Forever Bon Jovi - Article Paru Dans 'Billboard'

Retrouvez sur cette page l'intégralite des articles paru dans le magazine "Billboard" de novembre 2004. Le magazine avait réalisé un numéro spécial sur le groupe, afin d'accompagner la sortie du Box Set "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong" .

"A Dedicated Network"

The band has created a network of dedicated tour organizers that it works with tour after tour. And it has built a huge fan base in the United States and abroad with the quality of its performances.

"Bon Jovi knows how to give fans a real show", says Riley O'Connor, senior VP of House of Blues Concerts in Canada. "Everybody knows that when you buy a ticket to see Bon Jovi, you will walk away off the ground. [It feels as though] Jon could be your neighbor, your brother, your best friend. He comes onstage and just projects that."

O'Connor says that this energy is felt equally in North America and overseas. "Bon Jovi represents the wholesomeness and goodness of America," he explains. "The act is an ambassador around the world."

Recent U.S. tour grosses confirm the band's appeal.

According to Billboard Boxscore, Bon Jovi generated $42.4 million from just under half of its 2003 domestic tour dates. The figure covers 34 out of 70 dates and includes 22 sellouts.

In 2001, the act grossed some $16.2 million on tour. That figure was determined by the 17 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore, which included 11 sellouts. In 2000, out of the 11 shows and 10 sellouts reported, the group grossed $5.8 million.

International dates on those tours were not reported to Boxscore.

Through the years, stadiums have become the norm for Bon Jovi's international shows, while arenas make up most of its domestic dates.

This is a marked shift from the band's booking strategy in the mid-to late- '80s.

"Jon focused on international [markets] as much as domestic [ones] throughout his career," says Chris Dalston, the act's international booking agent at CAA. "European and international audiences are more loyal - they know they're going to get three hours of rock'n'roll at a Bon Jovi show."

Light attributes the shift to larger overseas venues to changing musical tastes in the United States. "America went through a dramatic change in the late '80s and early '90s," Light says. "The advent of Nirvana and Pearl Jam was a huge shift, but Europe didn't feel that."

"Here our musical dynamic changed, and certain artists were left unable to fit in," he adds. "[U.S.] radio was extremely fickle, but Jon continued to tour overseas in a fervor, and he continued to make great music. So he was right there when the pendulum swung back."

There have been a number of large U.S. venues throughout the band's career that have brought in huge crowds every tour. The most notable is Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., in the band's home state.

The band has ended legs of its last two domestic tours at Giants Stadium and has also played multiple shows at Continental Airlines Arena, which is part of Meadowlands Sports Complex that includes Giants Stadium.

Light says that one of the highlights of Bon Jovi's touring career was the act's Crush Tour, which began as the single "It's My Life" broke through as a hit in 2000.

"Magical Nights In Jersey"

"Jon was convinced that it would be one of the biggest singles [of the year], and he wanted to finish the tour at Giants Stadium," Light recalls. "At that point, it had been close to a dozen years since they had played a U.S. stadium. To be at Giants Stadium for two sold-out nights was pretty magical."

Rob VanDeVeen, associate GM for Continental Airlines Arena/ Giants Stadium, says that seeing Bon Jovi at Giants Stadium is the ultimate experience for a fan because it is a homegrown act. He notes that the band has sold out a total of five stadium shows and eight arena shows at the complex. "Bon Jovi is the No.6 act of all time at the Meadowlands Sports Complex," he adds.

According to many promoters, Bon Jovi has been so successful in the touring business because it has learned how to promote itself and understands what will bring fans to its shows.

HOB's O'Connor notes that he has always supported Bon Jovi because " they have always been fantastic about promotion and what they can do in the marketplace. They have a philosophy of looking at each market and how they stand there."

Jerry Mickelson, co-president of Chicago-based Jam Productions, also notes that Bon Jovi has been conscious of ticket prices throughout its career.

"They have not forced fans to stay home because they have been reasonable with their ticket prices. And they still earn money," Mickelson says.

"Since 1997, when concert prices rose dramatically, we have seen gross ticket sales increase and attendance decrease. This disturbing trend continues to happen because people get greedy, but Bon Jovi has not gone along with that philosophy."

Additionally, the acts has been adamant about playing both major markets and secondaries. Light adds that the group will show up in small venues when it is promoting a record and has played a show in New Jersey almost every year specifically for charity.

Bon Jovi's agents say that a big tour is expected next year in support of the forthcoming boxed set, "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong..." Jam's Mickelson and O'Connor already say that they want to be on board.

"They have remained loyal throughout the years, so I'd participate without a doubt," says Mickelson, adding that a feeling of camaraderie between Bon Jovi and tour organizers began in the '80s.

"There was one tour [where] we would [have] courts to play basketball after shows. They'd finish a show, take their showers and then at one in the morning we'd be all playing basketball."

Light notes that there are few bands that make their tour cohorts feel welcome. "Jon has created a family around him," he says. "It's like being in a fraternity. He gives out "Slippery When Wet" medallions made from gold and diamonds - you have to have worked on two tours to get one. I am really part of something special."

"A Look Inside The Bon Jovi Box"

Previously Unreleased Tracks Offer Surprises Galore

The new Bon Jovi boxed set "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong..." contains plenty of musical surprises, especially since it consists mainly of previously unreleased songs. And waiting in the wings is another treat for fans: The group has recorded an album of new material that is expected to hit the market in spring 2005.

"People can't believe that I'm doing both things simultaneously, nor can my record company," Jon Bon Jovi told Billboard one morning after spending the previous evening working in the studio.

The label's disbelief may be caused by the scope of the boxed set, which arrives Tuesday (16). The five-disc package contains a photo booklet, four CDs of music and a DVD of interviews and other footage. Three of the CDs are full of previously unreleased material. Its list price is $59.98.

Two days before the boxed set arrives, on Sunday (14), Bon Jovi will receive the American Music Awards' special Award of Merit, an honor previously bestowed on Bing Cosby, Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

The honor will be conveyed during the 32nd annual event, which will be broadcast live on ABC (tape delayed on the West Coast).

The Award of Merit is presented in recognition of "outstanding contributions to the musical entertainment of the American public." Others who have been honored include Michael Jackson, Irving Berlin, Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry, Paul Mc Cartney, The Beach Boys and Willie Nelson.

The new boxed set "wasn't a record that needed a lot of attention; overdubs, things like that," Bon Jovi says. "I don't think that each of us did a day on it, and when I say a day, I mean a couple of hours. And the [engineer] Obie [O'Brien] has gone through things and mixed them.
Simultaneously, we were writing and recording in the studio."

The band stresses that what makes its box different from others is the amount of rare and unreleased material it contains. Of the 50 songs included on "100,000,000," 38 have never been released.

"Usually 'boxed set' means some sort of rehashed greatest hits or rearranged masters or some sort of different packaged stuff you've heard already," keyboardist David Bryan says. "Obie just went back into the tapes and said, 'Let's make something for the fans. If [you were] a fan of a band, what would you want to hear?' You wouldn't want to hear stuff that you've heard already."

"It's funny, listening to some of the stuff, you almost think, 'Did we do this?' That's how obscure some of it is," drummer Tico Torres adds. "There's a little bit of everything on there. The nice thing is you're not going to say, 'I've heard this before.'"

Another reason Bon Jovi refrained from making a greatest hits album is that it has already gone that route twice.

The first collection, "Cross Road," was hugely successful. The 1994 set has sold 18.5 million copies worldwilde, according to the band's label, Island Records. Of that number, 4.1 million were sold in the United States. "Cross Road" contains the No.4 ballad "Always," which spent 32 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the biggest hits of Bon Jovi's career.

"This Left Feels Right" followed in 2003. On it, the band completely revamped such staples as "Living On A Prayer" and "Born To Be My Baby," stripping them down and rearranged them. It has sold 382,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.

For the boxed set, Bon Jovi had an abundance of material. The band wrote many songs that went unused on previous studio albums, often because they didn't fit the overall feel of a record.

"Jon and I have always been quite prolific writers," guitarist Richie Sambora says. "To get to the 10 or 12 songs on the record, we would write anywhere between 30 and 50 songs to make sure we found a good direction.

"There was lots and lots of material that we had in our vault, and we thought that it would be great for people to hear," he continues. "You know, you go back and listen to that stuff and go, 'Hey, why didn't this song make the record?'"

Bryan, Torres and Sambora each sing lead on one track in the compilation, according to Bryan, a first for a Bon Jovi package. Sambora's song is a demo from one of his solo projects, Bryan's is from a musical he wrote called "Memphis Lives in Me" and Torres is heard on "Only in My Dreams."

Torres was so secretive about his track that his bandmates didn't even know he had recorded it.

"Twelve years ago he went in and sang on it and never told anybody. Obie O'Brien found it,Bryan says.

"It's one of my favorite song ever, and Tico sings his ass off on it."

Among the rarities are cuts from film soundtracks, such as "Edge of a Broken Heart" from the 1987 film "Disorderlies," and a recording of "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" that differs from the version on "Cross Road."

"Being that we're at the 100-million-records-sold-worldwilde-and-counting mark, it was time for us to do this [boxed set]," Island Records senior director of marketing Eric Wong says. "For us to be able to celebrate and honor them with this collection is something we're really excited about."

Via the band's Web site, Bon Jovi solicited fans around the world for material featured in the booklet packaged with the boxed set.

That material included "essays, anecdotes, opinions and recollections of what the band means to them," Wong says.

Bon Jovi explains why it was so important for the band to reach out to fans for content. "They've been a part of this journey," he says. "This has always been a band of the people anyhow, and [we wanted to give] back to those people who are the ones that gave us the opportunity to still be here 20 years on."

Bon Jovi adds that in the first week of the request, 4,000 to 5,000 e-mails were received.

The boxed set was released Nov.10 in Japan and arrives Monday (15) in the rest of the world outside the States. Wong expects the initial U.S. shipment to total 100,000 copies, and another 100,000 to ship internationally.

"New In 2005"

Bon Jovi's new album due in spring 2005 will be "a loud guitar, big rock record," Jon Bon Jovi says. "We're very excited about it, and I'm very confident it's going to be a big record for us."

Guitarist Richie Sambora says the band will launch a world tour in late spring to support the album, although dates have not yet been announced.

"A New Direction"

Sambora adds," I think we stumbled upon something again on this particular record, kind of like what happened with 'It's My Life'. When [that] came out, it seemed to give Bon Jovi a whole new audience. We've always had a vast audience, but with this new record, what I'm feeling [is] it's kind of a new direction. It sounds very fresh, yet it sounds like us."

The band worked with producer John Shanks (Michelle Branch, Melissa Etheridge), who also wrote tracks with Bon Jovi and Sambora. The album was recorded during the summer.

Bon Jovi notes that changes in the climate of the country, and the state of the music business, influenced the songwriting on the new album.

The songs reflect "personal and introspective views on issues I may have had growing up that I certainly would have never discussed publicly before. I've always kept this 'chin up, glass is half-full' kind of optimism, and [now] I showed some chinks in the armor."

The song "Last Man Standing" depicts Bon Jovi's unhappiness with the music industry. He says it reflects his "disgust of the music business in general and its lack of true vision when it comes to supporting the artistry of a song, the songwriter and the bands on the road."

"Instead of creating what Andy Warhol once called '15 minutes of fame,' I think it's down to just three minutes and 30 seconds," he says. "I don't know how this industry is ever going to have another Bob Dylan when it's all about the single, [not] the album and the vision and the inspiration. [It's] all for the sake of a 99 cent download so they can sell bulk and make their bonuses. It's heartbreaking."

Eric Wong, senior director of marketing at Island Records, notes:"[As] with every Bon Jovi release, it's going to get the full-on attention."

"Rocking Millions From New Jersey To The World"

Musicians, take note: If you're asked to fill in with a band for just a few weeks, don't be too quick to say no. You might be destined for global success.

Jon Bon Jovi formed his name-sake act in 1983 as an ad hoc group to promote his song "Runaway". He had been cutting demos in his spare time while working as a gofer at the Power Station, New York's famed recording studio, when "Runaway" wound up on a compilation of local rock bands and began getting airplay on now long-defunct New York rock station WAPP.

"It was meant to be a short-term thing to support that single at local shows and in a contest that Miller Beer was sponsoring with Atlantic Records," Bon Jovi recalls.

"They were really doing me a favor. We just seemed to hit it off, and what was supposed to be three weeks is 20 years."

"They" - guitarist Richie Sambora, bassist Alec John Such, drummer Tico Torres and keyboardist David Bryan - played their first show with Bon Jovi at a bowling alley. Within a few weeks, they knew the band was no temporary gig.

Within another 12 months, their first album, "Bon Jovi", was released. Within three more years, they were international superstars.

On Tuesday (16), Island Records will release "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong...", a five-CD boxed set featuring a wealth of rare material that spans the length of the band's career. The collection includes 38 previously unreleased recordings, 12 non-album tracks and a DVD of interviews and other footage.

The boxed set offers a unique perspective of a band that has shown remarkable longevity and commercial impact across two decades. The set helps highlight the journey - and the dedication - it took to turn the five New Jersay guys into one of the world's most popular bands.

"We really earned our keep by going door to door, going to every town playing in every club," Bryan recalls of Bon Jovi relentless touring in '80s. "We would say we would play every pay toilet and use our own change. Across America and across the world, we just kept going and going. I didn't think it would be that hard. Nobody thought you would be into it that much, and you are. [You] have to go to every city in America and every country in the world and sell your wares."

Bon Jovi is a "great touring act", says Steve Bartels, president of Island Records. "When they go on the road, they sell out everywhere. Fans love them, and they keep themselves in front of people. That's very important, especially as the music business continues as it has."

While the band has grown to stadium-filling status through the years, its appeal remains rooted in the impact of its storytelling and rock/pop hooks.

"Songs. It's the only thing," says Paul Korzilius, who heads Bon Jovi Management, crediting the craft of songwriting for the band's longevity.

David Munns, EMI Music World vice chairman and EMI Music North America chairman/ CEO, says, "I believe in melody, and their songs always have great melodies.

It's a rock band - when you see them live, no doubt, they're a rock band - but there's a little pop element in their songs that make them very playable on the radio, and that's what people want."

According to Island, Bon Jovi has sold 100 million records worldwilde and counting, thus the title of the boxed set.

On the Billboard Hot 100, the band has had four No.1s, two top five hits, four top 10 songs, one top 20 and six more in the top 40. Its first four studio albums have been certified for total shipments of 22 million copies, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America, and total sales for its last seven releases have exceeded 7.5 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Born To Be A Star"

Jon Bon Jovi grew up wanting to be a rock star. Two heroes of the Sayreville, N.J., native were Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes, local acts that had made good. But he never dreamed he would reach such heights.

"My vision of big, in 1983, was Southside Johnny", Jon recalls. "Up until '83, the E Street Band was not a big band. So I didn't have anything to base what was big on. I didn't want to grow up and be in Kiss or Led Zeppelin.
I wanted to be a Juke"

Bon Jovi did not merely break through when its third album, "Slippery When Wet", arrived in september 1986: It exploded. "Slippery" spawned the N° 1 hits "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer" along with what became Bon Jovi's anthem, "Wanted Dead Or Alive", wich peaked at N° 7.

Within one month of its release, the RIAA certified the album platinum and it topped The Billboard 200 for eight weeks. After a year it was eight times platinum - and that was only in the United States.

From the start, Bon Jovi and the band's then-manager, Doc Mc Ghee, envisioned the world as their potential market.

In the mid-'80s, the stars were aligned in the group's favor. Metal acts like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest were on the rise, and Mc Ghee, who managed Bon Jovi from 1983 to 1992, was also managing Motley Crüe.

As a rock band, Bon Jovi had plenty of guitars and drums to please male audiences, so it opened for groups like Ratt, Kiss and The Scorpions for months on end, gaining fans arround the globe.

"Our (third) tour, we opened for Judas Priest in Canada" Bryan says. "And we're singing, 'Oooo, she's a little runaway'. We got thrust into a heavy-metal situation where we had hostile audiences. They hated us (at first). They didn't want us. They wanted the main act, and we won them almost every time".

Mc Ghee recalls "Slippery When Wet" as "a really fun, up record, particularly compared with its predecessor "7800° Fahrenheit" (1985), an album darkened by the band's heartaches.

While working on the songs for "Slippery When Wet", Bon Jovi and Sambora collaborated with songwritter Desmond Child. The collaboration grew out of their frustration with the greater success other metal bands were archieving.

"Slippery Sessions"

They saw another rocker, Bryan Adams, gaining acclaim as a songwriter for Tina Turner and thought it would boost Bon Jovi's profile if they collaborated with a songwriter on hits for another artist. Instead, the sessions yielded songs for "Slippery When Wet."

"One of the first ones was 'You Give Love a Bad Name,'" Bon Jovi says. " And I thought, 'Not giving that one away.'"

Sambora explains, "Desmond had a pop side to him that we didn't have yet. I think we just didn't want to go there so explicitly and kind of melded it into our own style and our own sound."

Child recalls," I was impressed with Jon and Richie. They were amazingly professional for their age, they were very clear about their concepts.

"When you meet winners, that's not every day. I felt they were going to go places," says Child, whose relationship with the band has grown into a close friendship.

Bon Jovi ushered in a peak commercial era for pop metal. They toured with a raft of bands that benefited from the association, including White Lion, Cinderella, Warrant and Poison.

But Bon Jovi is one of the few bands with roots in that era that went on to gain a broader pop audience and never scaled back to clubs and theaters for tours.

Jon Bon Jovi "transcended the hair-band moments," says Tom Calderone, executive VP of music talent and programming at MTV and MTV2. "What set him apart was his songwriting, his penchant for a hit. He knows how to write great music."

Bon Jovi got played not only on rock radio, it broke through at top 40. Korzilius at BJM notes that most of the band's airplay is at those two formats, along with adult top 40 and modern AC.

The multiplatinum success of "Slippery When Wet" also made Child more in demand as a songwriter. He observes that, in many ways, Bon Jovi changed the course of rock music.

"Healing Through Therapy"

But more hits weren't going to mend the band. When Bon Jovi regrouped, "it wasn't as if we said, 'This is over' or 'I hate you, you stole my money, you're doing too much drugs.' It was, 'Why don't I like this anymore?'" Bon Jovi says.

He and Sambora credit Lou Cox, a psychologist who worked with Aerosmith, with reviving Bon Jovi by helping the band members learn to better communicate with each other.

Torres adds, "We realized you don't have to kill yourself. 'Make the best music you can, tour without depleting yourself and have a better quality of life.'"

To better control the pace and direction of the band's career, Bon Jovi parted ways with McGhee and formed BJM in 1992. "The vision was clearly to have one company focusing on one thing," Korzilius says. "BJM's primary and only goal is to manage Bon Jovi."

Bon Jovi's next album was 1992's aptly titled "Keep The Faith." Amid the onslaught of grunge in the early '90s, Bon Jovi stayed true to its style, and the album went double-platinum.

A greatest-hits set, "Cross Road," arrived in 1994. It yielded the top five hit "Always", which was certified platinum and stayed on the Hot 100 for 32 weeks. The album has sold 18.5 million copies worldwilde, according to the label.

Bon Jovi's fan base "grew up with them and stayed with them," says Joe Nardone Jr., head buyer and co-owner of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based chain Gallery of Sound. He describes the act's catalog as "very strong," particularly "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey." He adds, "Every day we sell something."

The album "These Days" arrived in 1995 amid more change. Sonic shifts were apparent: The CD's production had less bombast but still rocked, its lyrics evidenced heightened social awareness and the love songs were less optimistic. Bassist Such was no longer with the band, and hip-hop and nü-metal rose on the charts. Nevertheless, Bon Jovi again reached platinum.

"Along with some really great songwriting, they know when to put a fresh coat of pain on themselves," says Bruce Gillmer, senior VP of musical and talent relations at VH1. "They don't necessarily ever have to reinvent themselves, because they have such a successful formula, but they know when to freshen it up a bit."

The band realizes there is more to reaching the top than enjoying the view. "Every time you're a band like us that [has] the kind of record sales we were having, you need to go work your ass off all over the globe to catch [those] record sales," Sambora says.

While on tours to support "These Days" and "Cross Road," Bon Jovi played in 42 countries, including India, across the Pacific Rim and Central America.

Although boy bands and teen pop knocked rock off the radio in the late '90s, Bon Jovi experienced another boom. It turned a new generation on its music with the 2000 album "Crush," thanks to the success of the single "It's My Life," which peaked at No.33 on the Hot 100.

After Universal and PolyGram merged in 1998, Bon Jovi's longtime label, Mercury Records, was dissolved and the band moved to Island Records. Munns, who was PolyGram's global head of marketing at the time, left the company. But Bon Jovi recruited him as a consultant to oversee marketing for "Crush."

The band "did the work again," Munns recalls, describing his strategy as a grassroots plan that Island Records supported. "They did the work sort of like all the things a new artist does. Bon Jovi is never too proud to do what it has got to do. Its ego doesn't get in the way of what it needs to do to be successful band."

Bon Jovi followed "Crush" in 2002 with "Bounce," a studio album greatly influenced by the events of Sept.11, 2001, and then "This Left Feels Right," a 2003 release that featured rerecordings of a dozen of the band's greatest hits.

The hiatus in the early '90s taught the band that taking time off to pursue other interests keeps it strong as a unit. Sambora has scored music for TV and film. Bryan writes music for theatrical productions. Torres is a painter/ sculptor and art gallery owner who also created the Rock Star Baby line of infant clothing. Bon Jovi is involved with politics and co-owns the Arena Football League team Philadelphia Soul.

And he is an actor, appearing on TV series "Ally McBeal" and in movies including "Moonlight and Valentino" (1995), "Leading Man" (1996), "Little City" (1997), "No Looking Back" (1998), "U-571" (2000), "Pay It Forward" (2000) and Vampires: Los Muertos" (2002).

The outside projects don't hurt the band's visibility, either. "This is a band that continues to do things for their fans and certainly is always keeping [a high] profile," Calderone says.

"Even when they're not in [a record] cycle, you always hear about them, or Jon's in a movie or a TV show... Staying in front of people - I think that's really important and the fans really appreciate that."

Bon Jovi does go to significant lengths to connect with its fans. Whether it's a contest to win the house that belonged to Bon Jovi's parents (a legendary MTV promotion), a backyard barbecue with the band or kicking off the NFL season with a free concert in Times Square, Bon Jovi remembers who supports it.

Torres says, "When I sit in front of an audience, there could be 50,000 or 100,000 out there, and I'll find that one person, it's usually a guy that's not into it because his sister or girlfriend or wife dragged him down. And I work on this guy. I look at him, and I work and work and work, and then finally by the end of the night he's clapping and he's singing."

The band's commitment to fans is evident again in the preparation for "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong..." The band invited fans to offer comments that are included in the boxed-set package. It also launched American XS Platinum, a premium level of membership in its fan program that allows participants to gain access to exclusive footage online, additional boxed-set content and passwords for presales on concert tickets.

And the band already has recorded its next studio album, with a release planned for spring 2005.

When asked which band or individual achievements he is most proud of, Bon Jovi replies, "There's too many to list, and I don't mean that lightly.

"The Soviet Union, when the wall was still up, playing Lenin Stadium, that was pretty big. The three nights at Wembley [Arena in London] at the stadium or the nine nights in the arenas here in New York area, and the 'Slippery' tour or the 51 singles or the 100 million albums, it goes on and on and on," he says.

"Just being here is the greatest accomplishment of all. And being here not in a nostalgic kind of way, not in a career retrospective. It's just one chapter in the book.

"Bimbos And Corvettes"

"I remember it was very difficult to get rock played on the radio," he says. "At that moment, they had the right combination of image and melody and lyric to break through. A lot of the music at that time was strictly about bimbos and red Corvettes going down Sunset Strip.

"If you listen to the lyrics of the bands that were coming out at the time," Child continues, "none of them had the depth of Bon Jovi. But then, every single one of those bands started copying Bon Jovi."

Bon Jovi recalls the band's rise. "It was so meteoric and it came at you, not in giant steps, but in leaps, bounds. Every day was another record-set kind of time in our career: Fastest sellout, quickest No.1 - you couldn't even bask in the moments because another had come."

Torres remarks, "It's that point in any band's career when you go, 'Wow, this is as good as the Beatles.' That level where the frenzy is going on, it's like the revival meeting: One person gets into it, then two, then three, then you've got 200."

The band's 1988 album, "New Jerey," was another triumph. The RIAA certified the set triple-platinum within two months of its release. (It is now seven times platinum.) It included two No.1 hits on Billboard Hot 100. "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There For You," along with the hits "Born To Be My Baby" (which peaked at No.3), "Living in Sin" (No.9) and "Lay Your Hands on Me" (No.7).

"Back In The U.S.S.R"

Bon Jovi returned to the road to support the album. From 1988 to 1990, the band crisscrossed the globe, making history internationally (the first rock band sanctioned by the former U.S.S.R to perform in the country) and personally (playing its first homecoming show at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.).

But the road took its toll. After touring for six years, the band was exhausted. The final shows in Guadalajara, Mexico, almost marked the end of the group.

"It just about killed us," Sambora recalls of the 232 shows on the Jersey Syndicate tour. "We couldn't even speak to each other. We couldn't even speak English at that point. We were just dead from the whole trip."

Bryan says, "Everyone around us, they wanted the machine to keep going because they were making a lot of money. At that point, we didn't care what the money was. You're tired of the same channel."

Bon Jovi also overwhelmed, from a business standpoint and by his role as leader of the band.

"You were a 20-year-old kid that got a record deal. Suddenly, when you're 25 you're running this corporation, and by the time you're 30, your whole life changed," he recalls. "It was really confusing. Suddenly you're being asked your opinions as though it matters as the head of a big company, making decisions that employ 100 people at a time. That was a lot to ask."

The band went on a hiatus. Bon Jovi and Sambora made their first solo records: Bon Jovi's 1990 album "Blaze Of Glory," which was the soundtrack to the movie "Young Guns II," and Sambora's 1991 set "Stranger in This Town."

The title track to "Blaze of Glory" topped the Billboard Hot 100, won a Golden Globe Award and earned a nomination for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award. The album went double-platinum.

"An MTV Moment"

The music video for Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name," directed by Wayne Isham, marked the band's breakthrough at MTV and began an important promotional partnership that has lasted through the years.

Bon Jovi's previous videos "had Velveeta all over them," former manager Doc McGhee says with a laugh. "They were as cheese as it gets. When 'Slippery [When Wet]' came, I said, 'There is no more Velveeta on this stuff. This is about a rock band, this is going to be an infomercial to our live shows.'"

The clip emphasized the band playing live. With bright lights, energy and close-ups of five good-looking guys, the video turned Bon Jovi into a mainstay on MTV and, as a result, on radio.

At MTV, Bon Jovi "opened the door for showmanship and staging and big tours and big contests," says Tom Calderone, executive VP of music talent and programming at MTV and MTV2. " The show business and the bigness of rock gets people excited about Bon Jovi."

An acoustic performance by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora during the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards is considered to have helped spark the network's "Unplugged" franchise.

Mc Ghee says that when he told MTV about the idea, "they freaked out. 'Can't do it, you can't do it'. And we did it anyway."

It was certainly a great moment for the VMA’s," says Calderone, who saw the show before he joined MTV.

"It certainly took an opportunity to say to bands, 'Let's see how you stack up by sitting there without all the bells and whistles of the pyro and everything else and see if you can actually sing and perform,' and they nailed it."

Bruce Gillmer, senior VP of music and talent relations at VH1, was an MTV intern when "Slippery" hit. He says, "Through their partnership with Wayne, they produced some of the most influential performance driven videos and also the 'band on the road' theme. 'Dead or Alive,' 'Living On A Prayer,' 'You Give Love A Bad Name,' those videos were absolutely huge and influential and, I think, copied for years."

By Christa Titus - © Billboard Magazine - 2004

International Relations Just As Vital For Music

By working Beyond U.S. Borders,
Bon Jovi Has Maintained Its Stronghold Abroad.

LONDON - Bon Jovi has been dining at the top table of international rock attractions for two decades.

While other rock bands pay lip service to overseas territories and discover too late that they have failed to invest sufficient time abroad, the New Jersey warriors have always cultivated a foreign fan base with tireless touring and promotion.

The payoff has been immense- and invaluable, as Bon Jovi's legion of supporters in Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, helped see it through some quieter times in its homeland.

The first time the name Bon Jovi appeared on the British charts, you might have missed it if you blinked. The group self-titled 1984 album tip-toed onto the U.K. best sellers in April of that year, peaking at No.71 during a three week stay. Bon Jovi's first European tour, in the autumn of 1984, included a live broadcast of one British date, by BBC Radio 1.

The first showing on the U.K. singles survey, in August 1985, was even more tentative, a one week appearance at No.68 with "Hardest Part In The Night."

Nevertheless, by then, a top 30 placing for its "7800° Fahrenheit" album showed the act was on the right track. In those days, the band's releases appeared internationally on Vertigo, the rock label operated by the (pre- Universal Music) Phonogram Company.

Early Groundwork

That early groundwork would prove crucial in Bon Jovi's international breakthrough year of 1986, when the anthemic "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer" became widespread hits along with the "Slippery When Wet" album.

To this day, that set is the band's longest-running album on the British charts, by far, at 123 weeks in total.

That early attention to working outside North America has sustained Bon Jovi ever since. "They keep coming, they always give great value for the money and no matter what promo thing they're doing, they make it something special," says Greg Castell, managing director of Mercury U.K.

"I've worked [with] them three times," he adds. "When I was in the sales team in 1986, then around 'Keep The Faith' [1992] and the 'Cross Road' compilation [1994]. Then I left again to go to Polydor, then I've done the last two albums.

"Without being corny," he continues, "they're among the top three most professional bands I've ever worked with. Whether it comes down to doing a full Wembley Stadium or Hyde Park show or busking [street entertaining], you know you're going to get something electric from them."

UK Leads Global Sales

Matt Voss, VP of international marketing at Universal Music International, confirms that in terms of record sales, the United Kingdom is indeed Bon Jovi's best international market, followed by Germany, and then Japan.

The band's best-selling album worldwild is the greatest-hits set, "Cross Road," at 18.5 million, according to Island Records. "Keep The Faith" comes next, with 8 million, and then 2000's "Crush" at 7.4 million.

"It's rare to have an artist which not only defines its genre as Bon Jovi did, but can then go on to transcend that genre and find a whole new generation of fans," Voss notes. "Bon Jovi have the ability to connect to their audience at every level. "Look at the show in [London's] Hyde Park last year," he continues. "The band [members] were as comfortable playing their music to 90,000 people in London on a Saturday night as they were in the relative intimacy of a few hundred diehards in Atlantic City [N.J.] four months later for the recording of the 'This Left Feels Right' DVD."

Castell also recalls the massive Hyde Park gathering as a high point. "I've got a great picture in my office of the band playing [that show], and it was taken from the air, so all you see is Hyde Park full of people. It's incredible."

The band's 1986-87 touring season was crowned with a performance at the Monsters of Rock show at England's Castle Donington. By early 1990, Bon Jovi was ending another enormous global tour that had lasted through 16 months and 237 shows. The end of that year brought a further huge event emphasizing the band's global reach, as it played a New Year's Eve show at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, broadcast by MTV.

Admirable Work Ethic

"I remember doing an in-store with them once in Scotland," Castell says, "and they literally flew from Portugal, did the in-store and got back in the plane so they could get to Spain the same day to do the gig there in the evening. It's that relentless push to make the most of every opportunity that I admire. I'm sure many record companies would like to train that work ethic into all their bands."

Castell also points to the band's remarkable run of five consecutive No.1 albums in the United Kingdome from 1988's "New Jersey" to 2000's "Crush." The 2002 album "Bounce," released in Europe two weeks before its U.S. debit, opened at No.1 on the Pan-European Top 100 Albums survey. 2003's "This Left Feels Right" opened on that chart at No.3, fuelled in particular by debuts at No.3 in Germany and No.4 in Britain. Further afield, it was typically, an instant top five record in Japan.

Castell is convinced that the band's commitment to travelling and attention to detail are the secrets of its extraordinary survival across two full decades.

Remembering one imaginative promotional gambit in London, he says: "They decided they were going to go busking, and we had real problems getting any kind of permit to busk anywhere.

"They managed to find a church step in Covent Garden which wasn't technically on council land, and they busked on the church step. The whole of Covent Garden was packed with people, and there was nothing anyone could do.

"It's that kind of inventiveness about them, it's really special. We always look forward to them coming, because we know we can rely on them."

By Paul Sexton - © Billboard Magazine 2004

"Always A Hard-Working Band"

Bon Jovi survives And Thrives Across Two Decades,
Amid Music Business Changes

As one of the most popular rock band in the world, Bon Jovi hasn't just made musical history during its 20-year career: It has also been a close witness to music business history.

On the way to becoming one of the most famous acts from New Jersey, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Tico Torres and David Bryan saw changes aplenty in the record industry, most notably the merger of PolyGram and Universal in 1998.

After releasing albums through PolyGram's Mercury Records for the first half of its career, the band switched to Universal's Island Records label for "Crush" in 2000.

Despite the shuffle, across two decades, Bon Jovi has not only endured, but thrived. On the eve of the release Tuesday (16) of the boxed set "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong," the group members spoke individually to Billboard about their long-lived career and their perspective on the music business.

Additional excerpts from this interview are available exclusively online at billboard.com/bonjovi

Twenty years after your debut, your band is counted along with Bruce Springsteen and Frank Sinatra among the biggest musical acts from New Jersey. How does it feel to be in such company ?

JBJ : "It's pretty incredible. I, in 1983, never in my wildest, wildest dreams, ever envisioned having the conversation 20 years down the road - forget 100 million albums later, God. Nobody could even fathom those kinds of numbers. So, it's awe-inspiring for us, as a band, to know that those are legit album numbers. And Frank, certainly, is the role model here for me. The E Street Band was a huge influence, but Frank was more of a role model."

DB : "Springsteen was the lord of Asbury Park when [Jon and I] were in high school, and it was just neat to be able to see him come down to the club, [and] now we're peer. Now we've sold as many, if not more records than he has, so it's an honor."

TT : "You can't get any better company than that. Frank Sinatra was always my favorite. Growing up with Bruce [when] he was still unknown, [it] was like seeing how the music developed, and his type of music actually set a tone for a lot other musicians to follow. To be part of that, I think the best way to put it is [that it is] an honor."

RS : "It feels extraordinary. We never in our wildest dreams thought anything like this would have happened. We're actually exceeded, I think, our expectations. Can I say I'm surprised? Yes and no, because we've always been such a hard working band in every aspect of our business, wether it's been the live thing - I don't think anybody has toured as much as we have, except for James Brown [he laughs] - [or] working on our craft as songwriters. And always expanding and becoming producers and continuing to evolve as a unit is what's kept this thing alive."

What do you remember from recording the first album ?

JBJ : "I remember taking pictures of us in the studio going, "Wow, this is real." I remember having this 99-cent mini-bottle of champagne that I used to say I was going to open the day I got a record deal and I put it in the fridge to chill it and it broke before we got to open it [he laughs].

I remember the producers and engineers saying:"Well, you guys aren't very good are you?" Learning about comping vocal for the first time and having the engineer tell you that "it's how it's done - everyone sings a song more than once, you don't have to apologize." It was all those great things about making the early records. We were as green as could be. It was just all part of the joy of learning the process."

RS : "We were very confident, cocky. We were having a good time. We were a young rock'n'roll band in the '80s. We were getting into a lot of trouble and having a lot of fun. [And] we knew it was a great shot."

"Wanted Dead Or Alive" makes the analogy between being on tour and being a cowboy. What was it about such a character that you identify with ?

JBJ : "In simplistic terms, here I was on a bus for a couple of years, finding America for the first time, seeing what it was all about, taking the dream and making it a reality. But another dawn on a highway, there was a romantic version of that. There was the feeling that you, in clichéd terms, rod into a town, took the money, met the girls, drank their booze and left before they caught you, and that was the cute way I would describe it as a 25-year-old. As I got older, it was more the life of a carny, and then as I got older still, it was more the life of a traveling salesman [he laugs]. But the romantic version in my 20s was that of a cowboy."

In forming your own management company, were you concerned that it was riskier than finding another manager, or were you more intent on having more control over the band's career ?

JBJ : "Sure, it was a great risk, and the gossip in the industry among other management companies was "That's the end of them; they're over. Who are they to think they could do this?" And [I read that] supposedly I thought that I was the smartest guy in the music business. But I had an idea of the direction of the band, and I felt that deals were deals and with the right people spot-checking [our decisions], there's no reason why we had to have an [outside] management company."

The band experienced one of the major mergers in the industry when Universal absorbed PolyGram in 1998. What was the hardest part of dealing with that, personally or professionally ?

RS : "Gaining our footing. Waiting it out. Being a veteran band, honestly you know how many CEOs that we've been through ? Almost 10. Jon and I, especially, we're not afraid to sit down with the executives and [ask], "What's going on with the business ?," and be involved. Jon and I were always those kind of people. Some artists don't like to get involved - they have the manager do that stuff. We want to be face to face with these guys. I think that was a big part of what we did. The merger has probably affected [other] people more than us, and we felt like we put the roof on the building after 80 million records, at that time. Luckily [there were] a lot of acquaintances that we had at that particular point. [It] actually worked out real, real well, and we built a rock division for a hip-hop company at that point."

TT : "You spend a lot of time building a relationship with people [in] the company and different segments of the company around the world, and then you find out some are gone. In one sense it was good, because that's how we were able to have David Munns help us with "Crush." The bad sense is that the long-lasting relationships you had built up [are] no longer there. It's scary. It took a little bit of bringing the new people in to see what we do, and - not to sound condescending, but to educate them on what we do, because they're not used to it. I think if it's honest, they'll get it, and the ones that did, did, and there's not much you can do except to be yourself. For a minute there, we were concerned, and I think you have to be."

What advice would you give to acts that face such a situation now that Sony and BMG have merged ?

JBJ : "Develop your relationship with the fan base more than anything and anyone else. You have to build the fan base with the fan because, they may come and go, but how else do you continue to come back? What are you building your foundation on, sand or stone? For us, it was based on touring. For a band these days, I'd love to recommend to them to go out and do that.

DB : "It's inevitable and it's tough, and you just have to try to go back to history and learn from it. Record companies gobble each other up, and then they become too big and then the independents come in. It's a cycle. Luckily we've been fortunate enough to [ride out] the cycle."

What would you tell a musician trying to break into the business today ?

TT : "[One idea] is doing your own record and finding a distributor for it and being your own label, because you can sell 2% of what you would at a big label [and] make more money, most likely. That means you can do what you want and make a living at it. Some people do an independent film, it becomes a smash hit [and] it didn't cost them a lot to do; it was just ingenuity of how they did it. I think it could be the same way with music."

RS : "Make a great record. Be a great songwriter. Really work on that craft [and] make your choices wisely. Management choices, production choices, the way you go about booking your band live, not making the mistake of getting on a bad tour, playing to half-houses - there's a bunch of stuff you have to know."

What is the upside to the music business ?

RS : "Aw, come on - it's the greatest job in the world if you can do what we've done. We get to do what we love to do for a living, make a ton of money and evolve as musicians, individually and also as a unit.

Every time you work with somebody different, wether it's a producer or a new CEO or a new production guy or something, you're going to learn from them if you keep your eyes open and communicate."

DB : "The upside is that you get to do something you love. They don't call it "working music," they call it "playing music" - key word being "play."

The other stuff is work. Doing the interviews, traveling - that stuff is work. When you actually get onstage and play ? That's the most fun you can have with your clothes on in the world [he laugs]. It's wonderful."

Where do you see the band in the next 10 years ?

JBJ : "We [all] have other [creative] outlets, so though this is the mothership, the thing that keeps [us] secure, we encourage each other to do those other projects so wholeheartedly that it allows us to never have to rely on this, and therefore never break up. And the only reason I would ever walk away from this [is] - you will never see this band on a nostalgia tour. You will never see this band going down from what it's accustomed to, with regard to the venues and the style of record release; I'm not doing it. I'm walking away. [I] said that from the beginning, and I've stuck by that statement."

TT : "We have always said that we're not going to be the old boxer that's still boxing when he can't win a match. We'll do it as long as we have fun, and we'll do it as long as we can be as good as we can be. And when that stops, we'll stop. And if it doesn't, geez, we got a good gauge. Look at the Stones; they've been around forever. Look at jazz artists and blues artists. You can play all your life."

DB : "More making records and more touring. We don't do it at the same pace as we used to. We play fewer gigs to more people. But we love making music, and we love playing. You don't lose your piss and vinegar just because you're down the road a little further. I think we're playing more on fire than we did when we were 18 years old. You always had to prove something to the world because you're just a bunch of kids from New Jersey, and now we're just a bunch of older kids from New Jersey, and we just want to prove something to the goddamn world."

What has enabled the band to remain together, either musically or in terms of personalities ?

JBJ : "As a band? I think that first and foremost, we were friends. We were always friends. The greatest compliment I can tell you about Richie Sambora is that you'd be lucky to call him your friend. That's how loyal the guy is. I think that we see through each other's faults. That's been part of the learning process of truly becoming friends and not just business associates. This has never been one of those bands that [took] separate cars to the gigs and [stayed in] different hotels. We truly do enjoy each other's company. We still laugh when we're together."

RS : "It's impossible to pinpoint one thing. Everything that we've been talking about: just our dedication to songwriting, our dedication to our fans, our dedication to our live performances, our dedication to evolution, just to continue showing up. You have got to show up. No.1 thing: Try [You] can't be afraid. Do whatever it takes to stay up there, to be an important part in the business."

DB : "I would say musically the reason we've endured, it goes right back to 1984. [The] musicianship in this band supercedes the music of this band. We're wildly talented in different directions, and yet we can play rock'n'roll.

We're in it too long to get divorced, you know? It's too much fun, and I think Richie said it best when he said, "We need to get out of the house."

We just need an excuse to get out of the house. We can't break up the band, we got to get out of the house! It's too much fun. It's a blast."

"The Industry Says Congratulations"

Those Who Know Bon Jovi Best Praise Band's Talent, Work Ethic, Humanitarian Efforts

"The worldwilde stature that Bon Jovi has achieved over the course of these past two decades has assured the band a place at the very top of contemporary rock's pantheon. Bon Jovi has worked harder than anyone can imagine to evolve their signature style and attitude, always staying faithful to their deep Jersey roots. Their litany of career milestones, encompassing the '80s, '90s and beyond, on the charts, on the road and in the hearts of one of rock's most loyal followings, is truly the stuff legends are made of."

Antonio "L.A." Reid

Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group

"I am thrilled to be able to work with Bon Jovi in this phase of their illustrious career. I have been a fan of their music since their very first album, and I am looking forward to helping with their continued success."

Steve Bartels

President, Island Records

"They're a band that always wants to be in a new market first. They're always ready to try something new that nobody has done before, so they're always quite adventurous like that. I still see them and talk to them, and they're my friends. This is absolutely a fantastic milestone for them. God bless Bon Jovi, I've got to say. They're a band other artists can benchmark themselves against."

David Munns

Chairman/ CEO, EMI Music North America

Vice Chairman, EMI Music Worldwilde

"Until Bon Jovi, I had never seen a rock band mesmerize an entire stadium filled with screaming fans. For me, it was a transformational experience, and I've been a huge fan of these guys ever since."

Lyor Cohen

Chairman/ CEO of U.S. recorded music,

Warner Music Group

"I think Bon Jovi will go down in history, after being noted as great songwriters, as an amazing live show. The band invests heavily in it. They will go out on the road with the best design, the best equipment and do everything they possibly can to make sure every customer leaves that venue totally satisfied that they experienced one of the best, if not the best, entertainment experiences of their entire life.

Congratulations to the greatest rock'n'roll band on the face of this planet. Good luck, and let's get another 100 million."

Paul Korzilius

BJM (Bon Jovi Management)

"Tico is one of the best drummers I've had a chance to work with. Richie is such a great artist, and Jonny's just a star. And Dave is as solid as it gets. [In deciding to work with them], it was one of those things where the sum is greater than the parts; all of them together were just great.

Always, gobs of congratulations from me. They're just one of the top-class acts in the business."

Doc McGhee

Founder, McGhee Entertainment

"Not only is Bon Jovi a great band, but the guys are very loyal friends. Jon and Richie were the first artists to pledge their support for the Concert For New York City. David Bryan has personally raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for VH1 Save the Music, and Tico has donated artwork for every silent auction we've had. Last year, the band played a sold-out show in New York and gave every dollar to the Robin Hood Foundation. They never say no to the people close to them. As a band, Bon Jovi has shown the same kind of loyalty to their fans, so it is no surprise that they have made it onto that rarified short-list of artists who emerged in the '80s and remain relevant today. I think their success is due to a combination of great talent and good karma."

John Sykes

Chairman/ CEO, Infinity Broadcasting

"Jon Bon Jovi is the most determined, professional perfectionist. He's an amazing artist and businessman. He is so focused and punctual...He is an amazing leader, and whatever he sets his mind to, he executes to perfection. It's amazing what he's doing with his football team. And he's an activist, a politician. The formula for Bon Jovi is Jon Bon Jovi, because he has kept his band together. He is the most loyal person I've ever met. No matter what, he stays with his friends and the people who are part of his life.

What I would like to say to Bon Jovi is 'thank you.' Thank you for the friendship, the loyalty, the inspiration and the laughs.

They've been an amazing beacon of light in my life, and they've been a band that has actually stood for something - [to which] they've stayed true. And for that reason, I find them very inspiring as people and as a band."

Desmond Child

Songwriter and co-founder, Deston Songs

"Jon cares about family, friendship and better lives for all Americans. I admire and respect him, especially for all he is doing to rock the youth vote. And I've been lucky enough to hear him rock in person!"

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

"Jon's vision, passion and energy know no limits. He is one of the most successful people I know and a legend of the industry. I'm proud to call him my good friend."

Bill Belichick

Head coach, New England Patriots

"I have the misfortune to be a friend of Jon Bon Jovi's for these many years. It's painful for an old dog like me to watch a young pup grow into a better performer, especially when the pup used to open for him.

Jon was always one of the most dedicated rockers who cared about his audience. After 25 years of recording, he still has more energy then any five guys I know. I wish he would slow down and stop making me look like the old man I am. Hey Jon, give me a break, will ya?

Keep pumpin', JB and all the guys. God knows you could never handle a real job!"

Southside Johnny

"We love Bon Jovi for their great music that just keeps getting better. We also love them for who they are. Jon, in particular, has become a close friend we respect enormously. He and [wife] Dorothea and their family are all very special to us. Jon and Richie had the loyalty and courage to help in the 2000 campaign when the chips were really down, and we will never forget it. At times during the campaign, Jon would join our bus trips and jump ahead to warm up the crowd so that by the time we arrived they were at a fever pitch. Then he would take off for the next stop without even pausing for rest. We have also seen the way he quietly pitches in to help lots of good cause in his home state of New Jersey - such as providing community-based health care to a lot of families that wouldn't have it otherwise - and the way he has used his arena football team, the [Philadelphia] Soul, to make Philadelphia a better city. He really is a great guy who is passionate about music (and acting) and compassionate toward people."

Al and Tipper Gore in a joint statement

"Bon Jovi is the most viable of all the 1980s band - as a matter of fact, of the '70s, '80s or '90s [bands]. When I was signing bands at Geffen, I first saw Bon Jovi on 'American Bandstand.' I thought they were interesting [and] different. When I heard 'Slippery When When,' I thought it would be the record that would change the course of music in the 1980s. And it did. I've been with Jon through all these years and have a lot of memories. When no one would produce Cher in 1987, Jon and Richie would. I've seen Jon and Richie play for 100 people in a record store and 100,000 people in Moscow. And in both cases, they gave their all. I also think back to dinners at Jon's house when we worked at his home studio. We'd walk to his house for dinner [and after dinner] Richie, Jon and I did the dishes in Jon's kitchen in New Jersey! Jon is the most 'un-prima donna' person you'll ever meet. The 'Behind The Music' show on Bon Jovi was one of the most boring, because there are no bad or crazy things to say about the band. They are fun to work with and super professional, and they know how important it is to give people their money's worth. Jon always does. He was always a beautiful rock star but now has become a world-class performer."

John David Kalodner

Senior VP, Sanctuary Records

"Jon Bon Jovi is know around the globe as both a rock star and a movie star. But to millions of Special Olympics athletes worldwilde, he is more than a star; he is a hero. He has believed in our athletes and supported their efforts consistently over the last 18 years, producing the kind of life-changing effects that will outlast even the greatest of fame."

Timothy Shriver

Chairman/ CEO, Special Olympics

"First and foremost, why Bon Jovi was successful in the 1980s, 1990s and into this decade is the great music. And they are great showmen. It's nice to see a band so devoted to their fans; they give it their all every night.

Bon Jovi's music stands the test of time. Usually after five years, the songs won't test anymore. 'Livin' On A Prayer,' however, is one of the best-tested [WHTZ] Z100 [New York] songs of all time.

Tom Poleman

Senior VP of programming, Clear Channel Radio New York PD, WHTZ New York

"I've been friends with Jon and Richie since 1983. You won't find two classier, more cooperative people in the business. I know a lot of people in the business, and almost everybody changes, but Jon and Richie are basically the same guys they were when I met them."

Scott Shannon

DJ, WPLJ New York

"Before I moved to Dallas, I was living on the Jersey shore. I got to know Jon when I was coaching the Giants - he's a diehard Giants fan. He was just a young guy making his way in the music business at the time.

Through my travels around the NFL, he visits me. I saw him in Dallas when he was doing a concert. He's just a nice young man. But, being a Jersey guy myself, I guess I'm a little prejudiced."

Bill Parcells

Head coach, Dallas Cowboys

"I've know Jon Bon Jovi since the early '80s, when he was a runner at Power Station studios in New York. One thing's for sure, he's a far better rock star than he was a delivery boy!"

Bob Clearmountain

Producer/ sound engineer

"Jon Bon Jovi is a great talent, but more importantly, he is a tremendous friend. He's loyal, gracious, fun and always there."

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver in a joint statement

"Every time I have worked with Jon in any capacity, whether it be a benefit performance or a music-business function, he has always been the consummate professional. He is what we call a 'good guy.'

I have tremendous respect for Jon and his bandmate Richie Sambora, who is an extremely knowledgeable musician. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

"P.S.: Jon ain't a bad actor, either!"

Billy Joel

"My relationship with Bon Jovi dates back to 'Slippery When Wet.' They were the opening act for .38 Special, and they were coming into Atlanta. We were promoting that show. By the time they got here, Bon Jovi was really the headliner. Right after that show played, we brought them back to the Omni as the headliner. I think it sold out in 20 minutes, which was unheard of back then. When [the band was] on hiatus and nobody knew if they'd get back together or tour again, I got a call from Paul Korzilius. He said Jon and Richie were coming into town and were going to start working on writing a new record. They wanted to know if I'd hang out with them for a few days. They always stayed at the Ritz Carlton, so I kiddingly sait to Paul, 'Oh, I'm going to be running back and forth from my house to the Ritz Carlton - for those guys I'd do anything.' Paul calls me back the next day and says, 'I've got it all worked out for you. They're not going to stay at the Ritz Carlton, they're going to stay at your house. Jon figured that you were offering your house.'

When the guys landed [in Atlanta], we picked them up and made a phone call to 96 Rock [WKLS] - the guys wanted to say hi to the DJ Katie Kylie. She asked, 'What are you doing in town?' Jon says, 'Richie and I are writing songs, and we're staying at Charlie's house.' By the time we got to my house, they were kids all over waiting for us. It was ridiculous! [Jon and Richie] were there for the weekend, and we had a great time! You can't have a bad time with those guys. They ended up writing some of the songs for 'Keep The Faith' that weekend."

Charlie Brusco

President, Alliance Artists Entertainment