i m happy for richie cause it looks like he is kind of getting some of the respect he deserves and so much craves...after all these years its admiring for a guy with money and success to seek collaborations and the respect from his peers. its nice that richie jams and enjoys music.
having said that that was so sloppy i didnt really enjoy any of the clips i ve seen even if i approached them with a positive eye

Really?? I love saying it but it's so ****ing frowned upon over here. It's like whenever I say it, playfully (only ever say it playfully) the world around me just stops and stares in disagreement over me being alive lol.....

Yeah, I mean it's not a word I'd use in front of my mum but yeah anything goes!

As for sounding like a broken record, I'd say Sambora has that crown.

He's a mess....as for being respected!?!,

How deluded are you people? He's a laughing stock. A very wealthy one, but still a laughing stock.

He's always had respect from his peers and elders. For example, Eric Clapton played for free on his first album because he was touched by Richie's letter, Les Paul considered him as a son, there's a YT video of a B.B. King concert with Richie as his special guest and they're sure enjoying themselves (to be compared with another B.B. King concert with Slash: no chemistry whatsoever), etc etc etc...

The press in general and the public don't respect him much because he plays (played) in a "chick band" and hair metal bands have always been taken for a joke. And, sadly enough, his playing has degraded over the years instead of improving...

Well I am a Mum and I use it (sparingly but I use it) and so do my kids.

On the subject of curse words, I remember when I met Colleen's parents who very liberally used the F word. I had NEVER heard anyone's PARENT use the F word before. (They were from MA--culture shock!) I never heard my father use the word as long as he lived. My mother uses it now some, but she's also losing her mind so she's losing her inhibitions. If she ever says the "c" word I will be surprised! LOL

I actually think if Richie is not in Bon Jovi then this kind of stuff he should be doing, although I agree he remains sloppy.

I am not sure Eric Clapton respects Richie, I mean he may and has no reason not to, but he took the gig thinking it would be easy. He certainly talked up Sambora's work ethic though.

As for B.B. King, he has jammed with a lot of musicians through the years of course. How aware was he of Sambora? I don't know, he did call him Ricky Sambora when introducing him though.

The Les Paul thing is well documented by now, so yeah Richie certainly has respect from peers, in fact more so than he does from the general public. That said, I imagine few of them see him as Richie Sambora, artist, but more like Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi guitarist.

That's obviously the reputation he is trying to shake right now, and fair play to him for going into it 100%. It just isn't for me due to the sheer lack of quality in all aspects he has shown over the last two years.

Maybe we should define "respect"... What I really meant is that Richie is (was?) considered as "someone that counts" by the music industry and his peers as a guitarist, not only as "Bon Jovi guitarist and sidekick".

If Eric Clapton played on his first solo album it's because he was flattered and touched by Richie's letter (I posted it here last year but sorry, I won't bother to look for it now: I'm typing this post for the second time because I lost that page when I tried to open a new window and this get.media blank page is really REALLY annoying!). Anyway. Clapton didn't need to play with the famous younger guitarists of the era to stay relevant or further up his career and certainly not for money (he played for Richie for free), he did it because he felt like doing it, because he liked the guy (cf what you posted).

The same kind of thing happened with other guitarists: Richie happened to play with them at a charity concert or at some award ceremony gig, i.e. at events where musicians are assembled by the organizer or the music director, then Richie's playing and persona were appreciated by others and so they became friends and decided to play together again later. Rich and famous musicians don't bother to play with each other when they can't stand each other, they won't guest at someone's gig unless they truly appreciate the musician, there's nothing to earn in terms of fame and fortune so what for if not for the sheer joy of jamming together? I disagree with you, I don't think they see him as "Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi guitarist" or else they would rather die than be caught by his side! Remember that in the 80s/90s BJ bashing was the most common sport in the music industry and in the media (that is well documented too) and yet more respected guitarists jammed with him and/or listed him as one of the best guitarists around.


I agree. It's understandable that now he wants to be recognized as an artist on his own after 30 years in a band as second fiddle but he should have done so earlier, when he was at the top of his craft, not now that he's entangled in a downward spiral. But midlife crisis hits you at midlife, not at 30 or 40!

He is also proper friends with Jimmy Page too, and I think he is well acquainted with with Brian May.

Right. There is a video from KTF era, Jimmy Page went to a Bon Jovi concert to see Sambora. Even saying it on Tv, that he is a good friend of Richie.

Edit: Here the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZlIiCWlATc#t=01m33s

If have the friendship of one God of Guitar as Jimmy Page is not a sign of respect, then I don´t know what the hell it can be.