My “BonJovi Strat” History

The “BonJovi Strat” History

I played with Jon Bonjovi from 1980-1982 in two bands: “The Rest” and “John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones”. The latter band recorded numerous demo tapes at John’s cousin’s studio (the legendary Power Station in NYC). I quit the band in 1982, since it appeared to be going nowhere. Shortly after that, “Runaway” (a song I wrote the keyboard part for and arranged) was entered in a song contest on local NY radio station WAPP 103.5 FM. The song was added to their playlist, and rapidly became a nationwide hit, launching BonJovi’s career.

Skip ahead a few years. I had toured with Dan Hartman, did some recording, and then joined SouthSide Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. John Bongiovi (now “Jon Bonjovi) was a fan of SouthSide Johnny since childhood. On a hiatus from his band, he decided to join us for a short tour in the Summer of 1990. So, I sat Jon down and showed him the chords for all the songs, and he joined us on tour playing rhythm guitar as an unannounced surprise guest.

Jon brought two very nice Strats with him on tour that Fender had given him. Whenever I had the chance I would grab one and play it during breaks or a sound check. You can see John playing the white Strat in the picture below (yes, that’s Clarence Clemons on sax). We had a lot of fun that summer, and I didn’t see Jon again for a few months. One day there was knock on my front door. When I opened there was one of Jon’s roadies with a Fender guitar case with a Christmas bow on it, and a card from Jon thanking me, and saying he wanted me to have the Sunburst Strat. I was floored!

Needless to say I ended up playing that Strat constantly; at home, on tour, at club gigs, recordings, etc. We went to Europe three or four times with the Jukes, and to England with Ronnie Spector for a Fall Tour in 1991. I became closer to that guitar then I was to my wife, ha-ha. At the time I had no idea that this was a rare, $4,000 Fender Custom Shop guitar! That’s probably a good thing, as I would have left it in the case and not touched if I had known that, and that would be a damn shame. This is one of the finest guitars I’ve ever played, bar none. The sound is awesome, the neck is incredible, and that two-tone sunburst finish is classically cool. Although I’m not thrilled that I never made any money for my work on making “Runway” his first hit, I’ll always be grateful to Jon for giving me this wonderful Strat.

So… Why am I selling the BonJovi Strat? I’m retired from the music biz now, and don’t play much. I also have WAY too many guitars, and certainly could use some help with my retirement funds. So, I’ll give someone else a chance to play a guitar that is not only a great collectible in its own right, but also has a rich history behind it. I'll miss her, but perhaps someone else will make it a breath-taking gift to a guitarist who can appreciate a top-notch guitar.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the tale of the BonJovi Strat. Check out some more pictures below.

Mick Seeley
Asbury Park, NJ area
November, 2014

Below: The Jukes, Summer of 1990, somewhere in New England.
I'm on the left, Jon is on the right