Today we're going to tell you some facts about Jon Oliva, best known as co-founder, keyboardist and lead vocalist of the heavy metal band "Savatage":
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= He was born on July 22, 1959, in The Bronx, New York City. His birth name is John Nicholas "Jon" Oliva.
= In 1976 his family moved to Florida, where Jon and his brother Criss Oliva started their musical pursuits.
= Jon Started playing his father's piano, then moved to guitar, drums and finally bass guitar.
= Jon and his brother Criss played "Kiss", "Deep Purple" and "ZZ Top" covers at block parties.
= Although originally a guitar player, Jon quickly realized Criss was better than him so he stuck to singing, swapped with his brother and played bass guitar.
= In 1978 Jon was kicked out of high school and joined the band "Metropolis", gaining his first touring experience.
= In 1979 Jon and Criss formed "Avatar", which later became "Savatage".
(Photo: Fanart.TV)
= In 1983 "Savatage" released their debut album, "Sirens". Jon and Criss where the main songwriters on the album.
= In 1984 they released the EP "The Dungeons Are Calling". It was a loosely based concept album that was recorded the same day as the tracks for the "Sirens" album. The two were meant to be a full-length debut but were divided due to limited space.
= In 1985 "Savatage" released the album "Power of the Night". In addition to Vocals' in this albom Jon started to be credited for his keyboards playing.
= In 1986 the band released the album "Fight for the Rock", which was a commercial failure.
= Just a year later, in 1987 "Savatage" returned with their critically acclaimed album "Hall of the Mountain King". In this album producer Paul O'Neill "pushed" Savatage to adopt a conceptual progressive metal style.
= The progressive influences got deeper with the release of "Gutter Ballet" in 1989, introducing a more progressive metal style. It is not a concept album, but the final three songs are a conceptual suite dealing with a single character.
= Jon was credited on the album as: lead vocals, piano, keyboards, bass guitar and even drums on the song "Gutter Ballet".
= In 1991 Released "Streets: A Rock Opera". as its name reveales it's a rock opera dealing with the rise and fall of the fictional musician DT Jesus. It was also Jon Oliva's last album as lead vocalist until 1995's "Dead Winter Dead".
= In 1992 Jon left "Savatage" to focus on side projects, including "Doctor Butcher" and the musical "Romanov".
= In 1993 co-founder and lead guitarist Criss Oliva died in a car accident and "Savatage" released "Edge of Thorns" with Zachary Stevens as lead vocalist. Although, Jon contributed piano, keyboards, drums on tracks "He Carves His Stone" and "Degrees of Sanity" for the album.
= In 1994 The band released "Handful of Rain" as a tribute to Criss.
= Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill began writing and recording this album together, with Oliva handling drums, bass, rhythm guitar, and keyboards. Oliva also played some lead guitar before enlisting Alex Skolnick for most guitar solos. Zak Stevens was then brought in to record the vocal parts.
= In 1994 Jon was also involved in the side project "Doctor Butcher" with guitarist Chris Caffery. they released their self-titled studio album the same year.
= In 1995 "Savatage" released "Dead Winter Dead", featuring the hit "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)". Jon sang lead Vocals on two songs from the album and backing vocals on one.
= "Dead Winter Dead" is a concept album, that tells a story from the perspectives of a Serb boy, a Bosniak girl and an old man. The story of the album is set during the Bosnian War.
= In 1996 the symphonic metal "Trans-Siberian Orchestra" (TSO) was formed by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of "Savatage").
= Between 1996 and 2015 the band has released 6 rock operas: "Christmas Eve and Other Stories", "The Christmas Attic, Beethoven's Last Night", "The Lost Christmas Eve", "Night Castle" and "Letters From the Labyrinth".
= In 1998 Jon released "The Wake of Magellan" with "Savatage".
= In 2001 Jon resumed his lead vocal duties in the band in the album "Poets and Madmen". he also played rhythm guitar and keyboards.
= In 2003 he formed "Jon Oliva's Pain" and released the album "'Tage Mahal". Jon released 3 more albums with the band "Maniacal Renderings" in 2006, "Global Warning" in 2008 and "Festival" in 2010.
(Photo: Fanart.TV)
= In 2013 Jon released his only solo album "Raise the Curtain".
= In 2015 "Savatage" reunited for a performance at "Wacken Open Air".
= In 2016 Jon suffered a mild stroke but fully recovered.
= In 2021 Jon confirmed working on new "Savatage" material.
= In 2023 Jon suffered a spinal injury, delaying the production of the new "Savatage" album "Curtain Call".
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