Bon Jovi
Rock band Bon Jovi named after its lead singer Jon Bon Jovi was formed in 1983. The band’s lineup has remained almost the same during the 30-year history, the only exception being the departure of one member. Having got into the wave of mainstream rock Bon Jovi managed to become on of those bands on top of the wave and put their name on record in music history.
First years were rather modest, however: although albums «Bon Jovi» (1984) and «7800° Fahrenheit» (1985) have sold millions of copies afterwards, at the moment of album release they didn’t make the band very popular. This applies especially to the second album which the musicians themselves preferred to bury in oblivion – for twenty years of tours and thousands of concerts they have hardly played a song from this album.
The first solid success – and the most commercial one – came only with the release of the third album «Slippery When Wet» (1986). The album became popular at once and hit #1 in American charts and in few following years gave the band the rock star status they were craving for. Among other things it gave the world several songs that became a kind of signature ones for the band: «You Give Love a Bad Name», «Livin' on a Prayer» and «Wanted Dead or Alive».
The next album called «New Jersey» (1988) sold five million copies during the first month. Although «Slippery When Wet» became the best-selling album over time, «New Jersey» had the honour of pushing the record number of singles to the Top10, two of which «Bad Medicine» and «I'll Be There for You» topped the list. Other band songs in the Top 10 were «Born to Be My Baby», «Lay Your Hands on Me» and «Living in Sin».
After the success of «New Jersey» the band members took a break for touring, solo projects and rethinking of their work. It resulted in album «Keep the Faith» (1992) which sounded less heavy. «Keep the Faith» yielded three singles to the charts: «Keep The Faith», «Bed of Roses» and «In These Arms». With the release of this album Bon Jovi started losing sales – the world had another music revolution and interest in rock music in the US gradually became more a niche one. As a result, the following band albums were more popular abroad than in the U.S.
«These Days» (1995) and «Crush» (2000) were the last albums which managed to sell more than ten million copies. «Crush» which presented hit song «It’s My Life» to the world also brought the band the first Grammy nomination. The next album «Bounce» (2002) came along with good and bad news: it debuted at #2 in the charts, which was record for Bon Jovi, but it also became the first album that failed to reach platinum status in the U.S.
During the last ten years «Bon Jovi» music became even more niche. Despite high positions in charts the albums kept losing in sales number. «Have a Nice Day» (2005), for example, officially sold a little more than seven million copies, and «Lost Highway» (2007) alongside with «The Circle» (2009) showed the results achieved at the beginning of band career.
