Once upon a time in the mid-1980s, there was a band called Bon Jovi. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consisted of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi (John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.), guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, and bassist Alec John Such. And yet, there was a 6th member of this legendary rock group that was never made public... until now: - Russell Joseph Klimczak (born Harold Bartholomew Bongiovi), Jons twin brother, stolen from the hospital nursery at birth by a family of evil Ukranian baby-nappers. - Russell possessed all of the singing talent of his brother Jon, but grew up listening to and being influenced by heavy metal. In July of 1986, after seeing the music video for You Give Love a Bad Name on MTV, Russell went out in search of his long lost brother, who was currently on tour supporting the album Slippery When Wet. At the time, Jons attempt to give it his all during live shows (plus the tours exhausting schedule) greatly strained his vocal cords. In the bands Behind The Music special, he notes that his vocal cords were given steroids to help him sing. This was not true. It was, in fact, Russell -- who was able to impersonate Jon onstage, albeit with a slightly more hard core personality and vocal delivery -- that made it possible for Bon Jovi to finish the tour. Jon promised Russell half his future earnings if he remained with the band, under one condition...he must swear his existence to absolute secrecy. - With the utilization of Russell essentially doubling the bands live stamina, Bon Jovi went back into the studio to fast-track the follow-up album to Slippery When Wet, and the result was yet another multi-platinum selling album, New Jersey. They immediately got back on the road the following fall for the mammoth New Jersey Syndicate Tour to support the album. But even with Russell alternating show dates with Jon, the non-stop touring was taking its toll on the rest of the band. By the end of the New Jersey tour, Bon Jovi had 16 months of concerts under their belt and the band members were exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. On February 17, 1990, following the last show of a two-night stand in Guadalajara, Mexico, and without any clear plans for their future, the band members left in separate planes, and just went home. All but one. Russell Klimczak was last seen on the eve of the final show. He would remain missing for the next 20 years. - (...to be continued.)
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 18:57:35 +0000
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