Richie Sambora Will Perform With Bon Jovi at Rock Hall Ceremony
Probably the biggest question regarding next April's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony has been answered quickly. Richie Sambora, who walked away from Bon Jovi in 2013, has confirmed that he will play with the band during the evening's festivities.
"It's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- it'll be a joyous occasion," Sambora told Billboard. "I was there for 31 years and we sold 150 million records or something and we put a lot of asses in seats in stadiums around the world and made a lot of people happy. I did so many different jobs in that band, so, yeah, I'm showing up for that. Everybody should have a smile on their face and a smile in their hearts and it should be a celebration of what we did."
His erstwhile partner, Jon Bon Jovi, is welcoming him with open arms, "He was my right hand for a long time," Bon Jovi said, "so there was never ill will, just like I told everybody. [He] just didn’t show up anymore. We went on, but he was there for three decades and he should be there to celebrate the moment. So he'll be invited to join the rest of the band in all of the festivities."
As of now, Sambora hasn't spoken with anybody in the band about this other than Bon Jovi, so they haven't yet worked out what they're going to play. But that doesn't make any difference to Sambora, who said, "There were a lot of great songs. The songs that touched people are the songs I imagine will be played."
Five years ago, Sambora shocked the music world when he left Bon Jovi on the eve of a tour. That led to a bit of public mudslinging between the two, but last year we learned that they were speaking to each other again. Sambora eventually disclosed that he quit because he wanted to spend more time with his daughter, who was 16 years old at the time, a decision he doesn't regret at all today.
"Being in something that big at that time, it's so consuming," he said. "It was so big you didn't really have a chance to individualize yourself in a way. And also, too, what happens is you're in a band for 30-some odd years and people are going in different direction. Some people want to be doing that. Some people want to be doing this, maybe be home. I wanted to be home with my daughter and take care of my family, things like that. There were a lot of different things pulling me away. I did it for 31 years -- I think that was a pretty good tenure. We did alright."
And while Sambora is prepared to look back, he's also looking forward to putting out the rest of the music he's made with Orianthi. Back in September, they, billed as RSO, put out an EP called Rise, which featured the single "Masterpiece." Now, they released a holiday song called "One Night of Piece," (embedded below) with another EP, Making History, out tomorrow. It's all part of a campaign to "put out five EPs over a specific period of time and keep playing gigs. I think people are going to enjoy it, man; It's diverse but it holds together 'cause Ori and I, we found a good sound between us and there's not much else like it out there. I'm really, really proud of what we're doing."
Listen to RSO's "One Night of Peace"