Jon Bon Jovi, who was born John Francis Bongiovi Jr. in New Jersey in 1962, is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who attained worldwide fame as leader of the band Bon Jovi. Formed in 1983, the band remains a huge international attraction with a long list of hit records while he has appeared in feature films and television shows and released two solo albums. He learned to play the guitar as a youngster and played with various bands in local clubs. Working at his cousin Tony Bongiovi's New York recording studio The Power Station led to an appearance on Meco's 1980 album 'Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album' and a stint with a band called Scandal.
With Bon Jovi a massive success, he took an uncredited role in the 1990 western 'Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory' and wrote ten songs for the film. The soundtrack album went to number three on the Billboard 200 while the title track 'Blaze of Glory' topped the Hot 100 and the Mainstream Rock Songs Chart. It won the Golden Globe as Best Original Motion Picture Song and was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Original Song and Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and Best Song Written for a Film Or TV Show. Another track from the album, 'Miracle', reached number 12 on the Hot 100 and number 20 on the Mainstream Chart. His single 'Levon' went to number 27 on the Mainstream Rock Songs Chart in 1992 and his second solo album 'Destination Anywhere' (1997) reached number 31 on the Billboard 200. In 2012, his song 'Not Running Anymore' written for the feature film 'Stand Up Guys' starring Al Pacino and Christopher Walken, earned a Golden Globe nomination. He has 173 soundtrack credits with 78 composer credits, mostly for Bon Jovi videos, and 96 acting credits that include a great many Bon Jovi videos but also TV series such as 'Sex in the City' (1999), 'Ally McBeal' (2002) and 'The West Wing' (2006). His film credits include 'Moonlight and Valentino' (1995), 'The Leading Man' (1996), 'No Looking Back' (1998), 'U-571' (2000), 'Cry Wolf' (2005) and 'New Year's Eve' (2011). Busy as a producer with his own music label, Jambico Records, he is active in politics and charitable ventures.