Bon Jovi goes country, sort of, on album

RUMSON, N.J., June 19 (UPI) -- Despite rumors to the contrary, New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi haven't gone country on their latest album, "Lost Highway."

"It's a Nashville-influenced Bon Jovi record," said Jon Bon Jovi, who released the album in the wake of last year's unexpected country chart success of "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles.

Bon Jovi grew up listening to Patsy Cline, Gene Autry and Hank Williams as a youth in Sayerville, N.J., along with myriad rock influences that led him to his current multi-platinum path. But while "Lost Highway" was recorded in Nashville and has a little more twang than its predecessors, he says calling it country would be disingenuous.

"I wouldn't say something I'm not," he said. "I wouldn't be something I'm not. I wouldn't come out wearing a Stetson tomorrow. It would be a lie."