Bruno Mars is grateful for his success because his musical family struggled financially
Bruno Mars covers Rolling Stone for the first time for their May 2014 issue, and while he’s trying to look badass with his silk leopard-print shirt and cigarette, he’s nothing but grateful for the success he’s had. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he says. “Because I feel like I can enjoy this so much.”
The singer truly appreciates his rise fame and acclaim because of his family’s struggles with the ups and downs of making ends meet as entertainers. His family has a Las Vegas-style revue act in Hawaii, and at the age of two he was doing Elvis impressions for them. It was also around that age that Peter Gene Hernandez earned his nickname “Bruno.” His older sister Janice has said “The name Bruno came from baby times. Bruno was always so confident, independent, really strong-willed and kind of a brute — hence the name Bruno, and it kind of just stuck.”
Bruno’s family’s show included Motown hits, doo-wop melodies and celebrity impersonations. He officially joined the show at age four, and picked up musical instruments as he grew, and eventually added Michael Jackson to his impersonations. When he got to high school he formed a band called The School Boys that performed oldies alongside his family’s act, but trouble hit when the family act broke up and they struggled to pay their bills. When he was 18, Bruno moved to L.A. and immediately signed a deal with Motown after they heard him sing, but that definitely didn’t mean overnight success for the teenager. He had little money and was close to having to return home to Hawaii when he realized he could start writing songs for already established artists as a way to generate income. This difficult time was also a good thing because it forced Bruno to learn how to write songs, something he never really had to do during all those years with his family’s act. “I only started writing songs when I moved up to L.A., because when I was in Hawaii I never really needed to,” he told Biography.com. “But it stemmed from just learning that you have to do everything by yourself. It’s not like what you see in movies, where you walk into a record company and you’re given all these great songs to sing. You have to write the song the world is going to want to hear and play it over and over again. I learned that the hard way here in L.A.”
Bruno also revealed to Rolling Stone that his hit song “When I Was Your Man” was written for his girlfriend Jessica Caban when they were going through a rough patch. “You’re bringing up all these old emotions again,” he says. “It’s just like bleeding!”
Bruno’s Rolling Stone issue is out Friday, March 26
