Jon Bon Jovi turned 57 years old over the weekend

One of the best known and successful musicians to come out of New Jersey, Jon Bon Jovi, was born on March 2nd, 1962 in Perth Amboy. His birth name was John Francis Bongiovi.

He played local gigs in New Jersey, once opening for Southside Johnny and started to attract a local following. He found success with his first single, “Runaway” which got its start by being played on a radio station in Lake Success, New York, so he put together the band that would become Bon Jovi. After signing a record deal with Mercury, they released “Runaway” which cracked the Top 40 at #39.

After two moderately successful albums, the band released the album Slippery When Wet, which was a monster hit. The landmark album spendt eight weeks on top of the Billboard Album Chart and selling 20 million copies. It spawned two #1 hits, “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ On a Prayer”, and the band attained superstar status, a status they retain today.

Their fourth album was named after the band’s home state, New Jersey. Tt sold over 10 million copies and had another two #1 hits, “Bad Medicine” and “I’ll Be There For You”. According to the New York Times, Bon Jovi has sold over 100 million records worldwide with, according to Billboard, 21 Top 40 hits.

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