1984: Happy Rock Pt.2 - Bon Jovi

Ritchie Samboa and John Bon Jovi (still) have some of the best vocal harmonies in music (see Mtv Unplugged video at bottom.) "ooh She's a Little Run Away" was the first song I really heard from Bon Jovi. Wanted Dead or Alive was a great one too. These bands came out at a time where as a kid I never really SAW who did these songs. You would hear them on the radio. I was SO young I thought that all songs on the radio were performed live at the radio station. Didn't quite put it together that the radio stations were playing the same records we had in the basement. Somehow, the radio was just different.



Album covers didn't always have their faces on the artwork... and I was too young to pay that much attention. The advent of Mtv, rock magazines and advertising really put a FACE on rock and roll. Bon Jovi had one of the faces that smiled and was really inviting to his music.



Yeah, the "chicks" really dug Bon Jovi, but I didn't think about that stuff. I just thought he'd be a nice guy. And happy all the time. Again, rock with a smile! It was just a stray from the norm. Is the the start of "hair bands?" Or did Bon Jovi just perfect it?

Tommy and Mike's band Defiance covered "Runaway." The keyboards in it sort of remind me of "chopsticks" so I was able to recognize it quickly as a child. I got to see Defiance shows when I was little. I remember sitting on my dad's shoulders and watching them. It was really REALLY loud. There was a wall of speakers, spot lights, and a crazy rock show. It was seemingly the closest you could get to "big time" for high school kids. It really made me wish I was older so I could have been in the band too.

Another interesting thing to note as long as I'm talking about Bon Jovi, I can say that Mtv's inspiration for their Unplugged series came from this (below). There would be many defining moments with Mtv Unplugged... and one of best things Mtv ever did.