David Bryan
Memphis, the Broadway musical for which David Bryan wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics alongside Joe DiPietro, earned Bryan the Tony Award for Best Original Score — a recognition that placed the rock keyboardist among the ranks of celebrated theatrical composers.
Bryan was born on February 7, 1962, in Edison, New Jersey, and received a formal musical education that moved from John P. Stevens High School to the Juilliard School and then to Rutgers University. That grounding in both classical training and academic study shaped a musician who would work across more than one idiom. He is a founding member of the rock band Bon Jovi, in which he serves as keyboardist, performs backing vocals, and has contributed as a co-writer of songs. The band operates in the rock genre, and Bryan's role within it spans performance and composition in roughly equal measure. His work with Bon Jovi brought him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, when the band was inducted as a group.
The theatrical work that produced the Tony came through his collaboration with DiPietro on Memphis, a musical whose score Bryan composed while also sharing credit on the lyrics. That award represents a distinct strand of his output, separate from his decades of work with Bon Jovi. Bryan holds the Library of Congress authorized name "Bryan, David, 1962-," a designation that reflects the breadth of a catalog spanning rock recordings and a Broadway score recognized at the highest level of the American theatrical industry.
Quotes by David Bryan
The Broadway run of 'Memphis' has been like going to the moon. It was so great to actually open at the Shubert Theatre and then amazing to be nominated for eight Tonys and attend all the luncheons and events.
I love the Memphis sound. When I was 16-and-a-half, with my driver's permit, I was playing New Jersey clubs in a 10-piece band; we had a horn section and would play great, great songs like 'Hold On! I'm Comin'' and 'Knock on Wood' and 'Midnight Hour.'
Before 'Memphis,' I had never considered working on a musical. But when Joe DiPietro sent me the script, I heard the entire score in my head.
Any honor is an honor. You can't really say which one is better than the next, but it's always wonderful when you're honored by your peers for your work.
One of the greatest things about our band is that we bring the American dream to the world. Here's a bunch of kids that were living in nowhere New Jersey, and we made it through a lot of practice and a lot of work and a lot of luck. It shows the world, 'If we did it, you can do it.'
I remember, when I was very young and going to the Fillmore East and watching three of my favorite bands in one night, I'd want a hit. I want to hear the songs that brought them to that pinnacle of success.
We would say we would play every pay toilet and use our own change. Across America and across the world, we just kept going and going.