Jon Bon Jovi is steppin’ out \u2014 to the Count Basie Center of the Arts’ Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n
The legendary Jersey rocker and the late William \u201cCount\u201d Basie will be honored at Basie Center\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Jon Bon Jovi is scheduled to attend.<\/p>\n
The ceremony is part of the Basie Center’s 16-month long \u201cCentennial Celebration<\/a>\u201d for its 100th anniversary on Nov. 11, 2026. The venue opened as the Reade\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Jon Bon Jovi performs with Bobby Bandiera on Dec. 22, 2014, during the Bobby Bandiera Hope concert at the Basie in Red Bank.<\/p>\n More than 300,000 annually attend events at the Basie Center, while the organization\u2019s arts education programs reach more than 20,000 students in the region every year.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s single \u201cRunaway\u201d became a hit on New York City radio in 1983.<\/p>\n A few years later, they would be the biggest band in the world with hits like \u201cLivin’ On a Prayer,\u201d \u201cYou Give Love a Bad Name,\u201d \u201cWanted Dead or Alive,\u201d \u201cWho Says You Cant Go Home Again” and more.<\/p>\n The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Red Bank native bandleader and composer William “Count” Basie, pictured performing in Stockholm in July 1976.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cBlue and Sentimental,\u201d \u201cJumpin’ at the Woodside\u201d and \u201cOne O’Clock Jump.\u201d<\/p>\n Greats like Lester Young and Joe Williams performed with the Count Basie Orchestra.<\/p>\n Monmouth Street at the theater (99 Monmouth St.) will be closed for the cermony. Visit thebasie.org<\/a> for more infromation.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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