Jon Bon Jovi on his recovering voice, new album Forever, and documentary Thank You, Goodnight
- Jon Bon Jovi reveals how his vocal cords are recovering after surgery and how therapy is still intensive – ‘Every day is sort of like doing curls with weights’
- He talks about the goal of the new album, how the door is open to perform with Richie Sambora again, and whether he is considering selling his music catalogue
When Jon Bon Jovi agreed to let director Gotham Chopra follow him with a documentary camera to delve into the history of his band – Bon Jovi – he did not anticipate it would catch him at a major low point in his career.
The band was launching a tour, and despite doing all he could do to be vocally ready, the “Livin’ on a Prayer” singer struggled through songs and could not hit the notes the way he used to.
Critics noticed and wrote about it. One US review said: “It felt like he had forgotten how to sing.”
In a recent interview, Bon Jovi said the reaction at the time was “heartbreaking”. After exhausting holistic options, he saw a doctor who said one of his vocal cords was atrophying.
“This was unique. It wasn’t a nodule. The strong [vocal cord] was pushing the weak one around, and suddenly, my inabilities were just exacerbated,” Bon Jovi said.
He underwent major surgery and is still recovering.
“Every day is sort of like doing curls with weights and just getting them both to be the same size and to function together.”
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This year has been a turning point. In February, he performed for an audience for the first time since his operation. The band’s next album, Forever, hits stores on June 7, and its first single, “Legendary”, is out now.
Then there’s the four-part documentary Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which debuted on streaming platform Hulu in the United States on April 26.
In a Q&A, Bon Jovi talks about his voice, the music industry and his work ethic.
The work you put in behind the scenes is like a quarterback in between American football games. Are you still rehearsing at that intensity, and how are you now?
I’m doing great. The record was easy to do. The process has been steady. Would I like it to be a light switch? Yeah. I said to the doctor, ‘I want to flip the switch and be done with this.’ It’s just not how it works.
Like an athlete coming back from an ACL tear or whatever, it just takes time. The therapy is still intensive and yet I’m confident that it gets progressively better.
Your work ethic stands out in Thank You, Goodnight. We see in the early days you would sleep at the music studio. Where does that come from?
If you’re not going to be great, the guy that’s coming in tomorrow night is going to be better. This isn’t a career that you should take lightly.
There’s a million other young guys that are waiting to take your spot. And there are no guarantees in this business … You have to win hearts in order to win people’s hard-earned dollar.
If you’re asking them to stay with you for four decades, that’s a task. You better be one of the greats or else good luck.
[Former Bon Jovi lead guitarist] Richie Sambora is interviewed in the series. The fans love seeing him. Do you think you will ever perform together again?
We never had a big falling out. He quit 10 years ago. It’s not that we’re not in contact or anything like that, but he was choosing to, as a single dad, raise his child.
The door is always open if he wants to come up and sing a song. I mean, there’s many of them that we co-wrote together. That’s a great part of both of our lives. There’s no animosity here.
A lot of musicians are selling their music catalogue. Would you?
For some, it makes sense because they need to. For some, it makes sense because they want to. I just find [Bon Jovi’s music] to be my baby, and I have no desire at this juncture in my life to ever even consider it.
The music industry is such a singles market now. Did you ever consider just putting out some new songs and not an entire album?
See, I’m the opposite. I can only put out an album. I do all I know how to do. I have to tell the complete story. It has to be the beginning, a middle and an end, because that’s who and what we are.
How do you describe the new album?
What comes through is joy. My goal with this record was to capture joy, which for these last few years has been difficult, whether it’s the dark cloud of Covid-19 that the world experienced or my own personal journey. With this record, I think we captured joy.
