Originally Posted by Thinny

....

There was a cool story that in 1986 he met an older guy that came up to him and said "Jon, my name is Tommy and believe it or not my wife is called Gina. We had some tough times when we were younger and Livin' On A Prayer has become our song". Jon was blown away as he's just "picked those name out of a hat".

Interestingly he says that the couple were from Biloxi, Mississippi...so in the 1986 Cincinnati live version when he says, "From Cincinnati, Ohio to Biloxi, Mississippi and all around the world, we're all just livin' on a prayer, 'ey Tommy..." it's clear that he was referring to this "Tommy".

I thought that was really cool.....

Also "Joey" from Wild In The Streets, is actually Anthony, Jon's older brother who he based the song on...

Jon :
"I couldn't ever go out and be a one man band like Prince, because it wouldn't be Bon Jovi anymore...
"What makes the band sound like us is the mesh of my influences with Richie's"

Sigh, how times change...