Bon Jovi pays tribute to Sayreville pizza jury, 'Prayer' passes 1 billion streams
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Here's to the “Pizza Pie Jury.”
Kids from a local pizzeria in Sayreville helped Bon Jovi pick the tracks for the band's hit album, “Slippery When Wet,” in 1986. The story of the Pizza Pie Jury was revisited on Wednesday, Jan. 18, when Bon Jovi posted a video from a decades old press conference of him talking about the pizza kids.
“The kids would hang out there and we were right around the block rehearsing and writing all the material for this album and finally we went over there and invited them back to the studio with us,” said Bon Jovi, referring to the scene at the borough's former Century Productions studio. “There were 30 kids who picked the material for this album.
"Songs like 'Never Say Goodbye,' which we've never released as a single, people liked, or 'Wild in the Streets,' which was another fun live song, would have never made the album if it wasn't for the Pizza Pie Jury. I tell you that was probably the smartest thing we ever did.”
The pizzeria was the former Enzo's on 80 Main St. in Sayreville, now called Angelo's Pizza and Restaurant. Angelo's has become a destination for Bon Jovi fans around the world, said owner Sal Cottone previously to the USA today Network NJ.
Fans also go to Nunzio's Kitchen at 521 Raritan St. in Sayreville, the spot where a teenage Jon Bon Jovi used to hang out.
More:Jon Bon Jovi and fans collect more than 500 pounds of food for needy in Toms River
The band's “Slippery When Wet's” iconic single, “Livin' on a Prayer,” was just cited as having 1 billion streams on Spotify.
“Streaming is the new 'it,' right? This is unbelievable, and I'm really grateful for it,” said Bon Jovi in a social media video, also posted on Wednesday.
More:Jon Bon Jovi alive and well after surviving TikTok Christmas celebrity death prank
Bon Jovi was formed in 1983, making 2023 the band's 40th anniversary.
If you were a member of the Pizza Pie Jury, please contact Chris Jordan at cjordan@app.com.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bon Jovi pays tribute to Slippery When Wet pizza jury in Sayreville
