FUN GUITARIST PROFILE: RITCHIE SAMBORA!

Ritchie Sambora of Bon Jovi

(Our Series Concludes Next Week)

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Born in 1959, Ritchie Sambora joined the melodic rock band Bon Jovi, formed by singer (and later also a guitarist) Jon Bon Jovi and brother Alex. In 1984, the hard working band that Jon Bon Jovi describes as "going from the basement to bars and later concerts" had some modest success with their debut "Bon Jovi". In 1985 their CD "7,800 Degrees Farenheit" fared well. But their big "break"arrived in the form of the CD "Slippery When Wet" in 1986 with two hits: the rock anthem "Livin' On A Prayer" (with Sambora's use of a talk box) and "Wanted Dead or Alive". The CD New Jersey in 1988 was also successful. However, heavy touring led the band to take a wise hiatus, and Sambora recorded his solo CD "Stranger in This Town" in 1991 with the stand-out "Mr. Bluesman". The band regrouped for Keep the Faith in 1992 and a Greatest Hits compilation called Cross Road in 1994. The band's 1995 release, These Days featured Sambora on sitar and his second solo CD, an acoustic-based Undiscovered Soul debuted in 1998 featuring the stand-out "Downside of Love". Between 2000 and 2001, Bon Jovi ushered in the new millennium with Crush and One Wild Night: Live, respectively. Fender Stratocasters have been Ritchie's choice and Fender has issued two signature releases. He regularly appears with a dual-neck 6 and 12 string Fender in concert. A strong singer in addition to being a prolific guitarist, it's easy to see where this band get's such a signature sound from the tight harmonies and the guitar work of Sambora with Jon Bon Jovi. "Dry County" is another example of Sambora's amazing guitar work. This year, Lost Highway took the band to Nashville, Tennessee where "You Want To Make A Memory" (a duet with LeAnn Rimes) along with the title track became the focus of an MTV "Unplugged" performance with a string section and Rimes herself energizing the band's strongest and perhaps best produced effort to date.