50 Fun Facts About Bon Jovi

In which New Jersey town was Bon Jovi formed in 1983?

Jon was born in nearby Perth Amboy, and Richie Sambora grew up in Woodbridge.

What is Jon Bon Jovi's birth name?

His father was a barber and former Marine; his mother, also an ex-Marine, was a florist and a Playboy Bunny.

Who has been Bon Jovi's drummer since the band formed in 1983?

Before Bon Jovi he had recorded and played with the Marvelettes and Chuck Berry.

Which band member had quit an earlier group with Jon to study medicine?

The keyboardist and Jon had formed Atlantic City Expressway together as teenagers.

What was Jon Bon Jovi's first professional recording?

It came from the Star Wars album Christmas in the Stars, co-produced by his cousin Tony Bongiovi at the Power Station.

Which E Street Band member played keyboards on the original 'Runaway' recording?

Jon cut it with hired hands he called The All Star Review, including future Bon Jovi bassist Hugh McDonald.

How did 'Runaway' first get radio play?

Jon had gone to WAPP in Lake Success, New York, to write and sing jingles, and staff talked him into handing over the song.

Which future Skid Row guitarist toured with Bon Jovi in 1983 before Richie Sambora joined?

He and Jon promised that whoever made it first would help the other.

Which band was cited as the model when the group chose a two-word name?

Pamela Maher, an employee of manager Doc McGhee, made the suggestion.

Which professional songwriter did the band bring in as a collaborator for their third album?

He co-wrote 'You Give Love a Bad Name' and 'Livin' on a Prayer'; the band tested 30 songs on local teenagers to pick the running order.

In which city did Bon Jovi record Slippery When Wet?

Bruce Fairbairn produced it at Little Mountain Sound Studios over six months in 1986.

Where did the band get the title Slippery When Wet?

An earlier working title was Wanted Dead or Alive, and a cowboy-themed cover shot was later used for that single.

How many weeks did Slippery When Wet spend at number one on the Billboard 200?

Billboard named it the top-selling album of 1987, and it is now certified 18-times platinum.

Which was Bon Jovi's first Billboard Hot 100 number one?

'Livin' on a Prayer' followed it straight to the top; 'Wanted Dead or Alive' peaked at seven.

What device gives Richie Sambora's guitar riff on 'Livin' on a Prayer' its distinctive voice-like sound?

Jon disliked the first recording; Sambora talked him into reworking it with a new bassline and the talk box.

What are the names of the struggling working-class couple in 'Livin' on a Prayer'?

He is a dockworker laid off by a strike, she waits tables at a diner; the pair got a name-check again on 'It's My Life'.

How many weeks did 'Livin' on a Prayer' spend at number one on the Hot 100?

In 2006, VH1 viewers voted it the greatest song of the 1980s.

'Wanted Dead or Alive' is the theme song of which Discovery Channel series?

Jon and Richie wrote it in Sambora's mother's basement, inspired by Bad Company's 'Bad Company'.

How many Top 10 Hot 100 hits came from the 1988 album New Jersey, a record for a hard rock album?

'Bad Medicine' and 'I'll Be There for You' both went to number one.

Which New Jersey video was banned by MTV for sexual content until it was re-edited?

Once trimmed, MTV put it into heavy rotation.

In August 1989 Bon Jovi played which landmark event in the Soviet Union?

They were officially sanctioned by the Soviet government, and New Jersey was legally released in the USSR.

Which TV series was reshaped by Jon and Richie's acoustic 'Livin' on a Prayer' in 1989?

Its showrunners said the performance turned the show from a showcase for newcomers into a stage for big arena acts.

Jon Bon Jovi's solo hit 'Blaze of Glory' was recorded for which film?

It went to number one, won a Golden Globe and earned him an Academy Award nomination.

Which manager did Jon Bon Jovi fire in 1991?

McGhee had guided the band from its debut through the exhausting New Jersey Syndicate Tour.

Which producer worked with the band on Keep the Faith in 1992?

He had mixed Slippery When Wet; the album marked a deliberate change of sound and image.

Which 1994 song became Bon Jovi's biggest-selling single?

It was one of two new tracks on the greatest-hits set Cross Road and sat in the Hot 100's top ten for six months.

Which original member left in 1994, the band's first lineup change?

Hugh McDonald, who had played bass on 'Runaway' back in 1982, unofficially took his place.

Which 2000 album, led by 'It's My Life', brought the band back after a near four-year hiatus?

It earned Grammy nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.

Which Swedish pop hitmaker co-wrote 'It's My Life' with Jon and Richie?

The song's second verse also tips its hat to fellow New Jerseyan Frank Sinatra.

Bon Jovi's August 2000 concerts were the last ever held at which venue before its demolition?

They also closed Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium in 2003 and opened London's O2 Arena in 2007.

Which country singer joined Bon Jovi on the country version of 'Who Says You Can't Go Home'?

The Sugarland singer helped make it the first song by a rock band to top Billboard's country chart, and it won a Grammy.

Which 2007 album leaned into Nashville-style country influences?

Its tour was the highest-grossing of 2008, taking $210.6 million; The Circle then returned to rock.

In what year did Richie Sambora walk away from the band mid-tour?

He left before a show in Calgary on the Because We Can tour, and Phil X stepped in.

What was Bon Jovi's first studio album without Sambora?

Its title-track video showed Hugh McDonald and Phil X finally becoming full members.

In what year was Bon Jovi inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

They won the fan ballot with over 1.1 million votes, and Sambora and Such rejoined them on stage for the night.

Where in Las Vegas did Jon marry his high-school girlfriend Dorothea Hurley in 1989?

They slipped away during a Los Angeles stop on the New Jersey Syndicate Tour.

On which TV series did Jon Bon Jovi have an extended run as a plumber dating the title character?

He also popped up in Sex and the City, 30 Rock and The West Wing.

Jon Bon Jovi founded and owned which Arena Football League team?

He appeared in league commercials alongside John Elway, co-owner of the Colorado Crush.

What is unusual about the JBJ Soul Kitchen restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey?

It opened in 2011 under the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.

Which actress became Jon Bon Jovi's daughter-in-law when she married his son Jake in 2024?

The Stranger Things star and Jake adopted a daughter in 2025, making Jon a grandfather.

What is the title of the 2024 four-part documentary series about the band?

It premiered on Hulu and Disney+ ahead of the album Forever.

At which venue did Bon Jovi open the 2026 Forever Tour, their first since Jon's 2022 vocal surgery?

Dates in London, Dublin and Edinburgh followed the New York opener.

What was the title of Bon Jovi's second album, released in 1985?

It peaked at only number 37 in the US, prompting the band to bring in Desmond Child and producer Bruce Fairbairn for the next one.

Which cousin of Jon's co-owned the Power Station Studios in Manhattan where he worked in 1982?

Jon cut demos there, including one produced by Billy Squier, but record companies were unmoved at first.

Where was Jon working part-time before he took a job at a recording studio in mid-1982?

He was out of school at the time and sweeping floors at the studio soon followed.

Which country star duets on 'Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore' from Lost Highway?

The video won the CMT Music Award for Collaborative Video of the Year in 2008.

What was the name of the band the 16-year-old Jon formed with David Bryan?

Jon later fronted John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones and then the Rest, opening for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

What was the name of Jon Bon Jovi's first band, formed when he was 13 in 1975?

He played piano and guitar in it around New Jersey before a string of teenage club bands.

Which record executive signed Bon Jovi to Mercury Records?

Shulman, formerly of the prog band Gentle Giant, was part of PolyGram; the two-word band name was suggested by a Doc McGhee employee.

With which Iranian singer did Jon and Richie record 'Stand By Me' in June 2009?

Parts were sung in Persian in solidarity with those caught up in Iran's political unrest that year.