During his career, he has released two solo albums and eleven studio albums with his band, which to date have sold over 130 million albums worldwide. Тhe band was declared the second richest band for 2011, behind U2, earning an approximate $125 million income.
In addition, Jon Bon Jovi is one of the majority-owners of the Philadelphia Soul, a team playing in the Arena Football League. In 2010, President Barack Obama named Jon Bon Jovi to the White House Council for Community Solutions. As a solo artist, Bon Jovi has received numerous awards for his work, including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for his solo hit, "Blaze of Glory". He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Monmouth University in 2001. He campaigned for Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential election, John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election, and Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election. Jon Bon Jovi was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of two former Marines, barber John Francis Bongiovi, Sr. and florist Carol Sharkey.
He has two brothers, Anthony and Matthew. His father was of Italian and Slovak ancestry and his mother was of German and Russian descent. He has stated that he is a blood relative of Frank Sinatra. He spent summers in Erie, Pennsylvania, with his grandparents, and sold newspapers. As a child, John attended St. Joseph High School, in Metuchen, New Jersey, during his freshman and sophomore years. He later transferred to Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey.
John spent most of his adolescence skipping school to opt for music activities instead, and ended up playing in local bands with friends and his cousin Tony Bongiovi, who owned the then famous New York recording studio, The Power Station. As a result, his academic records displayed poor grades. By the time he was 16, John Bongiovi was playing clubs. It was not long before he joined up with keyboardist David Bryan (real name: David Bryan Rashbaum), who played with him in a ten-piece rhythm and blues band called Atlantic City Expressway. John also performed with bands called The Rest, The Lechers and John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones. Bon Jovi has worked on behalf of the Special Olympics, the American Red Cross, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Project H.O.M.E., The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (formerly the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation), and other groups.
He has been named the first Founding Ambassador of the Habitat for Humanity Ambassador program as part of the international-nonprofit organization’s new advocacy outreach initiative. Bon Jovi has been raising awareness with Habitat for Humanity since 2005 when he provided the funds to build six homes in Philadelphia and built the homes alongside the homeowner families, as well as with members of his Philadelphia Soul Arena Football Team (now non existent). The construction site also served as the video shoot location for his band’s single, "Who Says You Can’t Go Home". In 2006, Bon Jovi made a $1 million donation to build 28 Habitat homes in Louisiana in partnership with low-income families on the hurricane-stricken coast. In July, 2007, Bon Jovi announced a project that will rehabilitate a block of 15 homes in north Philadelphia. During an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005, the band donated $1 million to the Angel Network foundation.
The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (formerly the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation) was founded in 2006 and exists to combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair. Through the funding and creation of programs and partnerships, they support innovative community efforts to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. On October 19th, 2011, they opened the JBJ Soul Kitchen, a community restaurant where patrons pay what they can afford for their meal, either with money or by volunteering work. He is one of 21 artists singing on "Everybody Hurts", a charity single organized by Simon Cowell in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Jon Bon Jovi is a credited actor in the movies Moonlight and Valentino, The Leading Man, Destination Anywhere, Homegrown, Little City, No Looking Back, Row Your Boat, Vampires Los Muertos, U-571, Cry Wolf, National Lampoon's Pucked, and New Year's Eve. He also had a supporting role in the movie Pay It Forward, where he played Helen Hunt's abusive ex-husband. His TV series appearances include Sex and the City, 30 Rock, Las Vegas, The West Wing, and an extended stint on Ally McBeal as a plumber who was Ally's boyfriend for a short period of time. He also had a brief, uncredited role in the 1990 film Young Guns II. On January 24, 2011, it was confirmed that Jon would be cast in the film New Year's Eve, released later that year, as a successful rock star who is connected with Katherine Heigl's character.
He was guest star on American Idol in May 2007, during the show's "Rock Week" in which the contestants all performed his or his band's songs. On October 13, 2007 Jon hosted the third episode of the 33rd season of Saturday Night Live. He guest starred on American Idol again on May 12, 2010, during the results show that would reveal the top three contestants. Grammy Awards :
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Blaze of Glory" | Best Rock Vocal Performance – Male | Nominated |
| 1991 | "Blaze of Glory" | Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media | Nominated |
MTV Video Music Award
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Blaze of Glory" | Best Male Video | Nominated |
| 1991 | "Blaze of Glory" | Best Video from a Film | Nominated |
American Music Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Blaze of Glory" | Favorite Pop/Rock Single | Won |
Academy Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Blaze of Glory" | Best Original Song | Nominated |
Golden Globe Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Blaze of Glory" | Best Original Song | Won |
Other awards
| Year | Awarded By | Award/Honor |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Kerrang | Sex Object Of The Year |
| 1987 | Metal Edge Reader's Choice Awards | Best Male Performer |
| 1991 | ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures for YOUNG GUNS II – Blaze of Glory |
| 1996 | Sky Sport | Special Olympics Awards |
| 1997 | Kerrang Awards | Classic Songwriter |
| 1997 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Male |
| 1998 | Brit awards | Best International Male |
| 1998 | ECHO | Best International Male Artist |
| 2000 | People | Sexiest Rock Star |
| 2001 | The Food Bank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties | Humanitarian of the Year for his charitable work on behalf of the people of New Jersey |
| 2001 | Monmouth University | Honorary doctorate in Humanities degree for his success as an entertainer and his humanitarian work |
| 2002 | People | Sexiest Rock Star |
| 2002 | My VH1 Music Awards | From The Tour to The Tube – Best TV for Ally McBeal |
| 2003 | People | Sexiest Rock Star |
| 2005 | World Music Awards | KUMAD Received the Diamond Award for sales of 100+ million albums |
| 2006 | Help USA | Tribute Dinner Honnores |
| 2006 | UK Music Hall of Fame | Inducted |
| 2006 | VH1 | Greatest Song of the '80's for Livin' on a Prayer |
| 2008 | RIAA | Diamond Album |
| 2008 | RIAA | Gold Album |
| 2008 | RIAA | Multiple Platinum Album |
| 2008 | VH1 The Greatest :100 Sexiest Artists | 14th Sexiest Artist |
| 2008 | MTV1 The Best | Best Selling Song Of The Decade 1980. Most popular rock song since 1980-s to Present |
| 2009 | New Jersey Hall of Fame | Inducted |
| 2009 | Songwriters Hall of Fame | Inducted |
| 2009 | Planet Rock | 12th in the Planet Rock radio station's poll of the greatest singers ever |
| 2011 | HHS | Honorary membership |
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | CAN | UK | AUS | NZ | JAP | SPA | GER | AUT | SWI | SWE | |||||||||
| 1990 | Blaze of Glory – Young Guns II
| 3 | — | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| ||||||
| 1997 | Destination Anywhere
| 31 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2001 | The Power Station Years: The Unreleased Recordings
|
Solo singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock | CAN | AUS | NZ | UK | IRE | GER | SWI | AUT | NL | SWE | |||
| 1990 | "Blaze of Glory" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 3 | Blaze of Glory |
| "Miracle" | 12 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 20 | 47 | 20 | — | 65 | 15 | ||
| 1991 | "Never Say Die" | — | — | 86 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Dyin' Ain't Much of a Livin'" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992 | "Levon" | 37* | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Two Rooms |
| 1994 | "Please Come Home for Christmas" | — | — | — | — | — | 7 + | 6 + | — | — | — | — | — | A Very Special Christmas 2 |
| 1997 | "Midnight in Chelsea" | 27* | — | 3 | 17 | — | 4 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 16 | 49 | Destination Anywhere |
| "Queen of New Orleans" | — | — | 40 | 40 | — | 10 | 27 | 66 | 50 | — | 40 | 41 | ||
| "Janie, Don't Take Your Love to Town" | 48* | — | 18 | — | — | 13 | — | 38 | — | 40 | 61 | — | ||
| "Ugly" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 75 | 41 | 39 | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "Everybody Hurts" (as part of "Helping Haiti") | 121 | — | 69 | 28 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 16 | — | — | 25 | Charity single |
Source : Wikipedia.
