hearts'' - Bonnie Raitt (bass, producer)

1994: ''Voodoo Lounge'' - The Rolling Stones (producer)

1995: ''The Road Goes on Forever'' - The Highwaymen (producer)

1995: ''MTV Unplugged'' - Bob Dylan (mixing)

1995: ''I Just Wasn't Made for These Times'' - Brian Wilson (producer)

1995: ''Road Tested'' - Bonnie Raitt (producer)

1995: ''Stripped'' - The Rolling Stones (producer)

1996: ''The Restless Kind'' - Travis Tritt (producer)

1997: ''Bridges to Babylon'' - The Rolling Stones (bass, keyboards, executive producer, producer, Wurlitzer)

1997: ''Undiscovered Soul'' - Richie Sambora (producer)

1999: ''Suicaine Gratifaction'' - Paul Westerberg (producer)

1999: ''Spirit of Music'' - Ziggy Marley (producer)

1999: ''Avenue B'' - Iggy Pop (producer)

1999: ''In the Life of Chris Gaines'' - Garth Brooks (producer)

2000: ''Maroon'' - Barenaked Ladies (producer)

2001: ''Lions'' - The Black Crowes (bass, producer, mixing)

2003: ''Hootie & the Blowfish'' - Hootie & the Blowfish (producer)

2004: ''Live Licks'' - The Rolling Stones (producer)

2005: ''Countryman'' - Willie Nelson (producer)

2005: ''A Bigger Bang'' - The Rolling Stones (producer, piano)

2006: ''This Old Road'' - Kris Kristofferson (producer, piano, acoustic and upright bass)

2008: ''Last Days at the Lodge'' - Amos Lee (producer)

2008: ''Tennessee Pusher'' - Old Crow Medicine Show (producer)

2009: ''The Excitement Plan'' - Todd Snider (producer)

2009: ''Closer to the Bone'' - Kris Kristofferson (producer)

2010: ''Y Not'' - Ringo Starr (bass)

2010: ''Stone Temple Pilots'' - Stone Temple Pilots (producer)

2010: ''The Union'' - Elton John/Leon Russell (bass)

2011: ''Blessed'' - Lucinda Williams (producer)

References

}}

Category:1952 births Category:American male singers Category:American record producers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Michigan

da:Don Was de:Don Was nl:Don Was fi:Don Was sv:Don Was

name	Richie Sambora
background	solo_singer
birth name	Richard Stephen Sambora
born	July 11, 1959Perth Amboy, New Jersey, United States
genre	Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, blues
instrument	Guitar, vocals
occupation	Singer-songwriter, Producer, Multi-instrumentalist
years active	1970-present
label	Mercury Records, Island Records, Mercury Nashville
notable instruments	Kramer RS Signature ModelESP SA-2 Lennox Sambora signature modelMartin signature acousticFender Stratocaster}}

Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer/songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the popular rock band Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band. He is also a solo artist, having released two solo albums; ''Stranger in This Town'' in 1991, and ''Undiscovered Soul'' in 1998. Sambora was listed by ''Time'' magazine as one of the best guitarists of all time.

Early life

Sambora was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of Joan, a secretary, and Adam, a factory foreman. Sambora is of Polish and Italian descent and was raised Catholic. He grew up in Woodbridge, New Jersey and attended Woodbridge High School there, graduating in 1977. He began playing the guitar at the age of 12 following the death of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix in 1970. From his early days Sambora was strongly influenced by blues and 60s rock 'n' roll. His most important influences were Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry and George Harrison. He was also influenced by Spanish classical music and began a life long love of the Spanish guitar. Furthermore, he has stated that psychedelic soul singer Janis Joplin crept into his heart very early in the late 60s and early 70s, having a big influence on his musical style. Classical music directly inspired several of his songs, such as ''The Answer'' which was originally written on piano.

Career

Sambora played guitar for and auditioned for big-name bands Kiss and Poison (the latter of which was then named Paris). He was also a guitarist for the band Message, and with that band he gave out a record, which was re-released in 1995 under the name "Message", and in 2000 under the name "Lessons". Bon Jovi added Sambora to replace original lead guitarist Dave Sabo. Sambora went to a show and, after being impressed by Bon Jovi, approached him and informed him that he thought they should work together. They immediately hit it off as friends, and Sambora was invited to a rehearsal. By the time Bon Jovi arrived, the band was sounding better than ever and Sambora was hired on the spot.

Sambora has occasionally taken over as lead vocalist on some Bon Jovi songs, most notably "I'll Be There for You" and "These Days" when played live on the ''Bounce'', ''Have a Nice Day'' and ''Lost Highway'' tours, while on The Circle Tour he has been performing "Lay Your Hands On Me" and "Homebound Train." He has also performed his solo hit, "Stranger In This Town" during live performances. One of the live performances of "Stranger In This Town", recorded during the Keep the Faith Tour, was released on Bon Jovi's CD single "Dry County" in 1994.

Recent ventures have seen him compose television theme songs for both ''Entertainment Tonight'' and ''The Insider''. He (along with Jon Bon Jovi) is part of the Ownership Group of the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena Football League football team.

Sambora made a cameo appearance in The Sims Superstar.

Sambora is featured on the track "Baby Rock Remix", from LL Cool J's upcoming album "Exit 13".

His first solo outing was ''Stranger in This Town'' in 1991, a blues-influenced album that was received well by many critics although commercially a relative flop partially due to the more adult tone of the record that was not instantly appealing to Bon Jovi fans. Eric Clapton played the lead guitar track on the song ''Mr Bluesman'', backed by Sambora on acoustic guitars. He did a short US tour in support of the album, featuring Tony Levin (bass), Dave Amato (guitar), Crystal Taliefero (percussion) and Bon Jovi bandmates Tico Torres (drums) and Dave Bryan (keyboards). Ballad of Youth was released in the UK in summer 1991 and despite plugs from The Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1 the song barely skimmed the top 75.

''Undiscovered Soul'' was Sambora's second solo album, released in 1998. The album was produced by Don Was. In support of Undiscovered Soul, Sambora toured Japan, Australia and Europe in the summer of 1998. The band featured Richie Supa (guitar), Ron Wikso (drums), Kasim Sulton (bass), Tommy Mandel (keyboards), Everett Bradley (percussion - Japan only), Gioia Bruno (percussion - Australia only) and Crystal Taliefero (percussion - Europe only).

He made a special guest appearance on Bo Diddley's 1996 album ''A Man Amongst Men'', playing guitar on the tracks "Can I Walk You Home" and "Oops! Bo Diddley".

In 1999, Sambora appeared as a guest vocalist on the Stuart Smith album ''Stuart Smith's Heaven & Earth'', performing a cover of the Deep Purple song "When a Blind Man Cries".

Sambora played on a recently released album called ''Lessons'' from a band called Message. The album was recorded in the early 1980s.

Sambora sings "Long Way Around" (background audio) during the final scene in the 1997 Steven Seagal action movie ''Fire Down Below'' and is featured on the movie's soundtrack.

Sambora also recorded the song "One Last Goodbye" on the soundtrack for the movie ''The Banger Sisters''. He also covered Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" for the soundtrack of ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane'', released in 1990.

His guitar work is also featured on the track "Misery" on Pink's 2001 album ''Missundaztood'' with Steven Tyler.

In 2004, Sanctuary Records released a self-titled album which had been recorded in 1978 by Shark Frenzy, documenting Sambora's first recorded material. The mix tapes had been damaged in a flood and it had taken band member Bruce Foster to remaster them for them to be released so many years later.

Sambora co-wrote several tracks and played guitar on Australian rock/pop artist Shannon Noll's third album, called ''Turn It Up''. It was released in Australia September 15, 2007.

Bon Jovi

In October 1984, Bon Jovi supported the group Kiss at the Queens Hall in Leeds.

With the help of their new manager Doc McGhee, the band's debut album, ''Bon Jovi'', was released on January 21, 1984. The album went gold in the US (sales of over 500,000). In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album ''7800°Fahrenheit'' was released, but the response was poor. The turning point came when they brought in songwriter Desmond Child for their third album, ''Slippery When Wet''. With Child co-writing many of their hits on this and future albums the band shot to super-stardom 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 in excess of 28 million copies worldwide since its release in late 1986.

During their 1986-1987 tour, Jon's attempt to give it his all during live shows (plus the tour's exhausting schedule) greatly strained his vocal chords. In the band's Behind The Music special, he notes that his vocal chords were given steroids to help him sing. With the help of a vocal coach, he was able to continue doing the tour. Contrary to popular belief, Bon Jovi did not have voice damage during the New Jersey Syndicate Tour.

The next album from Bon Jovi was ''New Jersey'' released in 1988. The album was recorded very shortly after the tour for ''Slippery'', because the band wanted to prove that they were not just a one hit wonder. The resulting album is a fan favorite and a mammoth commercial success, with hit songs such as "Bad Medicine", "Lay Your Hands on Me" and "I'll Be There for You", which are still nightly stalwarts in their live repertoire.

Despite the band achieving massive success, ''New Jersey'' almost led to the end of the band as they went straight back out on the road so soon after the heavy touring for their previous album. This constant living on the road almost destroyed the strong bond between the band members. Sambora is noted on the albums as co-writer for many songs, yet he resented the attention that was heaped on Jon alone. As mentioned in ''VH1's Behind the Music'', the band members note that at the end of the tour, each band member went their separate way, even departing in separate jets after the tour ended in Guadalajara, Mexico in early 1990.

Between 1990 and 1992, members of Bon Jovi went their separate ways after the very rigorous two year New Jersey Tour, which exceeded 200 shows on 5 continents. This time off also helped them determine where Bon Jovi would fit within the rapidly changing music scene upon their return.

In 1992, the band returned with the album Keep the Faith. The album was released in November 1992. Produced by Bob Rock, the album signified an ending to their early metal roots in previous albums and introduced a more "rock n roll"-driven groove to the album. Much more complex, lyrically and musically, the album proved that Bon Jovi could still be a viable band in 90's, despite the industry's and audience's growing affinity for Grunge.

In 1994, Bon Jovi released a "greatest hits" album titled ''Cross Road'', which also contained two new tracks: the hit singles "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night". Always spent six months on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of Bon Jovi's all-time biggest hits. The song peaked at #4 on the U.S. charts and at #1 in countries across Europe, Asia and in Australia. The single sold very well, going platinum in the U.S. That same year, bassist Alec John Such left the band, the first and only lineup change since Bon Jovi began. Hugh McDonald, who was the bassist on "Runaway", unofficially replaced Such as bassist.

Their sixth studio album ''These Days'' was released in June 1995 to the most critical acclaim that the band had ever received. With the album ''These Days'', Bon Jovi took the mature rock sound they had developed on ''Keep the Faith'' further. The record as a whole was darker and more downbeat than the usual Bon Jovi fare. By 1996, Bon Jovi had established themselves as a force"in the music industry, proving much more durable than most of their 80's glam peers.

After another lengthy hiatus of nearly three years, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 to begin work on their next studio album. Their 2000 release, ''Crush'', enjoyed overwhelming success all around the world, thanks in part to the smash-hit single "It's My Life", co-written by famous Swedish producer Max Martin. ''Crush'', which also produced such hits as "Say it isn't so", and helped introduce Bon Jovi to a new, younger fan base.

In late 2002, ''Bounce'', the band's follow-up to ''Crush'', hit stores. Though ''Bounce'' did not enjoy the level of success of its predecessor, the album did produce hit singles such as "Everyday" and the title track.

Bon Jovi's ninth studio album, ''Have a Nice Day'', was released in September 2005. "Have A Nice Day" was the first single off the new album and the second single from the album "Who Says You Can't Go Home", was released in the U.S. in the spring of 2006. In the U.S. a duet version of "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with country singer Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland was released, and in May 2006, Bon Jovi made history by becoming the first Rock & Roll Band to have a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Chart. On February 11, 2007, Bon Jovi also won a Grammy Award, for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" for "Who Says You Can't Go Home".

In June 2007, Bon Jovi released their studio album, ''Lost Highway''. The album debuted at number #1 on the Billboard charts, the first time that Bon Jovi have had a number one album on the US charts since the release of ''New Jersey'' in 1988. Thanks to the band's new country music fanbase, the album sold 292,000 copies in its first week on sale in the U.S., and became Bon Jovi's third US number one album.

On April 6, 2009, it was announced that the Tribeca Film Festival will screen a Bon Jovi documentary called ''When We Were Beautiful''. The film follows the band on the Lost Highway Tour during 2008. The film is directed by Phil Griffin and will be the centerpiece of the festival and is considered a work-in-progress.In November 2009, Bon Jovi released their latest studio album ''The Circle''.

Instruments & equipment

Sambora has been known to use a wide variety of equipment throughout his career. He has an extensive guitar collection, featuring more than 120 instruments.

1980's

In the 80s, Sambora mostly played Kramer, Jackson, Charvel and Hamer superstrats as well as modified and custom Les Paul models, such as his Rod Schoepfer model. In early-mid 1987, Kramer put out a Richie Sambora signature model with three humbuckers, pointy drooped headstock, gold hardware, star-shaped fingerboard inlays and a Floyd Rose Original locking tremolo, which quit production in 1989. Today it has been reissued by MusicYo, and is named "Jersey Star", no longer carrying Sambora's actual name. He had also used several other Kramer models, including a variety of custom ones ("one-offs"). His two most notable guitars from the Slippery When Wet album/tour were his Kramer Richie Sambora signature and a custom white Jackson with gold hardware and a Floyd Rose tremolo, HSS pickup configuration and a reversed Strat-like headstock and a star on the body and headstock. There is also another of his very famous guitars from Kramer, which is a Jersey Star signature double neck used on "Lay Your Hands On Me".

During the following years Sambora played various guitars, most notably a custom black Jackson, which featured only a humbucking pickup in the bridge position, Floyd Rose tremolo system and a maple neck and fretboard with a reversed Strat-like headstock, along with vintage Fenders and Gibsons.

1990's

In 1991, Fender issued a Richie Sambora signature Stratocaster model which featured an original Floyd Rose tremolo system and an HSS combination of DiMarzio PAF Pro humbucking and 2 Fender Texas Special single-coil pickups. This guitar came in two versions; American and later in 1996, Japanese. US-made Sambora model featured an alder body with ash veneers and was available in Cherry Sunburst and Olympic White, while the Japanese version had an alder body with black paisley graphics (ltd) and a Snow White Finish. Other features included a one-piece maple neck/fingerboard with 22 frets and star-shaped position markers, as well as a 25dB active mid-boost circuit (US version only) with TBX (US & Japanese) tone controls and an active/passive push-button switch.

In the 1995 video Live from London, Sambora uses a custom orange burst double neck Fender Stratocaster with traditional maple neck with star inlays, locking tremolo (on the lower neck).He uses this guitar on the song 'Lay Your Hands On Me' on the London DVD.

There was also a Mexican-made standard version of the instrument, featuring a DiMarzio PAF humbucking pickup in the bridge position and two standard single-coils in the neck and middle positions. The guitar also sported a rosewood fingerboard with 21 frets and white dot inlays, as well as a Floyd Rose II locking bridge. Both the US and Mexican-made Sambora models were discontinued in 2002, though now there is a Fender Standard Series Stratocaster HSS Locking Tremolo with about the same specs as Sambora's own guitar, but its only available through Guitar Center.

Sambora has used Ovation acoustic-electric guitars from the early 1980s until today. He played a custom-made doubleneck designed by his longtime guitar technician Gary "Gaz" Douglas which is featured on many "unplugged" versions of Bon Jovi songs such as "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and a variety of other Ovations, such as the Adamas hybrid wood/graphite model.

2000-present

In 2000, Taylor started the production of a Richie Sambora signature model, a 6-string acoustic made of koa wood, called the RSSM. Only 100 were made all in the year of 2000. All of his double neck acoustics feature a 6 string neck on top and a 12 string neck on bottom, opposite of the normal manufacturing standard. Since Sambora has been known to use his favourite Martin acoustic, among others, on a lot of recordings, Martin guitars put out two of Sambora's signature models in 2006, a 6-string and a 12-strings, based on his mentioned favourite 1930 Martin OM-45. He has also been seen using a Yamaha double neck acoustic at specific live shows.

He still plays a variety of Fenders, apparently over 40 Stratocasters (mostly vintage, American Deluxe and Custom Shop models), such as the Telecaster doubleneck used on "Have a Nice Day." Sambora also has a '59 ash-body Telecaster used for These Days and Someday I'll Be Saturday Night. In the period of 2003-2006, he played a wide variety guitars on stage, including custom "Sambora" guitars built by his guitar tech Chris "Lumpy" Hofschneider, Zemaitis Guitars, Floyd Rose guitars, Ovation, Taylor and Martin guitars, vintage and Custom Shop Gibson and Fender models, as well as guitars from his collection. One of the guitars built by his guitar tech features a fretboard made of both maple and rosewood, on an ash body with neck-through-body construction and a custom humbucking/single/single pickup layout. Currently, he mostly plays the custom black "Sambora" guitar (which is now a custom model called Sambora SA-2 for ESP), different models of Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters (American Vintage, American Deluxe, Custom Shop and other models).

Sambora also used Gibson and Guild acoustics, particularly a Guild F-50 12-string, which he used on the song "Wanted Dead or Alive". He acquired this guitar directly from the Guild factory due to it having a finish flaw.

For most of the 80s and early-mid 90s, he used Marshall amplifiers, particularly the JCM800 models with 4x12" speaker cabinets and a variety of rack and pedal units (including effects). During his Stranger in This Town tour, Sambora used 2 Marshall JCM800 2203 heads and a Fender amp head (model not specified), with 3 4x12" Marshall cabinets. In 1995, Sambora started using Fender ToneMasters with Fender ToneMaster 4x12" speaker cabinets, following the These Days Tour. On tour, he used up to 12 cabinets on stage. For the studio sessions of his second solo album, Undiscovered Soul, he also used a Fender Bassman 4x10" combo and a Vox AC30. On the tour, he used Fender ToneMasters, a Marshall amp head, a Vox amp head and a VHT Pitbull in combination with Fender ToneMaster 4x12" and 2x12" speaker cabinets. In 2000, Sambora started using the Marshall JCM2000 DSL series (both on the tour and recording sessions of Crush). The song "It's My Life" was also recorded with a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. He has also used the Marshall DSL series on the Bounce tour, as well as a Hughes & Kettner amp, occasionally. During their ''Have a Nice Day'' tour, Sambora used Diezel and Divided by 13 amplification and custom made 4x12" speaker cabinets. During the studio recording sessions of the ''Lost Highway'' album, he used Matchless, Bogner Ecstasy and Diezel Herbert amps. In 2007, he started appearing on stage with 2 halfstacks, again featuring Marshall JCM2000 DSL amplifiers and custom made 4x12" cabinets.

In late 2007, Sambora became an endorsee of The ESP Guitar Company, and a new Richie Sambora signature model, the LTD SA-2, is being debuted at the 2008 Winter NAMM show.

According to "Young Guitar" (Japanese magazine), Richie Sambora use (during the Tokyo shows in 2008) an A/B box, Frampton Talkbox, Jimi Hendrix Dunlop Wah, Keeley Sd-1, Stock SD-1, Roger Mayer Octavia (butane paintjob), Boss CH-1, EHX Electric Mistress Deluxe. He also uses a MIDI rig.

Now, from 2010/2011, Sambora is using a rack system. Some effects the rack includes are: Furman Power Conditioner, Lexicon and Eventide rack effects. Some of the pedals that Sambora is using on the Circle tour are: BOSS OD-1, Hermida Audio Zendrive, Tone Freak Effects Naked OD and Abunai 2, Klon Centaur, Analog Man Octron, EHX Micro POG,Tone Freak Effects MelloTremo, BBE Soul Vibe, Retro-Sonic Chorus, MXR EVH Flanger, MXR Phase 90, Maxon Auto Filter, EHX Deluxe Memory Man. These effects are all run by a MIDI Controller. The effects he has running from his guitar to his amp are: BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner, Moollon Wah, and an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal.

Public Service & recognition

Over the years, Sambora has been an ardent fundraiser for many charities, such as Dream Street, the Steve Young Forever Young Foundation and Michael J Fox's Parkinson's disease charity. He has donated money privately to various cancer charities since the death of his father, including both hospitals where his father was treated, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and M D Anderson. Sambora's fundraising with the charity Stand Up For a Cure allowed for three mobile full service hospital units to be brought to the streets of New York, two of which were named after his parents, respectively.

In May 2004, Sambora was bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by Kean University where he attended the awards ceremony and gave a speech of acceptance. He attended Kean University as a freshman, but then dropped out to pursue a career as a professional guitarist and session musician.

Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 18, 2009.

On November 24, 2009, Sambora launched the charitable effort You Can Go Home in his home town of Woodbridge, New Jersey, which unveiled a street renamed Richie Sambora Way. He also donated funds to renovate part of his alma mater Woodbridge High School, which opened a new weight room, the Adam Sambora Fitness Center, dedicated to Sambora's father.

Personal life

Sambora had a relationship with ''The Breakfast Club'' star Ally Sheedy, but the couple eventually seperated. Sheedy publicly accused Sambora of being the reason she started abusing drugs, which he called "ludicrous and false".On the Upswing Sambora married actress Heather Locklear in Paris on December 17, 1994. Daughter Ava Elizabeth Sambora was born October 4, 1997. Locklear filed for divorce in February 2006 citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized on April 11, 2007. Just nine days later, on April 20, Sambora's father Adam died of lung cancer. Sambora resides in Los Angeles and owns a beach house in Laguna Beach as well as other properties.

Substance problems

On June 7, 2007, it was announced that Sambora was entering an "undisclosed rehab facility in Los Angeles" for treatment related to alcoholism. Following his release, he told an interviewer, "I was just drinking too much and I needed to get my life together. I'm still in therapy and stuff like that, but it's good. I'm great. I feel fine." In the Bon Jovi documentary "When We Were Beautiful", Sambora talks candidly about his addiction to painkillers following a slip in his bathroom. He credited his bandmates and mother with helping him through the difficult time.

On April 28, 2011, it was announced that Sambora had made the decision to enter rehab again. The date of entry into the facility has yet to be announced but the band made an official statement that it will result in his absence from some shows during the Bon Jovi Live tour. This is Sambora's third stint in rehab and was announced just a week after he finished probation for drunk driving charges. Sambora returned to join the band in June 2011 in Zagreb, Croatia for the start of the European leg of the tour.

Legal issues

On March 26, 2008, Sambora was arrested for drunk driving in Laguna Beach, California. At the time, his girlfriend and ten-year-old daughter were both in his Hummer. He was pulled over at 10:52pm after an officer noticed his car "weaving on the road", but was "quiet and cooperative and didn't cause any problems." At his May 2008 arraignment, he pled no contest "to driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher", was fined $390, placed on probation for three years, and was required to attend a drivers education course.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
1991		* Release date: 1991	* Label: Mercury Records	36	42	20	44	—	72	—	15	31	—
1998		* Release date: February 23, 1998	* Label: Mercury Records	174	—	24	49	42	15	33	23	37	37

Solo singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions						Album
		! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"
		63	13	67	25	59	—
	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	38	—	—	—	—
		—	39	—	—	37	74
	—	—	—	—	58	—
	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	—	—

Other album appearances

! Year	! Song	! Artist	! Album
1990		Richie Sambora	style="text-align:left;"
1992	Mr. Sambo	Richie Sambora	Guitar World Presents: Guitars That Rule The World
1997		Richie Sambora	style="text-align:left;"
2001		Richie Sambora	style="text-align:left;"
2002		Richie Sambora
2008	style="text-align:left;"	LL Cool J feat. Richie Sambora

With ''Shark Frenzy''

''Shark Frenzy'' - 2004, Sanctuary

With ''Message''

Message - 1980, unknown label

Message - 1995, Long Island Records

Lessons - 2000, Escape Music

Message Live - 2006, Two Sun Songs

With Cher

''Cher'' (1987)

With Bon Jovi

;Studio albums

''Bon Jovi'' (1984)

''7800° Fahrenheit'' (1985)

''Slippery When Wet'' (1986)

''New Jersey'' (1988)

''Keep the Faith'' (1992)

''These Days'' (1995)

''Crush'' (2000)

''Bounce'' (2002)

''Have a Nice Day'' (2005)

''Lost Highway'' (2007)

''The Circle'' (2009)

;Compilation albums

''Cross Road'' (1994)

''Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)

''This Left Feels Right'' (2003)

''Greatest Hits'' (2010)

;Live albums

''One Wild Night Live 1985-2001'' (2001)

;Box Sets

''100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong'' (2004)

References

Category:1959 births Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American musicians of Polish descent Category:American people of Polish descent Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Arena Football League executives Category:Bon Jovi members Category:Jersey Shore musicians Category:Lead guitarists Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:People from Middlesex County, New Jersey Category:People from Tarzana, Los Angeles Category:People from Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Category:Songwriters from New Jersey

ar:ريتشي سامبورا bg:Ричи Самбора ca:Richie Sambora cs:Richie Sambora da:Richie Sambora de:Richie Sambora es:Richie Sambora eu:Richie Sambora fr:Richie Sambora hr:Richie Sambora id:Richie Sambora it:Richie Sambora lt:Richie Sambora hu:Richie Sambora nl:Richie Sambora ja:リッチー・サンボラ no:Richie Sambora pl:Richie Sambora pt:Richie Sambora ru:Самбора, Ричи sk:Richie Sambora sl:Richie Sambora fi:Richie Sambora sv:Richie Sambora tr:Richie Sambora

Name	Jennifer Nettles
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jennifer Odessa Nettles
Birth date	September 12, 1974
Origin	Douglas, Georgia, USA
Genre	Country
Occupation	Musician, Singer-Songwriter
Instrument	Vocals, Acoustic guitar, Flute, Percussion, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Harmonica, Piano
Associated acts	Sugarland, Bon Jovi
Years active	1996–present
Label	Mercury Nashville
website	JenniferNettles.com }}

Jennifer Nettles (born September 12, 1974 in Douglas, Georgia) is an American country music artist. She is known primarily for her role as lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush. Before Sugarland's inception, she also fronted Atlanta, Georgia-based bands called Soul Miner's Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band. She also charted as a duet partner on the country version of rock band Bon Jovi's 2006 single "Who Says You Can't Go Home", a Number One hit on the Billboard charts.

Musical beginnings

Nettles began performing at school assemblies, her Southern Baptist church, and in community theater. She was also a member of Georgia 4-H's Clovers & Company performing arts group from 1986 to 1993.

Nettles studied Sociology and Anthropology at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia and graduated in 1997. While a student there, Nettles and Cory Jones (who at the time was studying classical guitar at the University of Georgia) formed the group Soul Miner’s Daughter. Performing as both an acoustic duo and with a band, they released two albums: ''The Sacred and Profane'' in 1996 and ''Hallelujah'' in 1998, both of which were composed of songs written collaboratively by Jones and Nettles.

In 1999, she formed the Jennifer Nettles Band, with whom she released three studio albums and two live albums. The band, who in addition to Nettles included Brad Sikes (drums), Scott Nicholson (piano), Wesley Lupold (bass), and Mike Cebulski (percussion), was selected the grand prize winner from more than 2000 bands in "The Big Deal $100,000 Music Search" presented by Mars Music and was invited to perform at Lilith Fair in 1999.

Friends Jay Memory and Bubba Dean, who perform as Memory Dean, invited Nettles to sing on their 1999 release ''Still Hungry Souls''. According to Alan Back, writing for ''The Technique'', the Georgia Institute of Technology's student newspaper, Nettles' vocals "lend a powerful gospel tone to "Fix My Heart," a standout cut on the album."

Sugarland

In 2003, Nettles teamed up with Kristen Hall and Kristian Bush to form Sugarland. Regarding the trio's collaboration, she said:

"We really wanted to get out of where we had all been as artists and move beyond that to something bigger. Consequently all the songs reflect that; 'Fly Away,' 'Baby Girl,' all of those songs - you speak to the human condition and write what you know in your life."

Sugarland was nominated for a Grammy award in the Best New Artist category in 2006. Although they did not win the award, Nettles and Bush performed for the awards show and Nettles presented both a Lifetime Achievement Award to Merle Haggard and the award for Best Country Group.

A duet performance with rock band Bon Jovi, "Who Says You Can't Go Home", reached No. 7 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. The video for the song won a CMT Music Award in 2006 for Collaborative Video Of The Year. In February 2007, Nettles and Bon Jovi won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration. In 2006, Kristen Hall left the group and Nettles and Bush continued on as a duo releasing ''Enjoy the Ride'' in November 2006. Their third album, titled ''Love on the Inside'', was released on July 22, 2008.

In an interview on Fox News with Martha MacCullum, Nettles expressed interest in appearing in a Broadway play, stating in particular that she would like to play the role of Elphaba in ''Wicked''.

In early December 2008, Sugarland received three Grammy Award nominations and performed on the 51st Annual Grammy Awards show on February 8, 2009. They won awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.

On Sunday, January 18, 2009, Nettles performed at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, singing James Taylor's "Shower the People" with James Taylor and John Legend.

On February 11, 2009, Sugarland received two nominations from the Academy of Country Music for Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year for "Life in a Northern Town". During the broadcast of the April 5, 2009 awards show, Sugarland was presented with the Vocal Duo of the Year award, ending Brooks & Dunn's nine-year run. Nettles also received a Milestone award, presented to her by Reba McEntire.

ABC-TV broadcast the first CMA Country Christmas, hosted by Nettles, on November 29, 2010. Nettles and Sugarland partner Kristian Bush kicked off the evening with their rendition of "Winter Wonderland," backed by the Southern harmonies of Little Big Town. The pair returned to the stage later in the program to perform the hymn "Come, O Come Emmanuel," just before the "Jingle Bell Rock" group grande finale of the 90-minute special.

Personal life

Nettles grew up in the small town of Douglas, Georgia. Nettles married Todd Van Sickle in 1998 and divorced in 2007. As of 2008 Nettles has been linked to Clayton Mitchell, lead guitarist for Kenny Chesney.

Activism

Nettles has lent her time and talent to support various non-profit organizations. In 2007, one dollar from every ticket sold during Sugarland's ''CMT Change For Change'' tour was donated to the Shalom Foundation. More than $120,000 was raised in 2007.

In 2008 she launched Common Thread, a series of musical events enabling artists to come together to share music and raise money for their favorite charities. The first three Common Thread concerts included performances by Nettles, Sugarland partner Kristian Bush, Emily Saliers, and Amos Lee and raised funds for the American Cancer Society, American Liver Foundation, Honor the Earth, and Intercultural Family Services.

Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Nettles and Sugarland partner Bush sang on the remake of We Are the World as part of Artists for Haiti.

Discography

Studio Demos

;As Jennifer Nettles

! Year	! Album
1991	''For Your Love / You're The One''	* 2-song Demo Cassette on Timme Records label.

Studio Albums

;As Soul Miner's Daughter

! Year	! Album
1996	''The Sacred And Profane''
1998	''Hallelujah''

;As Jennifer Nettles Band

! Year	! Album
2000	''Story Of Your Bones''
2002	''Gravity: Drag Me Down''
2002	''Rewind''

;As Jennifer Nettles

! Year	! Album
2003	''An Acoustic Evening with Jennifer Nettles''	*Live CD Recording
2004	''An Acoustic Evening with Jennifer Nettles II''	*Live CD Recording

Guest Singles

Year	Single	Artist	Peak chart positions								Album
			! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"
2006		Bon Jovi	1	107	—	—	—	—	—	—	align="left"
2010		Artists for Haiti	—	2	7	1	9	8	5	15

Music Videos

! Year	! Title	! Director
2006	"Who Says You Can't Go Home" (with Bon Jovi)	Anthony M. Bongiovi
2010	"We Are the World 25 for Haiti" (with Artists for Haiti)	Paul Haggis

Awards

1999 Lilith Fair Acoustic Talent Search winner, Soul Miner's Daughter 2001 Independent Music Awards Regional Poll in Atlanta for "Bad Girl's Lament" 2005 American Music Awards, Sugarland wins Favorite Breakthrough Artist 2006 CMT Collaborative Video of the Year, "Who Says You Can't Go Home" 2007 Grammy Award Best Collaboration, "Who Says You Can't Go Home" 2007 Country Music Association Awards, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year 2008 Country Music Association Awards, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year

2008 Academy of Country Music, Song of the Year, "Stay" (songwriter)

2008 Country Music Association Awards Song of the Year, "Stay" (songwriter) 2009 Grammy Award Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group for "Stay" 2009 Grammy Award Best Country Song for "Stay" (songwriter)

2009 Academy of Country Music, Milestone award; Sugarland wins Vocal Duo of the Year

2009 Country Music Association Awards, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year

References

External links

Jennifer Nettles Band on MySpace

Jennifer Nettles on IMDB

Jennifer Nettles CMT.com Biography

Category:Living people Category:1974 births Category:American contraltos Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Sugarland members Category:People from Coffee County, Georgia Category:American country singers Category:Agnes Scott College people Category:Independent Music Awards winners

fr:Jennifer Nettles ja:ジェニファー・ネトルズ pl:Jennifer Nettles pt:Jennifer Nettles