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 (born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.), guitarist Richie Sambora, David Bryan, and drummer Tico Torres.[1] The band's lineup has remained mostly static during its history, the only exception being the 1994 dismissal of bass player Alec John Such, who was unofficially replaced by Hugh McDonald. In 1986, Bon Jovi achieved widespread global recognition with their third album, Slippery When Wet.[2] The band's fourth album, New Jersey was equally successful in 1988. After touring and recording non-stop during the late 1980s, the band went on hiatus following 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 have been known to use different styles in their music, which has included country for their 2007 album Lost Highway. On March 12, 2013, Bon Jovi released their 12th studio album, What About Now.[3]

Thus far, Bon Jovi has released 12 studio albums, plus three compilations and two live albums. They are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide and performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans.[4][5] Bon Jovi was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006.[6] The band was also honored with the Award of Merit at the American Music Awards in 2004,[7] and as songwriters and collaborators, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.[8][9]

Solo projects

During the band's first sabbatical between 1990-1991 Jon Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie Young Guns II more commonly known as Blaze of Glory. Released in 1990, the title track, "Blaze of Glory" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1991 "Blaze of Glory" won an award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single at the American Music Awards[44] and awarded a Golden Globe, as well. The song also earned Jon Bon Jovi an Academy Award nomination and a Grammy nomination.

Richie 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.

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.

In 2012, the band members embarked on solo projects once again, meanwhile recording their What About Now. Returning to film composing for the first time since Blaze of Glory, Jon Bon Jovi wrote and recorded two songs for the Al Pacino film Stand Up Guys,[45] while Richie Sambora recorded and released his third studio album, Aftermath of the Lowdown, and supported it with a short world tour in October 2012.[46] As regards Tico Torres he focused on playing golf, by taking part in several tournaments and being captured by many different cameras while David Bryan made a short performance at Fantiscritti, Carrara in May 26, 2012.

Musical style

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.[47]

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.[48]

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."[49]

Some of the band's influences are Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Van Halen, The Beatles, Tom Petty and The Animals.

Band members

Current members

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

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

Tico Torres – drums, percussion (1983–present)

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

Past members

Alec John Such – bass, backing vocals (1983–1994, one-off show in 2001)

Touring/substitute musicians

Hugh McDonald – bass, backing vocals (1994–present)

Bobby Bandiera – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)

Phil X – lead guitar, backing vocals (2011, 2013–present)

Rich Scannella – drums, percussion (2013)

Lorenza Ponce – viola, backing vocals (2005–2009)

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)

Because We Can: The Tour (2013)

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Jovi