Richie Sambora

Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013.

He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwriting unit for the band.

Richard Stephen Sambora was born on July 11, 1959, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of Joan (née Sienila), a secretary, and Adam C. Sambora, a factory foreman.

Sambora is of Polish descent and was raised Catholic.

From his early days, Sambora was strongly influenced by blues and 1960s rock and roll.

His most important influences were Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, George Harrison, and B. B. King.

He was also influenced by Spanish classical music and began a lifelong love of the Spanish guitar.

He has also stated that psychedelic soul singer Janis Joplin had a big influence on his musical style during her career in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Classical music directly inspired several of his songs, such as The Answer which was originally written on piano.

Sambora also plays many other instruments, such as drums, bass, saxophone, and piano.

The first time he performed on stage was at a Catholic Youth Organization dance when he was a teenager.

He began playing the guitar at the age of 12, following the death of Jimi Hendrix in 1970.

He played basketball in high school; his sophomore team won the 1975 Group 4 State title.

Sambora's first instrument was the accordion, which he began to play at the age of 6.

He grew up in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Woodbridge High School in 1977.

Sambora's first professional tour was as an opening act for Joe Cocker in the early 1980s.

Sambora was a guitarist for the band "Message", and with that band put out an independent record titled "Lessons" which was copyrighted in 1982 and produced and arranged by Dean Fasano and Richie Sambora in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

Shortly before joining Bon Jovi in 1983, Sambora unsuccessfully auditioned for Kiss, to be Ace Frehley's replacement.

Sambora joined Bon Jovi in 1983, replacing the band's original lead guitarist Dave Sabo, who went on to form Skid Row.

Alec John Such had been playing in a band with Sambora and joined Bon Jovi while Sambora was away in Los Angeles auditioning for Kiss.

When Sambora returned home, Such promptly invited him to see the band play.

Sambora was impressed with Bon Jovi after seeing the band perform live, describing the band as "magic", and he subsequently approached Jon Bon Jovi backstage and "gave him a verbal résumé".

Though Sambora initially believed Bon Jovi was not interested in him, he received a phone call several days later inviting him to rehearse with the band.

When Jon arrived and heard the band with Sambora, he hired him on the spot.

That night, the pair returned to Bon Jovi's mother's house and wrote the songs "Come Back" and "Burning for Love", both of which would appear on the band's 1983 debut album.

He has also released three solo albums: Stranger in This Town in 1991, Undiscovered Soul in 1998, and Aftermath of the Lowdown released in September 2012.

Sambora's first solo album was 1991's Stranger in This Town, a blues-influenced album that charted at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 and No. 20 on the UK Albums Chart.

The lead single, "Ballad Of Youth", reached a high of No. 63 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 59 in the UK.

It was re-released in 1995 under the name Message, and in 2000 as Lessons.

He was later in a band, Mercy, which was signed to Led Zeppelin-owned record label Swan Song Records, and then Duke Williams & the Extremes, who were signed to Capricorn Records.

Sambora was also in an improvisational club band called Richie Sambora & Friends.

He was part-owner of a club in New Jersey, and at age 19 owned his own independent label Dream Disc Records.

Sambora left the band in 2013 prior to a concert in Calgary during the band's Because We Can tour.

In 2016, Sambora stated that his reason for leaving the band was in order to give his family more of his attention.

"I really needed to take some time to be with my daughter," he stated "She needed me and I needed her, actually."

In 2018, Sambora was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Bon Jovi, and reunited with his former bandmates for a performance at the induction ceremony.

That year, he formed the duo RSO alongside Orianthi.

After two EPs, the pair released their debut album Radio Free America in May.

Since his departure, Sambora has only played with Bon Jovi at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction in 2018.

Sambora also released a solo EP with Orianthi, and performed alongside the RSO band member and his girlfriend on April 7, 2018.