“Jon and I became friends. He came to L.A. when he was looking for musicians to join his band, but a couple of things happened...”: Why session legend Tim Pierce never joined Bon Jovi – despite recording their earliest hit

Tim Pierce is a highly celebrated session electric guitar player who’s played with everyone from Alice Cooper to Meat Loaf and Shakira. But his career nearly saw a dramatic change when, early into his session days, he “missed out on being in one of the biggest rock bands in the world”.

Working on Bon Jovi’s debut single, Runaway, in the early 1980s provided him one of his first ever credits. The song, which saw Jon Bon Jovi flanked by session musicians, was a surprise hit, and prompted the singer to assemble a band proper.

For fans, Pierce – who helped shape that early record – seems like he would have been the obvious choice. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.

The Bon Jovi gig “happened kind of by accident” Pierce says in the new issue of Guitar World: “I was 23 and recording in New York. Jon Bon Jovi was living upstairs at the Power Station [recording studio]. Basically, his job was the janitor for his uncle, Tony Bongiovi.

“They put together a master demo; I ended up doing all the guitars on Runaway [including an off-the-cuff guitar solo] and Jon credited me on the back of the record,” he continues. “That was his first Top 40 hit, and I got full credit. It was great.”

With Jon Bon Jovi looking to hit the road, Pierce represented an obvious choice for the guitarist spot. But there were a few factors working against him.

“A couple of things happened,” he explains. “I didn't have the image to be in the band. People forget that you couldn't be in a rock band unless you looked a certain way.”

Bon Jovi - Runaway (Official Music Video) - YouTube

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Dave Sabo, the singer's neighbour and friend who would later form Skid Row, assumed lead guitar duties for a short while, before another local guitarist, Richie Sambora, took the job permanently.

“Richie was the perfect choice,” Pierce believes. “The way he plays, looks and sings is great. They wrote some of the most amazing songs ever. Jon didn't ask, and it probably had to do with the fact that I had another gig – and didn't look like a rock star.”

After more than 30 years of service in the group, Sambora left Bon Jovi in 2013, with Phil X stepping into his shoes. While the bandleader has unequivocally ruled out his return, there's no animosity between the guitarists, who jammed together at a charity show earlier this year alongside Orianthi. The band's new documentary is also seeing hardened Sambora stans warming to his replacement.

Meanwhile, Pierce has revealed that Michael Jackson was a guitar nerd and recently recalled getting kicked out of one of the biggest gigs in history, just hours after performing at it.

To read Pierce’s career-spanning interview in full, head to Magazines Direct to order a copy of Guitar World. The issue also features a candid chat with Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka, Mark Knopfler, and Lari Basilio.