After 40 years, 130 million albums sold, thousands of packed stadiums and many musical fads defied, Bon Jovi is still standing.
Anchoring some of rock’s most enduring anthems — “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Bad Medicine,” “It’s My Life,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Wanted Dead or Alive” — as well as new entries “Legendary” from the band’s upcoming album “Forever”, has long since gained icon status.
Bon Jovi’s story, from playing bleak clubs on the Jersey Shore to their zenith in the ’80s to decades of musical stylistic experimentation and sold-out tours, is presented with unflinching honesty on Thank You, Goodnight : The Bon Jovi Story”. The four-episode documentary that totals nearly five hours debuts April 26 on Hulu.
Directed by Gotham Chopra (“The Man in the Arena: Tom Brady,” “Greatness Code”), the film traverses the era of ripped jean shorts and frosted-top mane worn by Jon Bon Jovi in his 20s to painful vocal problems and gray shag that came in middle age.
Along with Jon Bon Jovi, 62, his fellow members drummer Tico Torres and keyboardist David Bryan often sound, as does guitarist Richie Sambora, who abruptly left Bon Jovi in 2013 and finally offers some explanation. The band’s original bassist Alec John Such, who left the band in 1994 and died in June 2022, has been eulogized.
In a recent video chat, Jon Bon Jovi, casual in a black T-shirt and drinking from a white mug, explained some of the film’s key elements, including his decades-long friendship with Bruce Springsteen, watching the documentary with Sambora. and the “mental anguish” he has endured while dealing with his vocal cord problems.
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Q: Heredity and mortality are central themes in the documentary. So, did you come out of the process feeling relieved that everything is there, or sad that aging doesn’t stop for anyone?
Jon Bon Jovi: It’s getting therapeutic because I’m speaking for the first time and it’s been a two-year project. It’s that old story of seeing your life flash before you as you pass, and I’ve had the benefit of having my life flash before me and not die. I’m glad we did.
The documentary is the first we’ve heard about the surgery you had in 2022 to try to repair your vocal cords. How does your voice sound now?
It is a work in progress. I had a fantastic surgeon in Philadelphia and I sing his praises because he never let me down in this process. He said, I will do what is called medialization. A Gore-Tex implant will be placed in the front of your throat, we will try to strengthen the cords and return them to a more flexible state so that you are better than you currently are. It has been a 22-month process and I work on it every day. At this moment, while people are watching the film, they think I am the way I was in the film. I am much further.
What do you think people will be most surprised about? For me, it was learning that Hugh played bass on “Livin’ on a Prayer” and that Alec and Tico did stints in rehab for addiction issues.
In the big picture, it was my desire to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, with all the flaws of what life is – not just in a band, but as a member of a team and family. There are small victories and big defeats along the way and this would not be a puff piece. I wasn’t interested in creating a 40-year-old piece of vanity. I’ve been at this for a long time… My hair is gray and I don’t have any needles in my face.
I also think people might be surprised to find out how far back your relationship goes with Bruce Springsteen.
Of course Bruce is the Mount Rushmore of rock ‘n’ roll and the king of rock ‘n’ roll in New Jersey. Look, the E Street Band and (Southside Johnny and) the Asbury Jukes made the impossible seem possible. You’d run into them in a bar, which is important because the posters on my wall of Led Zeppelin and Queen and Mott the Hoople, you wouldn’t run into those guys at the Jersey Shore.
And now you’ve given up the secret of your long drives with Bruce to New Jersey.
We were neighbors. Our children went to school together. We spent a lot of private time together, but we didn’t need to show it to the world. As we grew up, I was vocal about it because I didn’t feel the need to hide something that was true. I’ve known that guy for 45 years and he’s like a big brother.
Fans will be interested to hear from Richie and his reasons for leaving the band. Was it difficult to get him to participate?
No, he was an integral part of the band’s first 30 years. He and I watched the first three episodes together in August.
What did you think of his comments about why he left?
Everyone has their own truths and watching the movie together that night was not uncomfortable for me. He came to my house in New Jersey to see it. Seeing him in it, it’s hard to understand that 11 years ago he left and never came to see us to talk about it. Whether it was substance abuse or anxiety or single parenting, there were many things that led to this. One thing the public needs to understand is that there was no war, there was no anime. Being in a rock band isn’t a life sentence. Because Richie chose not to come again, it broke a lot of hearts, but there was no way the group would not continue.
Although Alec left Bon Jovi in 1994, I think fans will be touched to see how you honor his memory. Did he know the documentary was in the works when he died?
We had just started it (when he died). We had seen him in 2018 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, which was great. He spoke very well and played well when he joined us for a song. He was truly at peace. When he left the band, he joked that if I can’t be in Bon Jovi or The Rolling Stones, I’ll quit the business. And I respected him so much that he stood by her. He didn’t write a confession about it all, join any group or try to make the most of his time with us. He was very grateful for the time he was with us and for us to be with him.
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What do you think the next tour will look like, especially with the new album coming out? Would you consider doing something like Sphere in Las Vegas?
I was asked, after being at (opening night for) U2, could we consider it as THE tournament. I thought the Sphere was otherworldly. I liked. But at this time that is not an option for me. I loved being there, but the desert is not my friend and creating that content for an X factor of how many shows you can or will do, plus we don’t live on the West Coast so there’s no going home during the days of rest … none of them would make sense.
You end the documentary by saying, “If I can’t do it at 102%, then thank you and good night.” We’re not at that point yet, are we?
It was a year ago in the episode when I’m trying to sing “I Wrote You a Song” (from the upcoming album “Forever”) and it wasn’t working well. To be clear, I’m very capable of singing again, but the bar has to be 2 1/2 hours, four nights a week before I even consider touring. If there’s any uncertainty with the instrument, really, I won’t. I will not compromise either the legacy or the joy. I can no longer put myself through that mental torture of having a deficiency that was not of my making. You can only imagine the mental anguish of going, why isn’t it working? How do I compensate? You saw me perform at MusiCares (in February) and I think I sang very well. When I woke up (the next) morning, it was the first time in 10 years that I woke up without any other voices in my head. There was no doubt, no fear. Progress was coming.
