One of our classics hats is a replica of Richie Sambora’s hat. We made it once and a lot of people are asking for it. Let me tell you about who he is and which his legacy was.
Richard Stephen Sambora was born on July 11, 1959, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of Joan (née Sienila), a secretary, and Adam C. Sambora, a factory foreman. Sambora is of Polish descent and was raised Catholic. He grew up in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Woodbridge High School in 1977.
Sambora’s first instrument was the accordion, which he began to play at the age of 6. He began playing the guitar at the age of 12, following the death of Jimi Hendrix in 1970.
Sambora was a guitarist for the band Message, and with that band put out a 1982 independent record titled Lessons. It was re-released in 1995 under the name Message, and in 2000 as Lessons. He was later in a band, Mercy, which was signed to Led Zeppelin-owned record label Swan Song Records, and then Duke Williams & the Extremes, who were signed to Capricorn Records. Sambora was also in an improvisational club band called Richie Sambora & Friends. He was part-owner of a club in New Jersey, and at age 19 owned his own independent label Dream Disc Records. Sambora’s first professional tour was as an opening act for Joe Cocker in the early 1980s. Shortly before joining Bon Jovi in 1983, Sambora unsuccessfully auditioned for Kiss, to be Ace Frehley’s replacement.
Sambora joined Bon Jovi in 1983, replacing the band’s original lead guitarist Dave Sabo, who went on to form Skid Row. Alec John Such had been playing in a band with Sambora and joined Bon Jovi while Sambora was away in Los Angeles auditioning for Kiss. When Sambora returned home, Such promptly invited him to see the band play. 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 résumé”. Though Sambora initially believed Bon Jovi was not interested in him, he received a phone call several days later inviting him to rehearse with the band. When Jon arrived and heard the band with Sambora, he hired him on the spot. That night, the pair returned to Bon Jovi’s mother’s house and wrote the songs “Come Back” and “Burning for Love”, both of which would appear on the band’s 1983 debut album.
Sambora’s first solo album was 1991’s Stranger in This Town, a blues-influenced album that charted at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 and No. 20 on the UK Albums Chart. The lead single, “Ballad Of Youth”, reached a high of No. 63 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 59 in the UK. “One Light Burning” was released as the second single and the album titled track, “Stranger In This Town” as the third which charted at No. 38 on the Mainstream rock charts. Eric Clapton played the lead guitar on the promo single Mr Bluesman, backed by Sambora on acoustic guitars. Sambora did a short US tour in support of the album, featuring Tony Levin (bass), Dave Amato (guitar), Crystal Taliefero (percussion) and Bon Jovi bandmates Tico Torres (drums) and David Bryan (keyboards). The track “Rosie” was co-written by Jon Bon Jovi and was initially intended for the fourth Bon Jovi album New Jersey. It was also released as a promo single in Japan. “Ballad of Youth” was released in the UK in summer 1991 and despite plugs from The Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1 the song barely skimmed the top 75.
All of this is just a small part of his personal and professional life. It’s an honor to recreate the hat of this iconc musician.
