NJ Rock Star To Be Inducted Into Count Basie Center Walk Of Fame

RED BANK, NJ — A New Jersey rock star is set to be an inaugural inductee of the Count Basie Center for the Arts’ new Walk of Fame, the Basie Center recently announced.

On Thursday, Jon Bon Jovi and William “Count” Basie (for whom the Basie Center was named) will be enshrined in the Walk of Fame as the Center celebrates the Walk's first entries.

The recent installation of the Walk of Fame is part of the Basie Center’s “Centennial Celebration,” a 16-month-long event that will commemorate the Center’s century-long presence in Red Bank and impact throughout the Garden State.

According to Basie Center officials, the Walk of Fame aims to honor area artists whose early performances on the Basie Center stage gave way to worldwide fame and recognition.

Bon Jovi and William “Count” Basie will be the first performing artists inducted into the Walk on Thursday.

“The Count Basie Center is able to celebrate 100 years because of the community that has been here, continuously, to support it,” Basie Center Chairperson Jeremy Grunin said of the Centennial Celebration. “Now is the time for us to not only look back at that history, but to solidify the future of arts education and entertainment, and how we may best be poised to celebrate again one hundred years from now.”

• Learn More About The Basie Center’s Centennial Celebration

Known for rock hits such as “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name,” Jon Bon Jovi was born in Perth Amboy, NJ, in 1962 and went on to be the founder and frontman of a band that bears his name, according to his IMDB biography.

Since his debut, the New Jersey native has gone on to win numerous awards and accolades with the band, including a Grammy award, induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2009 and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

At home, Bon Jovi has also given back to the NJ community with JBJ Soul Kitchen, a non-profit community restaurant established by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation that serves paying customers as well as those in need.

In New Jersey, JBJ Soul Kitchen has locations in Red Bank, Toms River, Rutgers University-Newark and New Jersey City University.

Alongside Bon Jovi, William “Count” Basie will also be inducted into the Basie Center’s Walk of Fame on Thursday.

Born in 1904, Basie helped establish jazz as a serious art form played not just in clubs, but also in theaters and concert halls, according to the Count Basie Center for the Arts website.

Over his 60-plus-year career, Basie established swing as one of jazz’s predominant styles, solidified the link between jazz and blues, and won nine Grammy Awards — including two trophies at the very first Grammy ceremony in 1959.

Following a lifetime of music and innovation, the Monmouth Arts Center was renamed in Basie’s honor in November 1984, and Basie went on to be known as “Red Bank’s most famous son.”

Bon Jovi and Basie’s inductions into the Basie Center Walk of Fame will take place on Thursday at 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, with an inaugural induction ceremony set to begin at 11 a.m. and Bon Jovi scheduled to attend, according to a report from the Asbury Park Press.

To learn more about the Count Basie Center for the Arts, you can click here.

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