He was a member of "Bon Jovi" for 30 years, during which time he co-wrote most of its songs, he can make his guitar speak and he sings not bad at all, his name is Richie Sambora and he is celebrating a birthday today, so let's tell you some 40 interesting facts about him:
(Photo: amazon.com)
1. He was born on July 11, 1959, in New Jersey as Richard Stephen Sambora.
2. His parents of Polish descent gave him a Catholic education as a child.
3. Sambora is blind to the colors red green and brown.
4. The first instrument which he began to play at the age of 6 was the accordion.
5. At the age of 12 following the death of Jimi Hendrix, Sambora began playing the guitar.
6. Sambora plays additional instruments. Bass, piano, saxophone, drums, and more.
7. Sambora was influenced in his youth by blues and rock and roll. The artists who most influenced him at the time included: Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter, and Jimmy Page.
8. Later he was also influenced by Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughan and became interested in Spanish and classical music.
9. The first band with which he released an album in 1982 called "Lessons," was "Message".
(Photo: discogs.com)
10. Later he was part of the bands "Mercy", "Duke Williams & the Extremes" and "Richie Sambora & Friends", when in the early eighties they even warmed up Joe Cocker.
11. Already at the age of 19 his good business sense was discovered when he became the owner of a club in New Jersey and the owner of a small record company.
12. In 1983 Sambora failed the audition for "Kiss" as Ace Frehley's replacement.
13. That same year he replaced guitarist Dave Sabo in "Bon Jovi". Sabo will later form the band "Skid Row".
14. On January 14, 1984, Bon Jovi released their first album - "Bon Jovi". Already on this album, Sambora was revealed as the lead writer along with singer Jon Bon Jovi, with whom he wrote about half of the album's songs.
15. The collaboration with Jon Bon Jovi in writing will become more sophisticated, reaching a first high point already on the band's third album "Slippery When Wet" released in 1986.
16. The album would soon become the best-selling album of 1987, pushing Guns's "Appetite For Destruction", U2's "Joshua Tree" and Michael Jackson's "Bad" from the top.
17. It is also the band's best-selling album to date, among others, thanks to Richie Sambora who persuaded Jon Bon Jovi to include the song "Livin 'on a Prayer" on the album. Jon Bon Jovi felt it was not good enough but Richie Sambora believed it would be a huge hit and he was right.
18. Just 4 weeks after the end of the tour of the album "Slippery When Wet", the band went on to record their fourth album "New Jersey", which was released in 1988. Richie and John could not wait, they were determined to record a new album that would prove they can produce another uncompromising hit.
19. They experienced an incredible burst of creativity when they wrote no less than 34 songs for the album. The two eventually created 17 demos out of them, with 12 selected for the album.
20. This album has already turned Bon Jovi into a stadium-size band with an inconceivable hits sequence. It's the only hard rock album in the world to put 5 singles in the top ten on the Billboard 100 chart.
21. It is also the first album of an American band released in the USSR, by a local record company called Melodiya.
22. The third single "I'll Be There For You" and the fifth "Livin In Sin" are two ballads in which Richie instilled his early love for blues music.
23. In 1991 Richie was able to develop this love for blues with his first solo album "Stranger In This Town". The album will feature Eric Clapton, among others.
24. In 1992, Sambora and Bon Jovi released their fifth successful album "Keep the Faith". The album included a change in the look and style of the band, which was expressed among other things in piano ballads with epic and long Sambora solos.
25. In 1995, the band released the excellent album "These Days". Sambora and John wrote a huge number of 40 songs for the album, of which only 12 were selected.
26. The album's opening song - "Hey God" was influenced by a case where Sambora watched from his limo window a homeless man living inside a cardboard box. He felt guilty and told Jon Bon Jovi about the case and the two wrote the song about it.
27. In 1998 Sambora released his second solo album "Undiscovered Soul".
28. In 2000 he released together with "Bon Jovi" their seventh successful album "Crush".
29. 3 singles were released from the album, the most successful of them, how not? Is "It's My Life". This corresponds with the band's hit from 1986 - "Livin 'On A Prayer", which also features Tommy and Gina. In both songs, Richie Sambora uses the guitar talkbox effect that produces the sound of a "talking guitar".
30. The following years were not good for Richie. Although he continued to create and release good albums with Bon "Jovi", he personally deteriorated.
31. In June 2007 he announced that he was entering a well-known rehab facility in Los Angeles to treat alcoholism.
32. In March 2008 he was arrested for drunk driving in California.
33. In April 2011 he decided to re-enter a rehab facility, and as a result, was forced to miss Bon Jovi's thirteen shows.
34. In 2009 Sambora entered together with Jon Bon Jovi into the Writer's Hall of Fame.
35. In September 2012, almost 14 years after his previous solo album, Richie Sambora announced the release of his third album "Aftermath of The Lowdown". The album was produced by Bon Jovi's album producer of "Crush" and "Bounce".
(Photo: Joseph Llanes)
36. In April 2013, Sambora announced that he was leaving "Bon Jovi" due to unspecified personal circumstances. Rumor has it that Sambora was fired from the band but Richie and Jon denied it.
37. Immediately after his departure, in 2013, Sambora released the single "Come Back As Me".
38. In 2015 he began a musical collaboration with whoever was his girlfriend - the guitarist Orianthi. The two called the project RSO and in 2017, after going on a joint tour, they released an EP called "Rise". Later that year they released another EP called "Making History".
39. Richie Sambora's list of ex-partners is long, among them you can find Claudia Schiffer, Lita Ford, Cher, Heather Locklear, Denise Richards, and more and more ...
40. In 2018 Sambora entered together with “Bon Jovi” into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sambora performed during the ceremony along with members of his former band.