'I'm OK with getting older': Looking back at Jon Bon Jovi's career as the rocker turns 60
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It's a big one for the "Livin' On A Prayer" singer and Bon Jovi frontman — he turns 60 Wednesday.
"I'm OK with getting older, I really am. I'm drawn to elders," Bon Jovi told USA TODAY in October 2020. "The guys I look up to are older than I: when I talk (music) with Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen, when I talk football with Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones, when I talk politics with President (Bill) Clinton."
'Getting old doesn't scare me': Jon Bon Jovi on aging, legacy and knowing 'when it's time to go'
Here's a look at the rocker's music beginnings and his active role in giving back to communities in need.
Bon Jovi's music start: 'I've earned this gray hair'
John Bongiovi was born to John and Carol Bongiovi in 1962. His parents met in the Marines. Dad was a barber and mom owned a flower shop – it was a blue-collar upbringing in New Jersey.
Before becoming a Grammy-winning artist, Bon Jovi played Jersey Shore clubs in the ’80s in bands like Atlantic City Expressway, the Rest, and John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones.
Then came the singer's breakthrough: Bon Jovi recorded a song he co-wrote, “Runaway,” at the Power Station studio in New York City. An all-star band was then assembled to play on the track, including Roy Bittan of the E Street Band and Hugh McDonald, who would later join Bon Jovi on bass.
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“Runaway” found its way onto the radio as part of an unsigned band contest — even though Bon Jovi didn't quite have a band until David Bryan, Tico Torres, Richie Sambora, and Alec John Such answered the call.
Bon Jovi has since sold more than 130 million albums and is one of the few rock bands that can still fill arenas and stadiums around the world.
"Let me tell you, I've earned this gray hair,” the rock legend told USA TODAY in the2020 interview. “I've been through enough hurting and healing to be here. Professionally, I've survived trends that have come and gone."
Bon Jovi's philanthropy work: 'There are those who advocate, and those who do'
In addition to music, the rocker is a philanthropist. His Soul Foundation has provided grant funding for almost 1,000 units of “affordable and supportive” housing in 11 different states.
Former President Clinton recognized the rocker's efforts to help others at the Soul Foundation's 10th anniversary in 2016.
“I came here to add my voice of thanks to Jon and (his wife) Dorothea for giving so much of your lives to house the homeless and feeding the hungry, training the jobless and reminding us all that underneath our differences, we’re not so different after all,” Clinton said.
'These songs mean a lot': Bon Jovi continues rocking on
This year Bon Jovi and the band have more shows to perform with 15 concerts in the South and Midwest in April, which are expected to be the first leg of a 2022 tour.
While thoughts of a tour is exciting, Bon Jovi said performing in front of audiences is tertiary in the grand scheme of his career.
"Writing it is all I can really give a darn about. Recording it is second because you want to see if it was worth it. And touring is third," he said at the time. "It’s last because that is wonderful and all, but I don't live to tour. I don’t live to hear people applaud. That's a byproduct of writing the song."
Bon Jovi's writing has won awards and inspired many through hard times, including Chicagoans who sang "Livin' On A Prayer" in the streets in March 2020 and the young kindergarteners in Florida who the musician called on to help him write "Do What You Can” in April 2020.
"These songs mean a lot to a lot of people and I am grateful for that. It’s a gift that God gives you the job you wanted when you were a kid, and that I get to do it still. I'm the luckiest man in the world," Bon Jovi said.
Contributing: Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jon Bon Jovi birthday: Rocker turns 60 with a full career
