Name: ____________________________________________ Date: __________________

Musician and actor Jon Bon Jovi is best known as the lead singer and founder of the
rock band Bon Jovi.
Born John Francis Bongiovi Jr. on March 2, 1962, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Jon Bon
Jovi knew in his early teens that he wanted to be a rock star. He formed the band Bon
Jovi in the 1980s, which became popular for its power ballads, soaring guitar riffs, and
well-crafted melodies. Jon Bon Jovi has also acted in such films as The Leading Man and
was a recurring character on TV's Ally McBeal. Today he continues to perform with his
legendary band Bon Jovi. Their recent albums include What About Now (2013)
and Burning Bridges (2015).

In 1980, Jon recorded his first single, Runaway, at his cousin's studio, with back-up by
studio musicians. A local radio station included the song on a compilation tape, and it
began to get frequent airplay. The success of Runaway got Jon noticed, and he realized
that he'd need more than session players if he wanted to capitalize on his success.
Jon gave David a call, who in turn tapped Alec John Such, Tico Torres and guitarist
Richie Sambora. During a show in New York in 1983, the band caught the attention of
record executive Derek Shulman, who signed them to PolyGram. It was Shulman who
anglicized John Bongiovi's name to Bon Jovi.

The band went into temporary retirement in 1989. Jon concentrated on his solo career,
married karate champion Dorothea Hurley and appeared in his first movie, Young Guns
II, for which he won he won a Golden Globe for Best Song, Blaze of Glory.

In 1994, the commercial incentive to return to Bon Jovi proved too hard to resist, and
the band released another album, Keep The Faith. Jon enjoyed further solo success with
1997's Destination Anywhere. The band regrouped two years later to record the
Grammy-nominated album, Crush, and again in 2002 to put out the album, Bounce. Since
then, Bon Jovi has released several more records together, including Lost
Highway (2007) and What About Now (2013). In 2015, the group debuted Burning
Bridges (2015), the first Bon Jovi album released after Richie Sambora left.

In late 2017, marking an impressive journey that produced an estimated 130 million
records sold, Bon Jovi was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.