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alter their musical style without changing their core, Bon Jovi has been able to sustain a commercially successful career for over 25 years.

John Francis Bongiovi, better recognized by his stage name Jon Bon Jovi, displayed an interest in music at the age of thirteen learning to play the piano and guitar. He had formed several bands during his teenage years and eventually landed a janitorial job at his cousin, Tony Bongiovi's Power Station Recording Studio in Manhattan, New York. In his spare time he recorded a few demos which were declined by various record companies. He recorded his first song a version of "R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas" by Meco Monardo for the Power Station produced Star Wars Christmas album which was released on the RSO label. In 1983, he participated in a local radio station competition for the best unsigned band and won performing his song "Runaway". Following his triumph, he recorded the song with studio musicians Tim Pierce (guitar), Roy Bittan (keyboards), Frankie LaRocka (drums) and Hugh McDonald (bass) as The All Star Review, becoming an instant hit in 1983. In response to the praise, Jon was desperately seeking to form a permanent band and succeeded in March as he was joined by guitarist Dave Bryan (born David Bryan Rashbaum), Alec John Such (bass), Tico Torres (drums), and Dave Sabo (guitar) who was shortly replaced by Richie Sambora. Opening for Patty Smith's band Scandal, Bon Jovi was noticed by record executive Derek Shulman who immediately signed the band to PolyGram.

Their debut self-titled album, released in 1984, was met with moderate success selling 500,000 copies, a major accomplishment for a first attempt. The follow-up 7800° Fahrenheit in 1985 proved to be a major disappointment, as fans and critics expected much more. Slippery When Wet followed in 1986 initiating the band's rise to riches. The album spawned two number one hits, "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer". The album occupied the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 200 for a record breaking 15 weeks and has sold over 26 million copies worldwide since its release. Two years later Bon Jovi impressively graced the charts yet again with New Jersey. The album was an instant hit with the success of its singles "Bad Medicine", "I'll Be There for You", and "Lay Your Hands on Me".

The band experienced a two year hiatus as members Jon and Richie focused on solo efforts. Jon recorded the soundtrack to the film Young Guns II (also known as Blaze of Glory), while Sambora released his solo debut Stranger in This Town. Bon Jovi resurfaced in 1992 with Keep the Faith. The album generated several hits "Bed of Roses", "Keep the Faith", and "In These Arms" proving to be a sensational comeback. The greatest hits album, Cross Road was issued two years later and featured new tracks "Always" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night". Shortly after, Such departed from the band and was replaced by Hugh McDonald. These Days followed in 1995 which featured the number one hit single "This Ain't a Love Song".

Bon Jovi decided to take a second break after the These Days Tour. Richie worked on his second solo album Undiscovered Soul which was released in 1998, Tico concentrated on his painting passion, Dave composed several musicals, while Jon appeared in several films and worked on his second solo record Destination Anywhere. In 2000, Bon Jovi released their seventh studio album Crush which was certified double platinum. The hit single "It's My Life" symbolizes the band's persistence and long lasting success. Bounce followed in 2002 with less acclaim, however managed to produce two hit singles "Everyday" and "Misunderstood". 2003's This Left Feels Right consisted of 12 re-recorded Bon Jovi hits and was considered by the band as a "trip down memory lane". A year later they issued the box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong which included 38 unreleased tracks and twelve rare tracks, as well as a DVD. In 2005 at the World Music Awards, Bon Jovi was honored with the Diamond Award for selling 100 million albums. The most recent album, Have a Nice Day was released in September 2005 and features the title track as well as the hit "Who Says You Can't Go Home".