Jon Bon Jovi's HOF acceptance speech

I thought Bon Jovi was about the least of the night's problems. I felt horrible for the 3 guys from Dire Straits who showed up with no one to induct them. I felt badly for the Moody Blues who had to wait too long to get in. I felt badly for Ric Ocasek who no longer sounded anything like Ric Ocasek and even more so that his supermodel wife got so much screen time even though they separated sometime between the induction ceremony and the broadcast. I shouldn't feel too badly for Ric-30 years of Paulina is more than we'll all get. Lastly, I hear the Nina Simone tribute is still going on.

 

Staying married is one thing, being faithful is another thing.

 

That's insane. They had big hits right off the bat before she came along.

 

Yeah, but Ric's marriage to Paulina made him more famous. He was the poster child for "unattractive rock star who got hot wife".

Granted, Ric was already the best-known member of the band because he starred in some prominent videos and he had such an unusual look, but the relationship with the swimsuit model took his fame to a higher level...

 

finally saw the broadcast last night...his speech wasn't that bad.
Howard's intro was better (Jann Wenner part in particular) but the whole band seemed genuine & thrilled to be there.

he's probably better at being a self-promoter/businessman than a musician but...no need to knock on the guy for being limited talent.
he seems to stand up for the right things and the fact that he's been married to his high school sweetheart for the past 30 years speaks volume in my book.

i didn't think BJ would ever get into R'N'R Hall of Fame but after Journey...Wenner & rest of snobs must've gave up

 

We think of things as institutions when in reality they are businesses. I don’t know how much the RRHOF makes off the induction ceremony and the broadcast of it but it also free advertising. Because of this they will never stop inducting people. There will be people less deserving getting inducted in the future. The thing is, opening the voting to the general public wouldn’t guarantee the inductees are any better. Hell, if the Forum were the only voting members we would probably have Apple Records secretaries being voted in!

 

Well congrats to him! Even though I'm not a fan as well (except for their Cross Roads hits).

 

Say what you will about the "HOF" worthiness of Bon Jovi but I think the coolest part of Jon's speech was when he thanked Billy Falcon and Desmond Child...Billy Falcon is definitely underrated...

 

I felt the speech was very good. It perhaps went on a bit too long but it was well done. Jon thanked everyone from the first DJ that played his record to the present and covered all points in between. It was particularly touching at the end when he thanked his children and wife.

When did stating your own accomplishments become self-important and pompous? Bon Jovi has taken the brunt of the hits from music critics over the years so if Jon is going to toot his own horn a little I don't blame him, as nobody else is going to do it for him.

I'm not a Bon Jovi fan but he seems to be a pretty genuine guy. He has worked for his success, attained and maintained it. Whatever I think of the music I admire his determination.

 

It's not what he said; if any member of The Moody Blues made the same basic speech, I would have been sucked in by it. The very first thing he did that really turned me off was to open his arms to the audience as if to say , "MY CHILDREN!!". I'm open to the idea that I could be completely off-base on him; there's just something which wreaks of, "it's all about ME".

 

Not a fan but don’t necessarily dislike them. Just not interested. Watched his speech. Came across as Me, Me, Me and this backup band I selected

 

I gotta tell you, his wife must be a saint, because when I was in high school pretty much every girl wanted Jon. Richie definitely had his fans as well. If Jon was completely faithful to his wife all those years my hat really goes off to that guy because I’m sure the temptation must have been on such a grand scale...

 

I think he’s not to fond of his cousin because if I’m not mistaken, didn’t he release a bunch of demos years ago against Jon’s consent? I always remembered seeing a cd of the power station demos or something like that.

 

Not sure why so many people are critical of The Cars' set, it sounded pretty good. Ric didn't sound that good on "Just What I Needed", but then again it wasn't his song.

 

Nice guy , just glad he didn’t purchase the buffalo bills

 

Nothing more rock 'n' roll than ascribing the jock rules of the Baseball Hall of Fame to this field.

 

He's hawt. And Livin' on a Prayer always brings down the house at a dueling piano bar. So he's got that going for him.

 

Is that a jock rule? Didn’t know.

 

It's a jock rule for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

To me, all their music just comes across like some nerdy white guys trying to sound tough. Dreadful lyrics like these make me cringe: "I walk these streets, a loaded six-string on my back....I play for keeps, 'cause I might not make it back". And that stupid talk-box thing in "Livin' On A Prayer" is REALLY cheesy and annoying.

 

Bon Jovi did an interview on Charlie Rose where he came across to me as very similar in tone to his acceptance speech. Not sure what it is, kind of uptight and self important. Not a wild loose rocker type. I guess that's just his personality.

In the Bon Jovi type heavy music, i love The Scorpions, Motorhead and Soundgarden but none have the overwelming popularity that Bon Jovi has.

I voted in the poll and Bon Jovi were by far the favorite. I dislike 'em but they are real popular. Def Leppord is real similar to Bon Jovi and will probably go in next. Both are not my thing. Oh well i always feel like i have my own hall of fame and can pull out the album whenever i want.

 

I'm not a Bon Jovi(al) fan but their music does make a lot of people happy and isn't that what it's all about?

 

Howard Stern's intro was the only good part of the induction in a show that was one of the worst HOF shows in memory. My god, one of the worst bands to ever be inducted. I will concede that Living on a Prayer is a hall of fame worthy song. You give love a bad name and Wanted Dead or Alive are decent tracks. Bad medicine is a fun song. It's my life and Runaway are passable pop rock songs. Blaze of Glory is strictly for the fans. The rest of their output is atrocious.

You want similar bands that were more deserving? How about Def Leppard? Def made a lot of crap late in their career too, but their first few albums is twice as good as Bon Jovi's. Hell, even Motley Crue has at least 6 or 7 songs that are good. INXS has three times as many good songs. If you put in Bon Jovi, you might as well put in Huey Lewis and the News. Earlier, they were as big as Bon Jovi was . Or Duran Duran. Is Bon Jovi any better than the GoGos(OK so Richie Sambora has more talent than anyone in that group) or the Bangles? Hell, I enjoy more songs from either of those gal bands than I enjoy Bon JOvi songs that are not titled Living on a Prayer.

then you have just flat out superior groups like Squeeze that has 5 or 6 songs that dwarf most of Bon Jovi's output. Depeche Mode >>> Bon Jovi. Devo > Bon JOvi. Pixies, Weezer>Bon Jovi.

Hell, what about the effing Smiths?

 

Howard Stern's intro was the only good part of the induction in a show that was one of the worst HOF shows in memory. My god, one of the worst bands to ever be inducted. I will concede that Living on a Prayer is a hall of fame worthy song. You give love a bad name and Wanted Dead or Alive are decent tracks. Bad medicine is a fun song. It's my life and Runaway are passable pop rock songs. Blaze of Glory is strictly for the fans. The rest of their output is atrocious.

You want similar bands that were more deserving? How about Def Leppard? Def made a lot of crap late in their career too, but their first few albums is twice as good as Bon Jovi's. Hell, even Motley Crue has at least 6 or 7 songs that are good. INXS has three times as many good songs. If you put in Bon Jovi, you might as well put in Huey Lewis and the News. Earlier, they were as big as Bon Jovi was . Or Duran Duran. Is Bon Jovi any better than the GoGos(OK so Richie Sambora has more talent than anyone in that group) or the Bangles? Hell, I enjoy more songs from either of those gal bands than I enjoy Bon JOvi songs that are not titled Living on a Prayer. Hell by these low standards , we might as well put in Rick Springfield for his 3 or 4 hit singles with Jesse's Girl being a monster hit.

then you have just flat out superior groups like Squeeze that has 5 or 6 songs that dwarf most of Bon Jovi's output. Depeche Mode >>> Bon Jovi. Devo > Bon JOvi. Pixies, Weezer>Bon Jovi.

Hell, what about the effing Smiths?

 

When you think about other Halls of Fame, like Major League Baseball, this is a discussion that never really happens. All the uber greats got swept in right away, but since then there has been an endless supply of new talent just waiting for the first year of eligibility.
Not with Rock and Roll, though. We just keep digging deeper into the past. Given where the line is now, it's hard to begrudge Bon Jovi. They had hits, and they are a wildly successful global touring machine today. Decades of success. Why not them?
I just want to be alive to see the Mummies go in, and play their set.