Jon Bon Jovi returned from London to find his beloved Jersey shore decimated by Hurricane Sandy. The rock singer appeared on this morning’s Today show and spoke with with a thoughtful sadness about the devastation.
“It’s gone,” Bon Jovi said. “The entire Jersey Shore that I knew is gone.” The singer has long been one of New Jersey’s most prominent celebrity’s and has always been proud of his home state:
“It was hard,” he continued, talking about his visit to the shore. “To see your hometown devastated like this and people that I grew up with… My grammar school turned into a shelter. People’s homes gone and them saying to me, ‘We are now homeless. We never intended to be homeless.’ These are hard-working, blue-collar people.”
The multi-platinum singer also said that rebuilding the Shore will take “a concerted effort by the we, the collective we. I think as Americans we all come together in these times of need. … We’ve been through it before and we’ve supported other tragedies. … People come together in this time.”
This evening Bon Jovi, along with fellow Jersey rocker, Bruce Springsteen will take part in an hour-long telethon on NBC. The program, which will also feature Billy Joel, Christina Aguilera and others will benefit the American Red Cross’ hurricane relief efforts.
The event will also be carried live on NBC.com and Sirius XM satellite radio (on channel 20).
The telethon, “Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together,” will be broadcast from NBC’s New York studios, before an invitation-only audience.
Bon Jovi cut his London promotional tour short to return to New Jersey after hearing of the damage. He told the DailyMail.co.uk:
“I really need to get back home having spoken to my wife and kids who are stuck in New York. I need to be with my people. Thankfully my family are safe.
“There is no power, water, the devastation is off the charts. The President is in my home town in New Jersey because of the damage. It’s like Armageddon. Where my children surf, 80 houses burnt down.”
The singer also owns a property in New Jersey, and he’s eager to do all he can for affected residents through his charity restaurant venture:
“I am committed to my Soul Foundation and Soul Kitchen Restaurant, which a lot of people rely on for their food. I need to find a generator and get that working. What can I do, I have to get there and find out. We take care of each other, that’s what we do in (our) own town.”
Despite the devastation to the Jersey shore, Snooki remained unharmed.
Music is the universal language, speak it loudly!
Rustyn Rose is a veteran music journalist who owns and operates Metalholic Magazine and Metalholic Radio.