Jon Bon Jovi has revealed he was paid just $180 for his first professional recording — a track on the Star Wars Christmas album released in 1980.
The 63-year-old singer – who has fronted rock band Bon Jovi since 1983 – posted a photo of his original contract on Instagram, showing the agreement with producer Meco Monardo for Christmas in the Stars. The deal specified a one-time payment and confirmed Bon Jovi waived any rights to royalties.
He captioned the post: “First ever contract back in 1980, always fun finding these … No doubt it’s online somewhere.”
The album, issued through RSO Records, featured C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels narrating and singing. Bon Jovi’s contribution was vocals on R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas, marking his debut recording before launching his career with Bon Jovi.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last year, the Always hitmaker shared how he came to appear on the festive LP.
He said: “I was a gopher in a recording studio from the fall of 1980 until ’83, when we did the first record.
“There was a guy named Meco Monardo, who was doing these kind of tribute records taking advantage of the Star Wars craze, he was pretending to be a young boy singing the song. It sounded like an old man pretending to be a young boy, and he says, ‘Young boy, can you sing?’ And I said, ‘That’s what you know… yeah, I think I can. He says, ‘Go in there and if you want to do this it pays $183,’ and I got $183 to sing.”
