From Sayreville to The Circle
If Bruce Springsteen is New Jersey's favorite son, the the men of Bon Jovi would have to be the state's favorite nephews. The band recently released their eleventh studio album The Circle, which debuted on top of the Billboard album chart. Their continued evolution as a band has been nothing short of remarkable. They began as a scrappy bar band, elevated themselves to hair metal icons, attempted a classic rock reinvention during the early '90s, jumped headlong into new technology at the turn of the century and now operate in a middle ground that incorporates classic riffs, state of the art pop production and just a hint of country twang. Through all that, they've accumulated four chart-topping singles ("You Give Love a Bad Name," "Livin' on a Prayer," "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There For You") and have sold upwards of 120 million albums worldwide. Not bad for a couple of street kids from Sayreville.
What's even more amazing than their musical evolution? Their visual evolution. Having gone through so many genre changes, Bon Jovi have also experimented with a number of different styles and fashions over their 26 year career. Frontman Jon Bon Jovi has experienced especially interesting growth, as while he looks cool and stately today, he once had one of the greatest manes in all of heavy metal and had a particular affinity for denim. The band's success has also taken them all over the place, from rock festivals in Europe to kicking off the NFL season to on the campaign trail with John Kerry.
I took a brief look. It starts out as "Bon Jovi" but somewhere in the middle turns into a JonBon-fest. So, was it intended to be a JB thing?
I did learn a thing or two. For instance, I had no idea that JB had celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Special Olympics (December 17, 1998) by singing with a mentally disabled girl at the White House...
It's worth a look-see.
~ Hath
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3 comments:
I was very surprised to read that ROLLING STONE had done something like you described. It certainly hasn't been much of a Jovi fan over the years. When I clicked on the link though, I discovered that the site is actually an MTV site, not a Rolling Stone one. That makes a lot more sense.
And singing with the little girl -- that happened at the same concert that produced the songs that appear on the CD "A Very Special Christmas Live!" I think it was part of the finale, but I haven't seen the whole show in awhile. The show was broadcast on TV, but a video was never released. I recently posted videos of the 2 songs that JBJ did at that show on YouTube -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhSs31uhxCk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=652pwQMepAI
You're right of course; this is what I get for taking things at face value when certain people send them to me.
~ Hath
Doesn't everything turn into a 'Jon Bon fest'?
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