the sport by performing feats that few earlier skaters
had thought to be technically feasible. Beyond these
accomplishments, Boitano was a leader and a voice
for amateur skaters, who lived in constant fear of los-
ing their Olympic eligibility should they earn money
by skating. For them, he won the right to remunera-
tion and in so doing gained respect for them as pro-
fessionals.
Further Reading
Boitano, Brian, and Suzanne Harper. Boitano’s Edge:
Inside the Real World of Figure Skating.New York: Si-
mon & Schuster, 1997.
Boo, Michael. “1980’s Personalities.” InThe Histor y of
Figure Skating. New York: William Morrow, 1989.
Sylvia P. Baeza
See also Olympic Games of 1988; Sports.
Bon Jovi
Identification American pop-metal band
Bon Jovi combined the rhythms and guitar distortion of
hard rock, the power and rebellion of heavy metal, and the
melodic interest and romantic lyrics of pop to become one of
America’s leading mainstream rock bands by the end of the
decade.
During the late 1970’s, while a
high school student in Sayerville,
New Jersey, singer John Bongiovi
performed with several bands in
the region, the best of which was
Atlantic City Expressway, a cover
band that opened for numerous
artists, notably Bruce Springsteen.
Later, while working as a janitor at
New York’s Power Station record-
ing studio, Bongiovi made demo
tapes, one of which, “Runaway,”
became a hit on local radio and
was chosen for a compilation re-
cording of new artists. In 1983,
Bongiovi (who had taken the pro-
fessional name Jon Bon Jovi)
signed with Mercury Records and
formed the heavy metal band Bon
Jovi with his boyhood friend Da-
vid Bryan (keyboards), as well as
Richie Sambora (lead guitar), Alec John Such (bass
guitar), and Tico Torres (drums).
The band’s first album,Bon Jovi(1984), went gold
in the United States (meaning it sold more than
500,000 units), and “Runaway” became a top-forty
hit. The following year,7800° Fahrenheit(named for
the temperature of an erupting volcano) appeared
and became Bon Jovi’s first Top 40 album.
Although Bon Jovi’s reputation was based on the
group’s heavy metal sound and image, the band
decided to change direction in 1986. Collaborating
with songwriter Desmond Child, Bon Jovi abandoned
the tough intensity of heavy metal in favor of softer,
more melodic ballads, and the group began to sport
jeans instead of leather. “You Give Love a Bad Name”
and “Livin’ on a Prayer” became hits in the United
States when they appeared on the group’s next al-
bumSlipper y When Wet(1986), and “Livin’ on a
Prayer” won the award for Best Stage Performance at
the fourth annual MTV Video Music Awards the fol-
lowing year. The album itself held the number-one
spot on theBillboard200 chart for eight weeks and
sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.
Bon Jovi’s next album,New Jersey(1988), contin-
ued the style of “pop-metal” and included two more
number 1 hits, “Bad Medicine” and “Born to Be My
Baby,” as well as the ballad “Blood on Blood,” a mem-
oir of Jon Bon Jovi’s adolescence. BothSlipper y When
WetandNew Jerseywere huge sellers, establishing Bon124 Bon Jovi The Eighties in America
Brian Boitano leaps into the air during the free skating competition at the 1988 Winter
Olympics.(AP/Wide World Photos)