Bon Jovi: The box set album cover...

In case you didn't know it when the band shot the cover for 100,000,000 Bon Jovi fans can't be wrong they didn't all get dressed up in Gold Lame suits just to satisfy Jon's Ego (which at the time was telling Jon "The only thing you would look better in than a Gold Lame suit is 100% completely naked", yes I talk to Jon's ego, it's frightening yet sexy, but I digress).

Here's a little blurb about what inspired that album cover:

Music Review: Elvis Presley - Elvis' Golden Records Volume 2: 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong

During Elvis Presley’s stint in the United States Army, 1958-1960, his RCA label kept him in the limelight by releasing a series of singles and four compilation albums. Elvis’ Golden Records Volume 2: 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong was the last of the four to be issued. Released during November of 1959, it sold over a million copies.

The album cover, with Elvis in a gold suit, was one of his most memorable. Phil Ochs, Bon Jovi, and Rod Stewart, among others, would parody the cover on albums of their own. Bon Jovi released 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong as a Box Set during 2004. The title came from the number of singles Elvis had sold worldwide. “Fifty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong” was the title of a 1927 song which became a hit for Sophie Tucker.

It is a short album with 10 tracks clocking in at around the 24 minute mark. It was comprised of the A and B sides of his 1958 and 1959 single releases except for “Hard Headed Woman.”

The album catches his music at an early crossroads of his career. Before his entrance into the Army, Elvis was in full rock mode. When he returned from the service he began to move in a more pop direction. The tracks contained here cover both his rock and pop sides.

“Don’t” and “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck” were issued as back to back singles during the first half of 1958 and were the first to reflect a more pop oriented sound. It was the second of the two which featured the smooth type vocal that would be a constant presence on many of his future releases.

On the rock side of the coin was “”I Got Stung” which featured one of the more frenetic vocals of Elvis’ career plus his number one hit “A Big Hunk O’ Love,” which was recorded while he was on leave .

Straddling the middle ground was the old Hank Snow hit “(Now And Then There’s) A Fool Such As I” and “One Night,” which would be re-released in The U.K. during 2005 and become their National Singles Chart's 1000th number one.

Elvis Presley was the first artist to use compilation albums, and especially Greatest Hits albums, to their fullest effect. Many of his early singles were separate entities and not contained on his studio releases. When they were gathered together onto one album, they became instant commercial successes.

Today Elvis’ Golden Records Volume 2: 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong has been superseded and made obsolete by dozens of releases which have re-packaged the music. In its day, however, it was an essential album and, if you want to travel back to the Elvis of the late 1950s, it is still a good listen.

So here's a comparison: 

The original Elvis cover:

Rod Stewart who's cover was visually similar but without the Gold Lame:

And the fantastically fantastic 100,000,000 Bon Jovi fans Can't be Wrong

I still think the band saw this cover and asked Jon WTF were you thinking?  I think it's cool when you understand the historical precedence but otherwise it looks so F'ed up.

Bon Jovi: Dublin on the Cheap?

Thanks to Amit again! For pointing this out.

So you want to go to Dublin, one of Jon's favorite places to perform (outside of Richie's bathroom) but don't have the money to do the Fan Club Rip Off Trip?

This is for you (*giggle* the Bon Jovi Package....):

Bon Jovi Package

The Burlington Hotel is the "Official Fan Base Hotel" for Bon Jovi. We will have an after party entertainment in our Bellini's bar.

Description: Package includes 2 tickets to Bon Jovi in the RDS on the 30th of June, 1 night accommodation for 2 people and after party entertainment in our Bellini's bar with 1 complimentary cocktail after the concert.

Specific Terms: Subjext to availability

Bon Jovi Package

Crowd Image

Dates:from: 30-Jun-2011 until: 01-Jul-2011

Description:Package includes 2 tickets to Bon Jovi in the RDS on the 30th of June, 1 night accommodation for 2 people and after party entertainment in our Bellini's bar with 1 complimentary cocktail after the concert.

Specific Terms: Subjext to availability

No. of Nights:1

Room name Close

Accommodation Options total per Room Occupancy

Classic Double view room images 330 EUR min: 1 Adult - max: 2 Adults

Classic Twin view room images 330 EUR min: 1 Adult - max: 2 Adults

I always thought the Bon Jovi Package was in Jon's pants, but I guess maybe in Ireland its somewhere else?????

Bon Jovi: New Intro

NICE!!!!



If only the set list could be changed a little bit too. Or is that asking too much more than a lot, I gave you.... Oh wait that's U2 - One sorry.

Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi gives fans a rockin' good time

It almost feels like the reviewer liked Norman Nardini the opening act better.

Bon Jovi gives fans a rockin' good time

Concert review

Saturday, February 12, 2011

By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 John Heller / Post-Gazette

Jon Bon Jovi, who turns 49 in March, has held onto his good looks.

Maybe all that big hair obscured the charisma underneath, but when Bon Jovi first came around in the early '80s, no one figured him/them to be the No. 1 touring act in the world three decades later.
Clearly there's something to say for living on a prayer.

Friday night, Jon Bon Jovi and company kicked off the first of two nearly sold-out nights at Consol Energy Center to an adoring crowd with a two-plus hour set of beloved hits from the '80s and a sprinkling of new songs.

Unlike some classic rock bands, looks matter for Jon Bon Jovi, and the New Jersey rocker, who turns 49 next month, has fortunately held on to them, the best evidence being the ladies night out vibe in the Consol. The smile alone could be patented, and it aroused the expected screams and cheers.

The band arrived on a stylish black stage all wearing black and launched into the Springsteen-like anthem "Blood on Blood." The singer made it known early that this wasn't a sit-down affair. "Get up," he said, "this ain't television, baby!"

He didn't even need to say it because the rousing version of "You Give Love a Bad Name" would have gotten them up and singing anyway. They had plenty more songs in that up­tempo pop-rock formula, from the newer single "We Weren't Born to Follow" (with images of Kennedy, Obama, Lennon, Ali, etc.) to the vintage "Born to Be My Baby" to his own "My Way" -- "It's My Life."
Between songs he pushed the right buttons, complimenting the Consol but also mentioning his "soft spot" for Mellon Arena ("the only thing that's been around longer than this band is the Mellon Arena"). He even gave us a sympathetic pep talk on the Steelers, with a shout-out to the fine work of the Rooneys.

The band was the seamless and seasoned unit we've come to expect, powered by the muscular drumming of Tico Torres and guitar chops of Richie Sambora (who took the vocal reins on "Lay Your Hands on Me"). They ran the gamut from the countrified sound of "Lost Highway" to the grungier stomp of "We've Got It Goin On." The ever-shifting video screen package behind them was as state of the art and as cool as it gets.

The ramp in front of them was an intimate spot for a stripped-down mini-set that included the feel-good power ballad "I'll Be There for You" and the folky "Something for the Pain."

The loose climax to the main set had Jon Bon Jovi doing his best Mick Jagger on "Start Me Up."
They didn't split without delivering charged-up versions of the big crowd-pleasers "Wanted Dead or Alive" (a high-five moment for the guys) and "Livin' on a Prayer."

It's not too surprising this was the top-grossing tour of 2010. Bon Jovi will never be a contender for greatest or most original rock 'n' roll band, but it's always a class act.

Norman Nardini, Pittsburgh rock legend and old friend to Bon Jovi, didn't try to put on any big arena rock show, favoring the relaxed blues-rock set suited for a Decade-sized corner bar.

After opening with a rollicking instrumental tribute to the late Glenn Pavone, he blew it out Chuck Berry-style on "Ready Freddy," delved into the smoky haze of "Blues Come Blowin' In" and spun the working class tale of "Pittsburgh, Pa." Leave it to Stormin' Norman to be unfazed by the size of the room.

Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi frontman played through pain last time in Toronto

Thanks Swiss Richie Girl for linking to this article.

And Richie we don't want to think about what happened when you broke your arm, (Pain Pills + Denise Richards = A period we'd all like to forget).

Bon Jovi frontman played through pain last time in Toronto

jane.stevenson - February 10th, 2011

Bon Jovi’s latest North American tour includes four Canadian cities, beginning with Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on Feb. 14-15.

The last time the New Jersey rockers played in Toronto in July 2010, frontman Jon Bon Jovi had just torn his calf muscle two weeks earlier during a hometown show at New Meadowlands Arena, but he still managed to play two back to back shows with the band at the Rogers Centre.

Guitarist Richie Sambora says the singer was a medicle miracle.

“We carried him off the stage, man, put him on a gurney,” Sambora told QMI Agency of when the injury first occured.

“It was amazing because two days later we had a bunch more gigs and you know what? They fixed him up and he walked out there and for the first gig he looked like a civil war (soldier) but sang his ass off, you know, and we played our ass off as we do every night.”

“He was inspiring,”continued Sambora. “The man was inspiring. I broke my arm at one point and I still played 20 stadium shows with a broken arm. And he looks at me and he said, ‘If you could do that, I can do this.’”

BTW you can Download the show after NMS night 4 which was in Saratoga Springs, NY, HERE

Bon Jovi: Happy Stupid Holiday about Love Day

Here's a little something from me to you:

Consider it a mix tape, for your itunes, ipod, ipad, etc.

Happy Valentine's Stupid Holiday about Love Day

Bon Jovi: Penn State Review

It was a pretty standard set list if you watched the Ustream. Richie said he had a bit of a head cold and all 4 of Jon's kids have a cold/strep (YUCK!)  You could tell Richie wasn't all there his solo's were off (I heard the solo on BTBMB and cringed, even Bad Medicine was off).  Very short show all things considered since it was done around 10:45.  Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come.  I have 4 shows on this leg of the tour, I don't want vanilla, I want the Neopolitan.

The Ustream was great for the first hour.  Thanks Bon Jovi, each of the Ustreams get longer & longer maybe the last show of the tour could be Ustreamed for fans worldwide?

Crowd roars approval as Bon Jovi kicks off tour

By Jonathan F. McVerry - For the CDT

February 10, 2011 6:40am EST

Just as the sellout crowd became engulfed in Bon Jovi’s 80s-rich anthems, lead singer Jon Bon Jovi brought them back to reality for a second. He told the crowd that his four children back home had strep throat, and he tried his best not to catch it — so much for rock star cowboys.

A buzz tremored around State College all week. Eighties giants Bon Jovi were kicking off a 33-show North American tour, and it all started at University Park. The more than 15,000 that filled the Bryce Jordan Center Wednesday night took a break from the 11-degree frigidness outside and experienced the pageantry of a classic arena rock carnival.

The BJC opened up extra seats behind the stage due to high demand and every fan from the expensive seats circling the stage to those touching the ceiling sang along. Large, movable high definition screens formed shapes and displayed a wide variety of scenes, sequences and song lyrics on and around the stage. Bon Jovi glinted his pearly whites between tunes and the fans screamed just as they have been over the past two decades.

“Not a day goes by that I’m not grateful,” he said. “To be doing this for 26 years.”

Not every song received the same treatment from the crowd, but the lead singer twisted, waved his hands and danced with the same energy nonetheless. With radio staples mixed seamlessly with relatively less-known tracks, the audience didn’t know whether to stand up or sit down, awkwardly rising and falling between songs.

Bon Jovi chatted with the roaring crowd after every third or fourth song. “This is one big frat party and we’re all in the same fraternity,” he said. After that, the band dropped into a heavy version Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.”

The first big crowd reaction came ironically during “Lay Your Hands on Me,” a song guitarist Richie Sambora sings. With a retrospective of songs, it’s hard not to notice that a lot of the band’s tunes sound strikingly similar, from Sambora’s talk box to Bon Jovi’s prevailing vocals. But another thing each song has in common is that they are all crowd pleasers.

The loudest roar came during a break in songs when Bon Jovi stood stoically and smiled at the crowd. He thanked the adoring fans profusely and talked about the challenges of living in the United States. He touched on the economy, the housing market and the divorce rate, among others. With his words the theme of the show — perhaps the whole tour — came into fruition.

The bulk of the band’s setlist showcased songs about overcoming obstacles and living life to the fullest, including “We Weren’t Born to Follow,” “Whole Lot of Leavin’ ” and “It’s My Life.”

The evening concluded with super hits “Living on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive” during the band’s encore. After the show, the energetic crowd filed back out into the cold reality after almost two hours of sweating to one of the most popular acts in the past 25 years.

Bon Jovi: Jon hard at work in NYC

Hardest working man in showbiz with the most frequent flier miles I tell ya!

Jon on the set of New Year's Eve with Sophia Vergara & Katherine Heigl.

Sorry Sophia, that smile doesn't quite reach his eyes.  :(

That poster in the background isn't life sized, its EGO sized.  ;)

Bon Jovi: Richie & Nikki after the WTB show

Nikki needs to learn what all of us learn at an early age, to keep the twins in the corset top you need some Scotch, Double stick tape.





Other than that I personally love the dresses. I love Nikki's dress, she put a slit up the front which makes it easier to walk in (and walking is important).

But I am no fashionista.

Bon Jovi: Did you see Richie?

So did you watch the Packers win???  According to the Dallas Morning News, Richie did, in the suite of Jerry & Gene Jones.

Also check out Nikki Lund's Facebook page for some great shots: HERE

Rare for Jerry Jones: He's surrounded by richer and more famous people

By ALAN PEPPARD / Staff Writer

Published 06 February 2011 11:47 PM

The Super Bowl provided a rare sensation for Jerry Jones : He was surrounded by people richer and more famous than him. From the richer side of the ledger, Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu, the wealthiest man in the world; Warren Buffett , the third wealthiest; and Michael Dell, Ross Perot, Jerry Ford and Harold Simmons, who are all doing OK, too, made themselves at home Sunday in the Cowboys Stadium suite of Jerry and wife Gene.

From the more famous department, Laura and George W. Bush were there and found themselves in frame as TV cameras zoomed in on Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas sitting behind them or Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore sitting next to them.

John Travolta was also hanging out at the Jones place as was Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, Vivica Fox, Ron Howard and Jamie Foxx.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice , boxers Evander Holyfield and Sugar Ray Leonard, boxing promoter Bob Arum, broadcasters Pat Summerall, Al Michaels, John Madden and Ryan Seacrest , guitarist Richie Sambora, running back Emmitt Smith, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and the Rev. Jesse Jackson rounded out the-star cast.

Bon Jovi: 30 Day Bon Jovi Challenge: Day 30

Bon Jovi: 30 Day Bon Jovi Challenge

Day 30 - Random - whatever you want, you've made it!

I'd like to dedicate this final day to all the fans and great friends I've met/made over the years.

We start thinking we have one thing in common, but at the end of the day, we have many things in common.

I'll leave the challenge with this:

One for love, one for truth
One for me and one for you
We once were divided, now we stand united
We stand as one undivided

Bon Jovi: Jon to Own a piece of the Atlanta Falcons?

Sources: Jon Bon Jovi in Falcons talks

By Chris Mortensen

ESPN

New Jersey rock star Jon Bon Jovi has been in confidential negotiations with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank in which Bon Jovi would purchase 15 percent of the NFL franchise for $150 million, according to league sources.

Blank on Sunday morning acknowledged the talks but downplayed them as "discussions that are unlikely" to produce a partnership with Bon Jovi. He would not elaborate, except to add that he did not think it was newsworthy at this stage.

Blank is among a select group of owners who have been seeking more minority partners to gain an infusion of cash that in Blank's case will also help him realize his plans to build a new outdoor stadium in the Atlanta area.

Bon Jovi was owner of the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena League team for five years from 2004-2009.

The two sides have signed a confidentiality agreement not to disclose details of negotiations but a league source pegged the financial talks based on a $1 billion valuation of the Atlanta franchise. Each percentage point would be valued at $10 million to arrive at the proposed $150 million on a 15 percent purchase, another source said.

Chris Mortensen is ESPN's senior NFL analyst.

Living here in Tampa I get to see the Falcons play the Bucs once a year. This past season the Bucs honored their first coach John McKay, who's son Rich McKay is the Falcons VP & he was the GM of the Buccaneers for a long time (including when they won the Super Bowl in 2002). At the end of the game Arthur Blank comes out on the field.... My seats are right there as he came out. If this all comes to fruition I hope Jon continues that tradition, but I bet he's a silent yet visibly good looking partner.