Bon Jovi

Where would real rock DJs be without a strong shot of Bon Jovi . . . gold-standard fist-pumpers like “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name”? Surviving, surely, but short on blue-collar Jersey rock that isn’t Bruce Springsteen. The fact is there are round about 100 million of us who simply can’t live without these gleaming monuments to pop-metal perfection, tracks that appeal to the whole family, from aspiring tween rock stars to moms who can’t get enough of photogenic frontman Jon, who marks the precise spot where looks and lungs collide. Below the surface, of course, Bon Jovi is high-grade TNT — feel the arena-shaking power of “Lay Your Hands on Me.” Bon Jovi spans the gulf between ’80s rock radio and 21st-century crossover country-rock, in Next Steps.

Before Bon Jovi made its mark as a global force in pop-metal with 1986 breakthrough album Slippery When Wet, the band readied two platters of impeccable hard rock. Their 1984 self-titled debut is still considered an under-appreciated classic among diehards, while its successor, 7800º Fahrenheit, hints at the dry-ice dynamics of their big-hair heyday: feel that adrenalin-surge kick in when the galloping bass of “Only Lonely” reaches full speed, and check out those power chords on the 1985 rock radio hit, “Silent Night.” Further down the line, “Summertime” from 2007’s country-tinged heartland collection, Lost Highway, forms the perfect bridge between Jersey, Nashville, and L.A. For more Bon Jovi brilliance, and a lead vocal sortie by Richie Sambora, try our Deep Cuts.

Bon Jovi’s appeal reaches far beyond the epic coif and sign-my-yearbook smile of leading man Jon Bon Jovi: let’s hear it for former Miles Davis session drummer Tico Torres, and axeman Richie Sambora. In fact, if you want to hear the six-string wizard sing, look no further than comprehensive rarities collection 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (2004) — “If I Can’t Have Your Love” features Sambora on lead vocals, and what a golden set of tonsils he possesses. Best track that inexplicably made no dent on the U.S. charts? “Welcome to Wherever You Are” from 2005’s Have a Nice Day, which nevertheless scored well in Europe, and confirms the band as a still-strong force in modern rock.

When Bon Jovi celebrated its career with a greatest-hits collection in 1994 — the appropriately titled Cross Road — we might have been forgiven for suggesting it was time to sail off into the sunset on a sturdy raft of ’80s glories. Thankfully, the band has not just kept its flame burning since then — they’ve been literally reborn in the 21st century by shedding their patented brand of pop-metal, opting instead for a streamlined, chart-topping AC sheen. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. If anything, Bon Jovi has lasted much longer than most members of the leather-and-lace scene by striking a satisfying balance between hole-in-the-wall bars and Top 40 countdowns. Here, we offer you 45 gilt-edged, Jersey-bred reasons why the band’s bedrock has remained so strong.