Jon Bon Jovi shared a touching tribute via Instagram to Chip Hobart, the DJ who helped break Bon Jovi’s first single “Runaway” on the radio.
JBJ’s tribute began, “Every kid dreams of hearing his song on the radio… in 1983 I took it to another level by taking ‘Runaway’ to a radio station. It was a brand new station located just outside of New York City called WAPP… they were so new they didn’t have a receptionist to stop me from getting the attention of DJ Chip Hobart. I hung around after his shift to tell him my story. We played the song, Chip said the song sounded like a hit and committed to getting Runaway on the radio… he did…”
Bon Jovi continued, “I’ve thanked him a thousand times for that day. This week I reached out to my old friend to ask him to play ‘Runaway’ on a very special project we’ve been working on. I found out that Chip Hobart had passed away in March… thank you my friend, for the 1001st time. We’ll dedicate the first spin to him. Love to his family.”
Included with the tribute are two photos: The first one is of Jon and Richie Sambora in a DJ booth with Hobart, and the second one is from the night Bon Jovi was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
