BON JOVI NEWS

JON BON JOVI'S MOST RECENT SONG . . . AND HIS EARLIEST ONE:

#1.) JON BON JOVI and an exiled Iranian singer named Andy Madadian have teamed up to record a new version of the BEN E. KING classic, "Stand By Me". It was done to, "[send] a musical message of worldwide solidarity" to the Iranian people.

(--You can listen to the song and watch the video below. . .)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RASKaZFZtS8

--A man named Don Was, who co-produced the track, says they're not planning on officially releasing the song. He says, "It is not for sale. It wasn't intended to be on the Billboard charts, wasn't meant to be a hit record or even pressed on a CD. --"It's intended to be downloaded and shared by the Iranian people. The whole idea was to get it into Iran and tell them . . . to carry on, that the world is watching and we're with you."

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#2.) Hardcore BON JOVI and / or "Star Wars" fans may know this, but YOU probably don't: JON BON JOVI'S first professional recording appeared on a "Star Wars"-themed holiday disc called "Christmas in the Stars".

(--Here's the cover . . .)

--The album was originally released in 1980 . . . but now it's out of print . . . (--and apparently, it's pretty rare. Used ones are going for between $50 and $100 on Amazon.com.) Jon was 18 at the time, and did odd jobs at the studio run by his cousin where the album was made. He's credited under his REAL name . . . John Bongiovi . . . and he sings with a high school choir on the song "R2-D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas". (--You can listen to it, here . . .) http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/1329/16246/Before-they-were-famous:-Bon-Jovi.html