Richie's solo album coming Spring 2012?!

WEEEEEEEE! I hope it's true! Thanks, Hath, for posting the news!

From MixOnline

Bon Jovi lead guitarist and producer, singer/songwriter Richie Sambora is recording his third solo album at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood. Luke Ebbin, producer of the Bon Jovi albums “Crush” and “Bounce,” is helming the new project.
“Richie and I have worked on and off together for years,” explained Ebbin. “Richie came off the Bon Jovi tour energized and we got together to write a couple of songs. The results were very good, so we kept writing more and decided to go in and record them. The recordings came out great, so Richie decided why not make this a solo record? There are eight songs in the can now, including a co-write with Bernie Taupin. We’ve started round two of sessions and hope to have a full album done by early spring.”

Sambora’s first solo outing was “Stranger in This Town” (1991), a critically acclaimed blues-influenced album that featured Eric Clapton playing lead guitar on the song “Mr Bluesman,” backed by Sambora on acoustic guitars. “Undiscovered Soul” was Sambora’s second solo album, released in 1998 and produced by Don Was.

Richie in the spotlight

So apparently the rumors are true: Richie confirmed that he and Denise Richards are back together again.

From contactmusic.com:

Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora has revealed he is ''really happy'' to be back with Denise Richards - who he split from in 2007.

Richie Sambora is "really happy" to be back with Denise Richards.

The Bon Jovi guitarist and the actress dated for around a year before splitting in 2007 but recently rekindled their romance and the rocker couldn't be more thrilled.

When asked on the red carpet of Alicia Keys' Keep a Child Alive Black Ball at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, he said: "Things are good. I'm really happy."

Since giving their relationship another go, Richie and Denise have been on several dates and things are going really well.
And the 52-year-old musician isn't worried about what the 'Wild Things' star's ex-husband Charlie Sheen thinks of the romance.

When quizzed if he was worried about any potential negative feelings from the actor, Richie said: "No. He's a friend of mine. I haven't talked to him. I'm sure it'll be fine."

Denise has two daughters, Sam, seven, and six-year-old Lola, with Charlie and adopted four-month-old daughter Eloise.

The 40-year-old actress has previously revealed that her feelings for Richie never went away, even though they broke up.

Writing in her memoir, 'The Real Girl Next door', she said: "Richie and I shared an easiness I hadn't before had. We were able to be open, honest, and completely authentic with each other, with no judgment.

"I don't regret my relationship with him. I learned hard lessons from our journey together. My heart may have been bruised, but it was pure. Richie is a wonderful man. He came into my life when I needed him and he needed me. We'll always have that bond."

And in other news, he performed with Usher at Alicia Keys' Black Ball for "Keep A Child Alive" - a charity that helps children with HIV/Aids in Africa and India.




(I actually like Usher, but man - he makes worse painful faces onstage than Jon!)

Richie on MDA Telethon (Sept. 4, 2011)

Missed Richie on the MDA telethon, like I did?

YouTube came to the rescue, again. ;)

Enjoy!

New Richie solo album?

A little video of Richie and Nikki from a UStream chat last night has been floating around cyberspace...with rumors of a new Nikki record, a new clothing line...and a new Richie solo record!

However, the video has been removed from YouTube, and Nikki has requested on Twitter that all links to it be removed from all social media.

I was able to see it before it disappeared completely, but I think I know why it did.

Nikki did most of the talking in the video, and after her announcement about her new record and their new clothing line "NikkiRich," she really put her foot in her mouth and said there were "exciting things on the horizon for Richie too".

Richie played dumb, and Nikki turned away from the camera with her hand over her mouth to whisper to him - to "remind" him.

To be honest, Richie seemed annoyed. But I think he knew he had to perform a bit of quick damage control, so he DID then say that he was working on new songs for a future solo Richie record...but made it plain that they were working on her stuff first.

So. Since it came straight from him, I believe it. But the timeframe could be anything from a year to ten before we see anything come of it. And we still have to wait for OFFICIAL confirmation of it - since this seemed like a big slip on Nikki's part. lol

Still, it's great to know he's FINALLY considering/working on something!!

Now, Rich, did my question on Extra have any influence on this decision of yours? ;) Hehehehe! (Kidding.)

Richie at Camp Pendleton, San Diego - 8/19/11

Richie on Extra (August 2011)

I'm a few days late with this, but as many of you know, I just made the huge leap/move from California to Europe! I just landed yesterday and am still struggling with jet lag, time warps, and a total fog of confusion. LOL. Just caught up with the Jovi world today (which is Saturday morning in the Netherlands, but Friday night back home...oy)

Anyway, Richie was on Mario Lopez's Extra! at the Grove in Hollywood - the same place where I met him last October. I would have loved to be there this time too, and he was at Camp Pendleton in San Diego (my home!) Friday afternoon! Of COURSE he'd make California appearances after I leave California, right?

Anyway, here's a video of the gig -- and some pictures, courtesy of The Goddess Hathor and Catte. Thanks, ladies! Richie looks AMAZING.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to the King of Swing!

Wishing a very happy birthday to Mr. Richie Sambora - he's 52 today!

Made in America, 1959
Born down by the factories, cross the Jersey city line
Raised on radio, just a jukebox kid
I was all right

Just a small-town homeboy
With big-time dreams
Followin' his conscience
In a world full of extremes
Fresh out of high school, only 17
I was all right

Here's hoping the next year is better to you than this last one was...although I had the pleasure of meeting you in person on October 19th last year! ;)

Hope your day is full of love, laughter, family, and friends! xx

JBJ & RS 'stronger than ever'

From hairbandrock.com:

Richie Sambora's partnership with Jon Bon Jovi is apparently stronger than ever, especially after Sambora sought treatment in rehab earlier this year.

Bon Jovi recently told Seven Days, a UK magazine, that "it was great for Richie to go and take care of himself knowing full well he was not being fired or punished. He needed and wanted to seek help. Now he's focused, re-energized and everything is great. Our partnership is as strong as ever."

After Sambora checked into rehab in Los Angeles in April, the band issued a statement supporting his efforts to battle the bottle. The band's statement also revealed that they would continue to tour with a fill-in guitarist, which caused some diehards to wonder if Sambora's footing in the band was unstable. However, Sambora left rehab after a month of treatment and rejoined the Bon Jovi tour overseas.

Bon Jovi would not go as far as to intimately address the nature of the progress Sambora has made. "How can I comment on that without knowing the disease? I think he's very cognizant of the situation and loves his mother, daughter and band more than anything in the world," Bon Jovi said. "I'm very proud of his efforts. He's still my dearest friend."

Sounds like the Bon Jovi-Sambora partnership still has many miles left on the odometer

Richie pics

Thank you, Rike, for these! He looks so good! He's lost weight, he's smiling, color back in his cheeks...I'm so happy for him.

Aaaand he's back!

Well, as always lately, we hear from the tabloids first. I'm still awaiting an official "welcome home" from Bon Jovi & Co., but this is believable enough to take as the news that Richie IS out of rehab and rejoining the tour in Europe!

I gotta say, I choked up a wee bit. I've missed Mr. Sambora - and I am so happy to have him back. I just hope, truly, that he is fully ready to BE back.

Richie Sambora -- Out of Rehab, Joining the Tour
16 minutes ago by TMZ Staff

Richie Sambora is out of rehab and has just landed in New York City, but he's not staying long -- he's rejoining the Bon Jovi tour.

Sambora told our photog at JFK he was feeling good -- which was evidenced by the fact he signed dozens upon dozens of autographs for fans (check back in the morning for video).

He just arrived from Los Angeles, but plans on heading right back out -- he's meeting up with Jon and the boys for the European leg of the tour. They are scheduled to play in Croatia on Wednesday.

Sambora checked himself into rehab in late April after, we're told, he fell of the wagon.

Want to show your e-support for Richie?

There are some fantastic social networking support campaigns popping up in support of our beloved guitarist. If you want to show yours, consider the following simple things you can do on Facebook and Twitter:

1. Add a "Twibbon" - a little badge that overlays your current profile pictures on Facebook and Twitter. xdregina on Twitter made a fabulous little badge, and almost 400 people have added it to their profiles in 24 hours:



Click to add to your Facebook profile picture.

Click to add to your Twitter profile picture.


2. Add the hashtag #weloveyousambora to your tweets - every one!


3. Someone started a page on Facebook called "Letters of support for Richie Sambora." Add your own little note of support now.

Obviously, these are just simple measures to proudly proclaim that you back Richie. None of these campaigns will be sent to him directly, and he needs to deal with this privately. But that doesn't mean you can't reiterate to the rest of the world how strong the Jovi fan world can be! :)

Richie back in rehab...

UPDATE:

The band has released this official statement on Facebook (which contradicts Matt's earlier tweet, by the way...) -

In response to questions about Richie Sambora & Bon Jovi's upcoming performance schedule, the band released this statement:

"Our support for Richie is absolute. He is, and will remain, a member of Bon Jovi. Although he will be absent from upcoming shows for the time being, we very much look forward to his healthy return. In the meantime, we will keep our commitment to our fans and continue our tour."

________________________________________________________________

Well this just broke my heart. What a terrible thing to wake up to. :(

From radaronline.com:

Bon Jovi star Richie Sambora is checking into rehab, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

Sambora is coming off a highly successful tour with Bon Jovi and is checking into a facility for exhaustion and to regain his sobriety.

The guitar player spent a month at Cirque Lodge in Utah in 2007. That was after the traumatic break-up of his marriage to Heather Locklear and his split from girlfriend Denise Richards the same month his father died of lung cancer.

Sambora, 52, successfully launched the clothing line White Trash Beautiful and then helped Bon Jovi haul in more than $201 million as a top touring act of 2010.

”Richie recently has been drinking too much, and wants to get his life together," a source told RadarOnline.com exclusively, adding that the band has been very supportive of the rehab decision.

"Richie has had a busy year," a close friend of the musician told Radar. "I think this was a culmination of all the things that overloaded his life and finally he realized he needed to take care of himself.”

It was not immediately clear how Sambora's treatment will affect his role in Bon Jovi. The group is scheduled to play tour dates this month in the U.S. before performing in Europe during June.

And tweets from Matt on Twitter:

All I can say is that we are heading to NOLA tomorrow. No shows will be canceled. (7:15 AM PST)

Now you know it's not my place to comment. Richie will be fine and is fine. Personal life comes first and you have to respect that. (8:15 AM PST)

We're pulling for you, Richie. As sad as I am to hear this, I have enormous respect for anyone who recognizes they have a problem and need to seek help before it takes control of them. I pray with all my heart he will make it through stronger than ever before! xx

Richie's looking for the future Mrs. Ex-Sambora

Just saw this on Facebook. Richie lovers, pay attention! ;) Where do we sign up?!

From People.com:

Richie Sambora Ready to Meet His 'Future Ex-Wife'

Richie Sambora is looking for his Mrs. Right – or at least Mrs. Right, for now.

"I'm on a search for my future ex-wife," the Bon Jovi guitarist, 51, told PEOPLE at the N.Y.C. Fashion Week Style 360 afterparty for his line, White Trash Beautiful.

All joking aside, Sambora – whose 2006 split from Heather Locklear came after 11 years of marriage – is ready to settle down, which can only mean one thing: more kids.

"I'm just looking for the right person to have more children [with]," said the father-of-one, whose daughter Ava (with Locklear) is 13. "I just love being a dad."

He adds: "There's nothing like a love for our children. I love being a papa, and that's the truth."

So what's he looking for in the potential mother of his future kids? Sambora says he doesn't have "any preconceived notions."

"I think it just hits you," he says.

WTB cheerleaders in Super Bowl

From ESPN's website:

Richie Sambora, getting ready to board a plane from Los Angeles to the Super Bowl city of Dallas, wanted to talk football.

"Who is going to win the Super Bowl?" he asked.

"Aaron Rodgers vs. Ben Roethlisberger is going to be a great battle," he answered himself.

"Who has the experience to win?" he said rhetorically.

Sambora, the lead guitarist of legendary rock band Bon Jovi, was so excited to head to Dallas on Thursday night to be part of the spectacle of Super Bowl weekend.

And he's really looking forward to Friday afternoon when he and his partner Nikki Lund have their clothing line -- WTB (White Trash Beautiful) -- modeled by the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders.

"Of course, I'm extremely proud," said Sambora, who started the line in spring 2010. "You will have gorgeous girls wearing our fashion. These girls are going to be showing the clothes like art. It's going to be wonderful."

WTB is anything but white trash. It's a contemporary fashion line consisting of distressed leather separates, dresses, evening gowns and more. The WTB Collection already has found celebrity fans including Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus and Kellie Pickler. A men's line will debut this spring.

What's with the title of White Trash Beautiful?

"I was walking around my house with this title in my head and I couldn't figure out what to do with it," Sambora said, "so I thought 'women's fashion line'. I met this brilliant woman named Nikki and we took it from there."

Lund, who already has a clothing line called Eccentric Symphony, said when Sambora came calling, she wasn't going to say no.

"He is a humble and amazing man, and it really was quite easy for me to say 'Yeah, let's do it,'" she said. "We're knowledgeable together on a lot of things and he's taught me a lot about football. He explained what a first down was!"

Back to the Super Bowl, Sambora continued the conversation:

"It's going to be a great game. I can't wait to see the stadium," he said. "Some of the players are my friends. It's going to be a wonderful weekend."

Tico says the band needs a break; Richie says he wants to be a Stone.

This is a mighty interesting read for every Jovi fan out there who's been fearing the hiatus that awaits post-Circle tour.

Take it as you will - I for one like the fact that it was Teek and Richie being quoted, not Jon. Because, as we all know, Jon lies. ;)

So we don't have any specific answers yet, but at least we know what the guys are thinking...and that is that even THEY don't know yet. We shall continue to wait and see.

Bon Jovi Needs 'A Break' When Tour Wraps, Says Drummer

As Bon Jovi prepares to start its 2011 tour schedule, the group members say what happens after they come off the road in July is anyone's guess.

"I think we need to take a break," drummer Tico Torres told Billboard.com during a conference call with reporters. "It's a long, extensive tour since last February, not just the tour but putting it together, doing the record ['The Circle']. It's a long process, and I think it's important for us to just get away from the audience for a bit. Sometimes you need to get away so people can appreciate you better, and you also have to get away to live your life and create and recharge... So the best thing I can tell you is we're gonna need a couple years off for sure."

Guitarist Richie Sambora, however, countered, "We do need a little bit of a break, but not that much of a break, 'cause what's going to happen is there's more songs to be written and... Y'know, guess what? We want to be the Rolling Stones. I know I do."

Bon Jovi's 2010 Circle tour was the top trek of the year, playing to 1.5 million fans and grossing more than $146.5 million. The group, which released a "Greatest Hits" set in November, starts up again on Feb. 9 in University Park, Pa., for North American dates into late March, then runs through Europe again from June 8-July 31, including a June 25 performance at the Hard Rock Calling festival in London.

Sambora said he had "an extensive conversation" with Jon Bon Jovi earlier this week and concluded, "I don't think we know what the hell's gonna happen" after the tour.

"We're just going out there and working our asses off and enjoying it, actually being the best band of our lives... We're not gonna quit. We're gonna keep on going and writing new, great songs, go in the studio and make great records, evolve more and get back into stadiums and give people a great, great show."

Bon Jovi's stated desire to do another solo album, he added, presents no threat to the continuation of the group. "It gives us a break," Sambora explained. "Everybody gets to be an individual... He's the leader of this band and you've got to respect that... Who knows what the hell he's gonna do, but it's okay with all of us. We're all gonna stick together. We're like a gang."

Sambora and Torres said this year's shows will continue to dig deep into Bon Jovi's repertoire, pulling out album tracks as well as covers. "We pulled out a lot of songs on this tour, maybe 70, 80 songs, (and) a lot of them haven't been anywhere near on radio," Torres notes. "We play differently every night. Unless you come see us 10 nights in a row, or three nights in a row, you won't notice it. It's something we look forward to."

About the only thing that didn't go Bon Jovi's way during the past year was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group was eligible for induction for the first time and made the final ballot but will not be getting in at the March ceremony. Torres said that "it's nice to be included in those things," but Sambora acknowledged some disappointment.

"I think it's a boys club over there," he said. "I don't know what they're doing, [if] they're looking for ratings or what they're doing. Is it legitimate? That's my question. Our legitimacy comes from our fans; you sell 125 million records and have the two biggest tours in the last three years, I'll take that. If I would complain, nobody would listen."

White Trash Beautiful on Extra (again)

There was another Extra segment with Richie, Nikki, and White Trash Beautiful. These pics are from WTB's blog, but I had to snag this one for my desktop. They are my luffers, after all. *hearteyes*



(Wonder why they're my luffers? Read my Meeting/Interviewing Richie On Extra, AKA the Coolest Moment Of My Life story here.)

Holly Jolly Jovi: O Come All Ye Faithful

This is a Richie special - his rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful, played solo on guitar. It's one of my favorite classic Christmas tunes. And with that gorgeous voice of his, I think all the faithful will rush to his side in no time. ;)



MP3 Download: O Come All Ye Faithful (Richie Sambora)

Greatest Hits: Ultimate Collection goodies

I think I posted this in a few parts last week, but I found the complete version for your viewing and listening entertainment. And thanks to DeBee1015's World for the amazing photo finds - I LOVE this set of singles wallpaper!

Enjoy, my friends.