Tico Torres

The drummer and founding member of Bon Jovi, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Hector Samuel Juan "Tico" Torres (born October 7, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and one of the founding members of the rock band Bon Jovi. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Bon Jovi. Torres was born in New York City and brought up in the Colonia section of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. His parents, Emma and Héctor, emigrated from Cuba in 1948. He attended John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Iselin. Torres met Alec John Such while playing with a band called Phantom's Opera, and it was this friendship that led to him joining Bon Jovi.

Quick Facts

Birth name

Hector Samuel Juan Torres

Alias

Tico, The Hitman

Born

7 October 1953

Birthplace

New York City, U.S.

Instruments

Drums

Genre

Hard rock
glam metal
arena rock
pop rock
jazz fusion
blues

Occupation

Musician

Years active

1969–present

Lore & Background

Torres was a jazz fan as a youth and studied music with Joe Morello. In 1969, he played drums for the psychedelic rock band Six Feet Under. Before joining Bon Jovi in 1983, Torres had already played live with Joe Cerisano's R-Band a.k.a. Silver Condor in the New Jersey Rock circuit. Torres was also one of the drummers auditioned by Kiss in 1980 after original drummer Peter Criss left the band. He was the original drummer for the glam rock band T. Roth and Another Pretty Face and played on their 1980 album Face Facts. When Jon Bon Jovi approached Torres, he was put off by the fact that Jon was 9 years younger than he was. He said it was Jon's charismatic appearance and watching him perform that attracted him to join the band. Known as "The Hitman," Torres is primarily a drummer and percussionist, but he sang lead vocals on a song on the box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong, as well as backing vocals on a couple of the early Bon Jovi tracks, notably "Born to Be My Baby" and "Love for Sale."

Reader's Guide

Aside from his success as a drummer, Torres discovered another talent: painting. He has exhibited his art since 1994. The successful first show was at the Ambassador Galleries in Soho, New York. Torres is a self-taught painter, who paints expressive pictures which show scenes from everyday life and his life with the band. His painting talent was shown in one of the three videos made for the single "Who Says You Can't Go Home." Torres also owns a fashion line for babies called Rock Star Baby. Torres and his first wife divorced soon after the formation of Bon Jovi in 1983. In 1996, Torres married Czech-born model Eva Herzigová in Sea Bright, New Jersey. Their marriage ended two years later. Torres married Maria Alejandra in September 2001, his third marriage; they divorced in 2008. They have a son, born on January 9, 2004.