Livin' On A Prayer: Bon Jovi's Journey From Jersey Rock Band To Worldwide Phenomenon

Then, with 1986’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ On a Prayer,” and then with 1988’s “Bad Medicine,” the band became an international sensation and the five bandmates began touring throughout the world.

But although the band enjoyed their new international fame, their new status as musicians and the responsibilities and pressures that come along with such status started taking a toll on the band’s members.

"Everything is bigger, and it moves twice as fast,” Jon Bon Jovi said in 1987, shortly after the band finished their first tour that consisted of more than 130 shows.

“You're recognized twice as often. This is bigger, the whole world gets bigger. You have to sell more records, be huger,” he continued. “You get smarter and you understand the business a little more, so it's more responsibility. You understand it now, and you want to make sure everything goes right.”

Despite Bon Jovi’s bassist leaving the band in 1993 “because of the age gap between him and the other band members,” the band continued writing music and performing throughout the world.

As of 2022, Bon Jovi has made more than 330 songs – including a number of solo projects by Jon Bon Jovi himself – and the band is considered one of the leading music groups on the forefront of bridging the gap between the popular heavy metal and pop genres that were widely popular when they first formed nearly 40 years ago.