Jon Bon Jovi is steppin’ out — to the Count Basie Center of the Arts’ Walk of Fame.
The legendary Jersey rocker and the late William “Count” Basie will be honored at Basie Center’s Walk of Fame inaugural induction ceremony starting at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, at 99 Monmouth St. in Red Bank, the center has announced.
Jon Bon Jovi is scheduled to attend.
The ceremony is part of the Basie Center’s 16-month long “Centennial Celebration” for its 100th anniversary on Nov. 11, 2026. The venue opened as the Reade’s Carlton Theater movie and vaudeville stage 1926. The theater was renamed for Red Bank native Count Basie in 1984. A 2020 expansion saw the addition of the Grunin Arts Education Building and The Vogel theater.
Jon Bon Jovi performs with Bobby Bandiera on Dec. 22, 2014, during the Bobby Bandiera Hope concert at the Basie in Red Bank.
More than 300,000 annually attend events at the Basie Center, while the organization’s arts education programs reach more than 20,000 students in the region every year.
Bon Jovi, a native of the Sherwood Forest section of Sayreville, teamed with David Bryan, Edison; Tico Torres, Woodbridge; Richie Sambora, Woodbridge; and Alec John Such, Perth Amboy, to form the band Bon Jovi after Jon’s single “Runaway” became a hit on New York City radio in 1983.
A few years later, they would be the biggest band in the world with hits like “Livin’ On a Prayer,” “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “Who Says You Cant Go Home Again” and more.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
Jon Bon Jovi has performed at the theater numerous times over the years, including former Bon Jovi band holiday shows, and appearances at Bobby Bandiera’s Hope Concerts, which raised funds for area soup kitchens.
Red Bank native bandleader and composer William “Count” Basie, pictured performing in Stockholm in July 1976.
The Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen pay-it-forward restaurants have served more than 200,000 costumers, many of them in need. The flagship location on Monmouth Street in Red Bank, a few blocks from the Basie Center, opened in 2011.
Count Basie, born Aug. 21. 1904, in Red Bank, helped create the standard for big band swing music, and he defined American music for several generations. Basie composed classics include “Blue and Sentimental,” “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” and “One O’Clock Jump.”
Greats like Lester Young and Joe Williams performed with the Count Basie Orchestra.
Monmouth Street at the theater (99 Monmouth St.) will be closed for the cermony. Visit thebasie.org for more infromation.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jon Bon Jovi to receive Walk of Fame honor at Basie in Red Bank
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