Bon Jovi

For many bands that became popular in the facile, video-centric late '80s, it's been a case of hair today, gone tomorrow. Not so for Bon Jovi, the New Jersey-based group that helped put pop-metal on the map, but that somehow didn't fade away, despite constant drubbings by critics and the onset of grunge in the '90s. Indeed, the last laugh may belong to the group's frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, who has earned praise for his acting, of all things, appearing in such films as The Leading Man and U-571. Mercury Records won a bidding war for the group in 1983, though some controversy still surrounds the signing — according to some accounts, Bongiovi himself was the only one signed, with the rest of the band being regarded as little more than employees. The name of the group became Bon Jovi, which clearly thrust the singer out front.

 The album Bon Jovi was released in 1984, and "Runaway" became a national hit, The album 7800 Degrees Fahrenheit followed in 1985 but produced no major hits.. Should anyone doubt the effects of marketing research on rock and roll, they need look no further than what happened next. After bringing in hit-making songwriter Desmond Child (Aerosmith, KISS, Cher), the band played tapes of its new songs for some New Jersey teens, basing the song selection and even the running order of tunes for 1986's Slippery When Wet. Bon Jovi became a metal band for the whole family, and Slippery When Wet went on to sell 9 million copies. Formula took over for the band's next release, New Jersey, which sounded a lot like its predecessor but managed to sell 5 million copies nonetheless. Following the record's release, the group stayed on the road for 18 months, even taking a trip to the Soviet Union. In the middle of the tour, the band members took time off to back Cher, who was dating Sambora at the time, on her 1989 album, Heart of Stone.

 After all the roadwork, the band went on hiatus. Jon Bon Jovi went solo for the 1990 album Blaze of Glory, featuring songs from the soundtrack of Young Guns II, a film in which Bon Jovi had his blink-and-you'll-miss-him big-screen debut. The album sported guest shots by the likes of Elton John, Little Richard, Jeff Beck, and his old pals Aldo Nova; spawned the No. 1 title track, as well as "Miracle" (No. 12); and earned the singer Grammy and Academy Award nominations. The band reunited in 1992 for Keep the Faith, which was met with less enthusiasm than its predecessors but did manage to spin off a couple of hits in the title track (No. 27), "Bed of Roses" (No. 10), and "In These Arms" (No. 27). The following year saw the release of Cross Road, a greatest-hits collection that included two new songs, one of which, "Always," went as far as No. 4. Bassist Such left the band, which remained a quartet for 1995's These Days. That album featured the No. 14 hit "This Ain't a Love Song." In the last half decade of the millennium, Jon Bon Jovi's attention turned increasingly to acting. He appeared in films such as Moonlight and Valentino in 1995 and The Leading Man a year later. In 1997, when his solo album Destination Anywhere was released, it was accompanied by a long-form video starring Bon Jovi and Demi Moore. He appeared in Row Your Boat, Little City, No Looking Back, and Homegrown, all released in 1998. The year 2000 saw him show up in U-571, Pay It Forward, and an episode of HBO's Sex and the City. Other band members have also pursued solo careers. Bryan released Netherworld in 1992 and On a Full Moon in 1995. Sambora's solo discs, Stranger in This Town and Undiscovered Soul, came out in 1991 and 1998, respectively. The band members reunited once more to record the single "Real Life" for the soundtrack of EDTV in 1999. Their most recent album, Crush, was released June 13, 2000.