By Michael Gallucci, Loudwire | Jack Ponti, a producer and songwriter who worked with Bon Jovi and Alice Cooper, has died. The New Jersey-based musician was 66. An obituary from his hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey, notes that he died on Oct. 7 and “while widely recognized for his musical genius, it was his boundless love for his family, generosity of spirit and fierce loyalty that truly defined him.”
Ponti was born Giacomo Pontoriero in Newark on Feb. 16, 1958, and started his career in music in the New Jersey area during the late ’70s, when he played guitar in a band called the Rest, which included a pre-fame Jon Bon Jovi as its singer.
In a 2005 interview with Metal Sludge, Ponti said that Southside Johnny and the E Street Band were supporters of his band, but nothing ever came of it. He added that a demo produced by Billy Squier also went nowhere. (“I owe a giant f— you to Billy Squier for making us round up $3,000 for him to produce our demo and then, after he made it big, told me and Jon to stop bothering him,” Ponti recalled to Metal Sludge.)
What Records Did Jack Ponti Work On?
Ponti stayed in touch with his old Rest bandmate, cowriting the song “Shot Through the Heart” from Bon Jovi’s self-titled debut album in 1984. For the next decade, Ponti helped write songs for Alice Cooper, Keel, Nelson, Kane Roberts, Trixter and others.
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Go here to read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/jack-ponti-bon-jovi-alice-cooper-songwriter-dies-at-66/
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jack-ponti-songwriter-dies/
Photo: Jack Ponti | From his obituary
https://thompsonmemorial.net/obituaries/2590-jack-ponti-giacomo-pontoriero-2?