All he needed was a friend to show him around town
By BRAD SCHMITT
Staff Writer
So who is this mystery Nashville rocker Billy Falcon who drew Bon Jovi to Music City for regular visits?
Falcon was a talented under-the-radar New York singer-songwriter in the 1980s, but the unexpected death of his wife put Falcon into a dark place that had him unexcited about music and focused solely on raising the couple's young daughter, Rose.
Two things happened to lift Falcon out of the darkness.
A friend in Nashville encouraged Falcon to visit here for a summer, and Falcon threw himself into a welcoming songwriting community. At the same time, Bon Jovi, a longtime fan, reached out to Falcon through mutual acquaintances.
Soon, Bon Jovi was co-producing Falcon's new albums, including Pretty Blue World, which generated the 1991 hit Power Windows. And soon, Falcon moved to a house in Bellevue.
''It felt like I was breathing for the first time in six years,'' he said.
Bon Jovi asked Falcon only one favor in exchange for producing Falcon's albums: show him around Nashville.
''He really liked what I did. And he wanted to know why I went to Nashville,'' Falcon said.
''The first night we burned a hole in the ground. We went to Jack's Guitar Bar, we went to Tootsie's, and he wound up playing at the Third Coast, a writer's night.'' (Laughs) ''There were actually TV news trucks. It was hilarious. We were very popular that week.''
