Jon Bon Jovi talks 'mental anguish' of vocal cord issues, 'big brother' Bruce Springsteen

After 40 years, 130 million albums sold, thousands of stadiums filled and many a musical fad dodged, Bon Jovi is still standing.

The anchors of some of rock’s most durable 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 entry “Legendary” from the band’s upcoming “Forever” album, long ago achieved icon status.

Bon Jovi’s history, from playing grimy clubs on the Jersey Shore to their zenith in the ‘80s to decades more of musical stylistic experimentation and sold-out tours, is presented with unflinching honesty in “Thank You, Goodnight:  The Bon Jovi Story.” The four-episode documentary totaling nearly five hours debuts Friday on Hulu.

Directed by Gotham Chopra (“Man in the Arena: Tom Brady,” “Greatness Code”), the film traverses the era of ripped jean shorts and the frosted-tipped mane sported by Jon Bon Jovi in his 20s to the agonizing vocal issues and gray shag that arrived in middle age.

Along with Jon Bon Jovi, 62, fellow original members drummer Tico Torres and keyboardist David Bryan chime in frequently, as does guitarist Richie Sambora, who abruptly departed Bon Jovi in 2013 and finally offers somewhat of an explanation. The band’s original bassist, Alec John Such, who left the group in 1994 and died in June 2022, is eulogized.

In a recent video chat, Jon Bon Jovi, casual in a black T-shirt and sipping from a white mug, expounded on some of the key elements of the film, including his decades-long friendship with Bruce Springsteen, watching the documentary with Sambora and the “mental anguish” he’s endured while working through his vocal cord problems.

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Question: Legacy and mortality are the central themes in the documentary. So have you emerged from the process feeling relieved that everything is out there, or sad that aging stops for no one?

Answer: It’s becoming therapeutic because I’m speaking about it for the first time and it’s been a two-year project. There is that old story that you see your life flash before you when you pass and I’ve had the benefit of having my life flash before me and not passed away. I’m happy we did it.

The documentary is the first time we heard about the surgery you had in 2022 to try to repair your vocal cords. How does your voice sound to you now?

It’s a work in progress. I had a fantastic surgeon in Philadelphia and I sing his praise because he’s never misled me in this process. He said I’m going to do what’s called a medialization. There will be a Gore-Tex implant put in the front of your throat, we’ll try to strengthen the cords and get them back to being more supple so you can be better than you currently are. It’s been a process for 22 months and every day I work at it. At this juncture, as people are seeing the film, they think I’m as I was in the film. I’m much further along.

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 show the whole truth and nothing but the truth, with all of the blemishes of what life is – not only in a band but as a member of a team and family. There are little victories and big defeats along the way and this wasn’t going to be a puff piece. I wasn’t interested in creating a 40-year vanity piece. I’ve been at this for a long time … My hair went gray and there’s not a needle in my face.

I also think people might be surprised to find out how far back your relationship goes with Bruce Springsteen.

Obviously, 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 were gonna 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 weren’t going to meet those guys on the Jersey shore.

And now you’ve given up the secret of your long drives with Bruce in New Jersey.  

We were neighbors. Our kids went to school together. We spent a lot of private time together but didn’t need to tell the world. As we’ve grown older, I’m vocal about it because I didn’t feel the need to hide something that was true. I’ve just known the guy for 45 years and he happens to be 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 involved in participating?

No, he was an integral part of the first 30 years of the band. He and I watched the first three episodes together in August.

What did you think about his comments about why he left?

Everybody has their own truths and watching the film together on that night was not uncomfortable for me. He came to my home in New Jersey to watch it. Seeing him in it, it’s hard to comprehend that 11 years ago he quit and never came to see us to have a conversation about it. Whether it was substance abuse or anxiety or single parenting, there were a lot of things that led to that. One thing the public has to understand is that there was no fight, there was no animas. Being in a rock band is not a life sentence. Because Richie chose to not come anymore, it broke a lot of hearts but there was no way the band was not going to continue.

Even though 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’d seen him in 2018 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, which was wonderful. He was very well-spoken and he played well when he joined us for a song. He was really at peace. When he left the band he jokingly said if I can’t be in Bon Jovi or The Rolling Stones, I’m quitting the business.  And I so respected that he stuck to that. He didn’t write a tell-all or join some band or try to capitalize on his time with us. He was very grateful for the time he was with us and that we were with him.

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What do you think future touring looks like, especially with the new album coming out? Would you consider doing something like the Sphere in Las Vegas?

I was asked, having been at (opening night of) U2, could we consider that as the tour. I thought the Sphere was otherworldly. I loved it. But at this time that isn’t 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 can you or would you do, plus we don’t live on the West Coast so there is no going home on days off … none of it would make sense.

You end the documentary by saying, “If I can’t do it at 102%, then thank you and goodnight.” 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 “Forever” album) and it wasn’t working well. To be clear, I’m very capable of singing again, but the bar needs to be 2 ?-hours, four nights a week before I’ll consider touring. If there is any uncertainty with the instrument, truthfully, I’m not going to do it. I will not compromise the legacy or the joy. I can no longer put myself through that mental torture of having had a deficiency that was not of my own doing. 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 I woke up without any other voices in my head. There was no doubt, there was no fear. Progress was coming.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bon Jovi didn't want Hulu documentary to be a '40-year vanity piece'