1. Richard Stephen Sambora was born on July 11,1959 and is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013.
49 Facts About Richie Sambora
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Richie Sambora has released three solo albums: Stranger in This Town in 1991, Undiscovered Soul in 1998, and Aftermath of the Lowdown released in September 2012.
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In 2018, Richie 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.
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Richard Stephen Sambora was born on July 11,1959, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of Joan, a secretary, and Adam C Sambora, a factory foreman.
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Richie Sambora grew up in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Woodbridge High School in 1977.
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Richie Sambora played basketball in high school; his sophomore team won the 1975 Group 4 State title.
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Richie Sambora began playing the guitar at the age of 12, following the death of Jimi Hendrix in 1970.
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From his early days, Richie Sambora was strongly influenced by blues and 1960s rock and roll.
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Richie Sambora was influenced by Spanish classical music and began a lifelong love of the Spanish guitar.
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Richie Sambora plays many other instruments, such as drums, bass, saxophone, and piano.
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Richie Sambora was a guitarist for the band Message, and with that band put out a 1982 independent record titled Lessons.
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Richie Sambora was part-owner of a club in New Jersey, and at age 19 owned his own independent label Dream Disc Records.
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Shortly before joining Bon Jovi in 1983, Richie Sambora unsuccessfully auditioned for Kiss, to be Ace Frehley's replacement.
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Richie Sambora joined Bon Jovi in 1983, replacing the band's original lead guitarist Dave Sabo, who went on to form Skid Row.
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Alec John Such had been playing in a band with Richie Sambora and joined Bon Jovi while Richie Sambora was away in Los Angeles auditioning for Kiss.
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When Richie Sambora returned home, Such promptly invited him to see the band play.
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Richie 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 resume".
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When Jon arrived and heard the band with Richie Sambora, he hired him on the spot.
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The song "Next 100 years" from the album Crush, written by Richie Sambora and Bon Jovi, is a self cover.
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Richie Sambora left the band in 2013 prior to a concert in Calgary during the band's Because We Can tour.
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In 2016, Richie Sambora stated that his reason for leaving the band was in order to give his family more of his attention.
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Richie Sambora released a solo EP with Orianthi, and performed alongside the RSO band member and his girlfriend on April 7,2018.
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Richie Sambora did a short US tour in support of the album, featuring Tony Levin, Dave Amato, Crystal Taliefero and Bon Jovi bandmates Tico Torres and David Bryan.
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In support of Undiscovered Soul, Richie Sambora toured Japan, Australia and Europe in the summer of 1998.
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In 2001, Richie Sambora had a single for a movie soundtrack On The Line which was titled "Take Me On".
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Fourteen years after his previous solo album, Richie 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.
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In 2013 following his departure from Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora released the solo single "Come Back As Me".
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Richie Sambora announced in early 2015 that he is working on a new album in collaboration with fellow musician and girlfriend Orianthi.
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Richie Sambora composed television theme songs for Entertainment Tonight and The Insider.
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Richie Sambora was part of the ownership group of the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena Football League football team, until the league suspended operations in 2009.
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Richie Sambora is featured on the track "Baby Rock Remix" from LL Cool J's 2008 album Exit 13.
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Also in 1999, Richie Sambora played the guitar solo on the track "Why Don't You Love Me" on the album Tuesday's Child, by Canadian singer Amanda Marshall.
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Richie Sambora sang "Long Way Around" for the 1997 Steven Seagal action film Fire Down Below.
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Richie Sambora recorded the song "One Last Goodbye" for movie The Banger Sisters, and covered Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" for the soundtrack of 1990 comedy The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.
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In 2004, Sanctuary Records released a self-titled album which had been recorded in 1978 by Shark Frenzy, documenting Richie Sambora's first recorded material.
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Richie Sambora competed on the fourth season of the British version of The Masked Singer as the Jacket Potato.
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Richie Sambora married actress Heather Locklear in Paris on December 17,1994.
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On June 7,2007, it was announced that Richie Sambora was entering an undisclosed rehab facility in Los Angeles for treatment related to alcoholism.
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Richie Sambora credited his bandmates and mother with helping him through the difficult time.
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On March 26,2008, Richie Sambora was arrested for drunk driving in Laguna Beach, California where he was a longtime resident.
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Richie Sambora was absent from the band for thirteen shows during the Bon Jovi Live tour, and his guitar and vocal duties were handled by session musician Theofilos "Phil X" Xenidis.
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Richie Sambora returned to join the band in June 2011 in Zagreb, Croatia, for the start of the European leg of the tour.
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From his early days, Richie Sambora was strongly influenced by blues and 1960s rock and roll.
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Richie Sambora has donated money privately to various cancer charities since the death of his father, including both hospitals where his father was treated, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and M D Anderson.
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In May 2004, Richie Sambora was bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by Kean University where he attended the awards ceremony and gave a speech of acceptance.
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Richie Sambora attended Kean University as a freshman, but dropped out to pursue a career as a professional guitarist and session musician.
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Richie Sambora donated funds to renovate part of his alma mater Woodbridge High School, which opened a new weight room, the Adam Sambora Fitness Center, dedicated to Sambora's father.
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Richie Sambora has been known to use a wide variety of equipment throughout his career.
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Richie Sambora has an extensive guitar collection, featuring more than 130 instruments, about a third of which are various Fender Stratocaster models.