Richard Stephen Sambora ( sam-BORE-a; born July 11, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter and singer. He was a member of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. Sambora was the band's lead guitarist; he also provided backing vocals and played a major role in the band's songwriting. In 2018, Sambora was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Bon Jovi. He reunited with his former bandmates for a performance at the induction ceremony.
As a solo artist, Sambora has released three albums: Stranger in This Town (1991), Undiscovered Soul (1998), and Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012). In 2018, Sambora and Orianthi formed the duo RSO. After releasing two EPs, RSO released their debut album, Radio Free America, in May 2018.
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. He grew up in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Woodbridge High School in 1977. 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 began playing the guitar at the age of 12 following the death of Jimi Hendrix in 1970. From his early days, Sambora was strongly influenced by blues and 1960s rock and roll.
Sambora was a guitarist for the band Message, and with that band put out a 1982 independent record titled Lessons. 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's first professional tour was as an opening act for Joe Cocker in the early 1980s. 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. Sambora was the band's lead guitarist, and he also provided backing vocals. He played a major role in the band's songwriting during the early years of Bon Jovi's existence.
Bon Jovi's 1986 album, Slippery When Wet, spent eight weeks atop the Billboard 200. The first two singles from the album, "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer", both hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Slippery When Wet was named 1987's top-selling album by Billboard, and "Livin' On A Prayer" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance. The band won an award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band at the American Music Awards and an award for Favorite Rock Group at the People's Choice Awards.
Bon Jovi's 1988 album, New Jersey, peaked at number one in the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. The album produced five Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Bon Jovi the record for the most Top 10 singles spawned by a hard rock album. Two of the hits, "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You", reached number one.
In the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi performed acoustic versions of "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive". While MTV Unplugged was already in development by the time of this event, its showrunners have credited the pair's performance with influencing the show to go from initially being meant only for "young, up-and-coming artists" into being a simplified showcase for the "big, stadium, electric-arena-type acts".
Bon Jovi mounted a worldwide tour that continued throughout 1989 and 1990. They visited more than 22 countries and performed more than 232 shows. On June 11, 1989, the band performed a homecoming concert at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
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." During a recent appearance on the Magnificent Others podcast, hosted by Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, he recounted his final days in the band, noting how he and frontman Jon Bon Jovi seemed to have drifted apart in the early 2010s.
In 2018, Sambora was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Bon Jovi; he reunited with his former bandmates for a performance at the induction ceremony.
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. "One Light Burning" was released as the second single and the album titled track, "Stranger In This Town" as the third which charted at No. 38 on the Mainstream rock charts. Eric Clapton played the lead guitar on the promo single Mr Bluesman, backed by Sambora on acoustic guitars. Sambora did a short US tour in support of the album, featuring Tony Levin (bass), Dave Amato (guitar), Crystal Taliefero (percussion) and Bon Jovi bandmates Tico Torres (drums) and David Bryan (keyboards). The track "Rosie" was co-written by Jon Bon Jovi and was initially intended for the fourth Bon Jovi album New Jersey. It was also released as a promo single in Japan. "Ballad of Youth" was released in the UK in summer 1991 and despite plugs from The Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1 the song barely skimmed the top 75.
Undiscovered Soul was Sambora's second solo album, released in 1998. The album was produced by Don Was. The album charted at No. 174 on The Billboard 200 and No. 24 on the UK Albums Chart. The lead single "Hard Times Come Easy" charted at No. 39 on the Mainstream rock chart and No. 37 in the UK, the second single "In It For Love" charted at No. 58 on the UK Singles Chart. The title track "Undiscovered Soul" and "Made in America" were also released as singles. In support of Undiscovered Soul, Sambora toured Japan, Australia and Europe in the summer of 1998. The band featured Richie Supa (guitar), Ron Wikso (drums), Kasim Sulton (bass), Tommy Mandel (keyboards), Everett Bradley (percussion; Japan only), Gioia Bruno (percussion; Australia only) and Crystal Taliefero (percussion; Europe only).
In 2001, Sambora had a single for a movie soundtrack On The Line which was titled "Take Me On".
Fourteen years after his previous solo album, Sambora announced via his Twitter page that recording of Aftermath of the Lowdown had been completed with hopes that the album would be released in July 2012. Photographs were published of Sambora working in a recording studio. The new album was produced by Luke Ebbin, who produced Bon Jovi's Crush and Bounce albums. Aftermath of the Lowdown was released in September 2012. The album charted at No. 10 on the "Top Hard Rock Albums", No. 34 on the Top Independent Albums, No. 149 on The Billboard 200 and No. 35 on the UK Albums Chart.