Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, songwriter and actor. He was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr., in Perth Amboy, New Jersey the son of two former marines, hairdresser John Francis Bongiovi, Sr. and one-time Playboy bunny Carol Sharkey. He grew up in neighboring Sayreville, New Jersey. Bon Jovi 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.

When he was 17, Jon was working sweeping floors at his cousin, Tony Bongiovi's recording studio, The Power Station. In 1980, when Meco was there recording Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album, Tony recommended Jon for the song "R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas." This became his first professional recording (credited as John Bongiovi). He left in 1983 when he got a record deal.

Along with Hugh McDonald, who would replace Alec John Such as Bon Jovi's bass player in 1994, and David Sabo, Jon released a song, Runaway, one of a few songs John wrote during his bus travels from Sayreville to The Power Station. He went to several record companies, including Records, and Mercury (PolyGram), but they all turned him down. He went (as a last resort) to a Disc Jockey at WAPP-FM, a Manhattan radio show, and asked for the DJ to listen to Runaway; the DJ enjoyed it and put it onto the WAPP record. Runaway became a hit on the charts. Along the way, Mercury (PolyGram) gave Jon a recording contract in 1983, and to promote Runaway, Jon called up Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and Alec John Such and formed a band. John later found a man called Doc McGhee, who later became their manager. After John claimed he wanted a group name, one of the group members suggested Bon Jovi. Although Doc McGhee showed distaste to this suggestion, claiming it sounded like a French Ice Cream, the name stuck, and the Group emerged as Bon Jovi, along with John slightly changing his name to suit the band, and emerging as Jon Bon Jovi.

With the help of their new manager, the band's debut album, Bon Jovi, was released on January 21, 1984. The album went gold in the US and was also released in the UK. The group found themselves opening for ZZ Top at the Madison Square Garden, and for Scorpionsand Kiss in Europe.

In 1985, Bon Jovi's second album 7800°Fahrenheit was released, but the response was poor. The leading British metal magazine Kerrang!, who had been very positive about the debut record, called the album "a pale imitation of the Bon Jovi we have got to know and learned to love."

The turning point came when they brought in songwriter Desmond Child for their third album, Slippery When Wet. With Child co-writing many of their hits on this and future albums the band shot to super-stardom around the world with songs such as "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer", and "Wanted Dead or Alive".

The next album from Bon Jovi was New Jersey released in 1988. The album was recorded very shortly after the tour for Slippery, because the band wanted to prove that they were not just a one hit wonder. The resulting album is a fan favorite and a mammoth commercial success, with hit songs such as "Bad Medicine", "Lay Your Hands on Me" and "I'll Be There for You", which are still nightly stalwarts in their live repertoire. New Jersey was a commercial smash and became the first hard rock album to spawn five Top Ten singles. Despite the band achieving massive success, New Jersey almost led to the end of the band as they went straight back out on the road so soon after the heavy touring for their previous album. During the New Jersey tour, singer Bon Jovi began having vocal difficulties. The extremely high notes and unrelenting schedule threatened to damage his voice permanently. With the help of a vocal coach, he made it through the tour. Bon Jovi has tended to sing slightly lower pitches since then. This constant living on the road almost destroyed the strong bond between the band members.

Between 1990 and 1992, the band members went their separate ways after the very rigorous two year New Jersey Tour, which exceeded 200 shows on 5 continents. This time off also helped them determine where Bon Jovi would fit within the rapidly changing music scene upon their return. Jon Bon Jovi recorded a solo album, a soundtrack to the movie "Young Guns II", more commonly known as Blaze of Glory. Released in 1990, the album featured high profile guests such as: Elton John, Aldo Nova, Little Richard, and Jeff Beck among others. The album fared well commercially and received very positive reviews and quickly achieved platinum status. The title track, "Blaze of Glory", hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Jon an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but he did not win the award. That same year, however, "Blaze of Glory" was awarded a Golden Globe.

The band returned with the album Keep the Faith in 1992. The album, which was produced by Bob Rock, featured a more mature sound and lyrical content than any of their previous efforts. Their fans were pleasantly surprised and the album became a moderate hit amidst the rise of grunge. Its most recognizable tunes were the hit singles "Bed of Roses", "Keep the Faith" and "In These Arms", which all hit the Top 40 in the U.S. This album is also notable for being the first in a string of subsequent albums for Bon Jovi which proved more popular worldwide than in the U.S. The album went double platinum in the U.S., but has sold much more worldwide.

With the 1995 album These Days, Bon Jovi took the mature rock sound they had developed on Keep the Faith further. The record as a whole was darker and more downbeat than the usual Bon Jovi flare. As a result, These Days went Platinum in the U.S. and topped the UK charts. By 1996, Bon Jovi had established themselves as a "force" in the music industry, proving much more durable (and successful) than most of their 80's glam peers.

Jon had since been bitten by the acting bug. He landed lead roles in movies Little City and The Leading Man, as well as in Moonlight and Valentino, Tranny Freakout!, Homegrown, and U-571, among others. While he was free between filming different movies, Jon wrote what would become his second solo album, 1997's Destination Anywhere. The album received very positive reviews and was a success across Europe.

After another lengthy hiatus of nearly three years, during which several band members worked on independent projects, Bon Jovi regrouped in 1999 to begin work on their next studio album. Their 2000 release, Crush, enjoyed overwhelming success both in the US and overseas, thanks in part to the smash-hit single "It's My Life", co-written by famous Swedish producer Max Martin. Crush, which also produced such hits as "Say it isn't so", and helped introduce Bon Jovi to a new, younger fan base. While on the Crush Tour, Bon Jovi released a collection of live performances from throughout their career in an album titled, One Wild Night: Live 1985-2001.

In late 2002, Bounce, the band's follow-up to Crush, hit stores. Though Bounce did not enjoy the level of success of its predecessor, the album did produce hit singles such as "Everyday" and the title track.

In November 2004, Bon Jovi was honored with the award for Merit at the American Music Awards, where they performed a sneak preview of an unfinished song, "Have a Nice Day".

Bon Jovi's long-awaited ninth studio album, Have a Nice Day, was released in September 2005. The album topped the charts around the world, giving Bon Jovi a career-best first week, selling over 202,000 albums. "Have A Nice Day" was the first single off the new album, and debuted at radio worldwide on July 18, 2005.

In June 2007, Bon Jovi released their new tenth studio album, Lost Highway. The album debuted at number #1 on the Billboard charts, the first time that Bon Jovi has had a number one album on the US charts since the release of New Jersey in 1988.