Original subtitles

Good evening. Tonight's a very special night. I'm going to be joined by a dear

friend and his band.

Their music has been the soundtrack for millions of people's lives worldwide for

the last 42 years.

Of course, I'm talking about the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Bon Jovi.

As you face this issue with your boys not having that uncertainty, what

do you have to let go of to be the man that I'm sitting across from today?

Dreams don't have to end just because we're 60.

You have to give up who you think you are to become who you want to be.

We've got to reinvent. We've got to be resilient.

And I think that's why you're here 42 years later as popular as you've ever

been. I'm not afraid of shedding the skin with each decade.

Tony, it's been three -plus years to get here tonight. I could not have...

been here with you if it wasn't for each and every one of these guys.

They didn't give up on me.

Thanks for joining us. So happy to be here. I'm so thrilled you're here, man.

What a journey you've been on. Yeah, so far so good.

So I'd like to go back. You started out in a non -musical family. I just got to

meet your dad. Yeah. What a special man.

Thank you. I know how he's incredibly proud of you. Your mom gave you a guitar

when you were seven years old, acoustic guitar, and you set it aside.

What changed all that?

I set it aside. I threw it down the basement stairs.

Are you serious? One of the tuning pegs broke and it sat there in the basement

for the next six years.

But between seven and 13, you mature.

I think by 13, you start to appreciate music a little differently. And even at

13, you're very young and you don't know what to do with this thing yet. But you

start to hear songs on the radio and then, you know, you... You strum it, and

you think, this thing can make some noise. But that was all I thought of it

the time. Yeah. But there was a man who entered your life, a neighbor, right?

What role did he play?

Fantastic story and good fortune for me. But a young family moved in across the

street. And this man, he played guitar in his own band, and they were playing

lounges. And to me... He was in a band.

So what he did, as opposed to the kind of a teacher that your parents might

taken to at seven or eight years old who was teaching you how to play scales and

it wasn't exciting or inviting, playing ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

This guy was like, let me show you how to play House of the Rising Sun. Now

you're like, oh.

These are the chords to Thin Lizzy's The Boys are back in time. You go, oh.

Yeah. And so fortunately for me, Al Paranello, God rest his soul.

Yeah, he was the neighbor across the street. Wow.

It's amazing how sometimes people we meet along the way that you have no idea

are going to change your destiny. He was an angel. Yeah, yeah.

But you had to do your part, too.

Certainly. Yeah. Now, what's interesting is, you know, you can have huge goals,

and you set some pretty big goals at a very early stage. And a lot of people

have them, but they're not real. And I always tell people, role models make it

real. But sometimes a role model seems too far off. Led Zeppelin was big in

those days. Tell us about, you know, living there in Asbury Park, 25 minutes

from where you lived, and Bruce Springsteen and the environment you were

how did that affect your belief that you could really make this happen? Well,

there were seven members of the E Street Band, which is Bruce's band. There were

10 members of the Asbury Jukes. So chances were, one of 17 young men were

to be hanging in the bar. So therefore, Santa Claus and all of the gang... Yes.

We're going to be in one of those bars.

Sounds like Johnny ended up producing some of my very first demos when I was

just a singer in someone's band. Where I have a photograph of Bruce jumping on

stage with me for the first time in 1979.

I'm still in high school.

Could you imagine going to school the next day?

I've got a story to tell.

You know, the teacher's like, you're in a bar until, you know, one, two in the

morning. I go, yeah, look at the guy next to me. You know, and it's Bruce

jumping on stage because I was the young kid that was...

Coming up. That's wild.

And Bruce recognized your passion early on. What did he tell you in those early

days? Thanks for playing my songs is what he said. No, really.

You know, I mean, in truth, it was an amazing time in Asbury Park. He is the

reason why Asbury Park became what it was. You know, it was his music and it

his music that helped Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes kick off their

careers as well.

And so everything was.

related to that in some way shape or form of course growing up on those

That they were my Beatles.

Well, one of the principles I always teach people is it's not enough to have

desire and the goals.

Proximity is power.

If you get in the environment where it's happening and you're around the people

and you deliver, you have value, then you've got a much better chance than if

you're off someplace else where there's no relationship.

And you did that in many ways.

But it's not enough. You still have to make the right decisions.

You do. And you were a cover band, basically, covering Bruce's music and so

forth. And you made a really important decision when you said, no, I'm going to

play my own music.

Tell me how you made that decision and how important was that to your career?

I was a young, young kid. I was just 18 years old.

That really was important in what was to become my life. Yes. Because the

drinking age in New Jersey was 18.

So you could be 16 and 17 and sneak into a bar and play.

Right. What I mean by that, it wasn't about the alcohol. It was the

Right. Compounded by the fact that you didn't have a lot of responsibility.

At 16, 17, 18. You didn't even have to decide, am I going to a university? Am I

going to get a trade job?

What my parents saw in me, which was very important to the story, was if

going to be in a bar until 1 or 2 in the morning, at least we know where you

are. Because they could see how hard we were trying.

Although that was going well, it wasn't a career for two reasons.

One, it didn't really pay that much money, especially with 10 guys in the

What did you get paid in those days? $100, $150.

A piece?

Or do you mean for the whole band? For the band. 10 guys.

And second, the thing was, is I knew that if you chose to play someone

else's music, you could only ever go so far.

Right.

What you would aspire to was people to be playing.

Your music. Yeah. And I even realized at 18 years old, I was becoming the

Muppets version of Southside. Now, it's forgivable at 18.

Yeah. It wouldn't be forgivable at 30.

Or even 27 and 28 these days.

But, you know, so I saw it at 18. I quit my own band, much to David's dismay.

Yes. And I became a lead singer in someone else's band.

Wow. Just because they were doing original songs, and I was very anxious

learn how to...

write and how to write better and so i became the lead singer of someone else's

band for a short period of time but that you know one letter to another to

another jen you went to work as a gopher basically in 1980 at the power station

and you got to be around some of the biggest bands in the world i wrote down

rolling stones queen aerosmith what did you learn by being around these bands at

those early stages before you really had made anything yeah the truth is i think

my biggest takeaway was the bigger the star the nice of the person mick jagger

said how good them was gone you know or you get that phone call from little

steven at 11 o 'clock at night at your mother's house says we're cutting this

song you know that kind of a thing that aerosmith let me hang out in the studio

late late late you know while i was fetching beer and coffee or whatever but

know that you're in there and they're like that's okay stand in the corner

yeah you know so you do the bigger the star the nicer the person

It's amazing.

Well, you went out and you got turned down by 11 record companies and most

people would just give up. But I love this about you, John. You strategically

thought about this as a strategy. You said, like, who is the most lonely guy

these radio stations? Tell us a little bit your strategy and how you got on the

air. Well, that was the thing is I had sent cassettes out with.

promo shot and a handwritten letter you have to look for an 18 year old kid i

was i was doing okay but the letter went out with the cassette to managers to

labels to anybody who would take a look and listen and i wasn't getting anywhere

and one day i thought about who is the most passionate but lonely man or woman

in the music business and it was a dj this was like a lightning strike i went

know that this makes perfect sense because DJs at the time could be very

influential. It was regional. They could break an artist out of New York or

Philadelphia or Ohio, you know, and you broke regionally and you built your

career that way. It wasn't an overnight thing where the Internet allows you to

be worldwide the first day. So anyway, there was a brand new radio station in

New York City. It was so new they didn't have a receptionist. So when I went

there. knock on the window the program director comes out and he says we're on

the air okay i'll shush what do you want i gotta play something for you they go

stick around the reason they said stick around was they were going to put out a

an album of homegrown talent oh wow and they said we'd like to talk to you okay

if your song's any good who are you what's your story Shift was done. DJ

Hobart came out. John Lastman came out. We spoke.

I played him the song. He said, it's a hit song.

I said, I know, but no one else will listen.

Now I'm on the radio in New York City. It went to like eight stations, didn't

it? Doubleday owned the chain.

So now I'm in Denver. I'm in Tampa. I'm in Chicago.

I'm in New York. No record deal, no band, no manager, no nothing.

Same A &R guys in all of New York and L .A. are going like this through their

stacks of manila envelopes looking for that and coming around.

So you had a hit record before you had any label. Or a band.

Or even a band.

Yeah. So how did you go about building your band?

You're going to have a record label.

You've got a hit record. You don't have a band. So how did you come together?

Obviously, David was already a part of your history. Tell us a little about

that. what i was trying to do was put together a band and i'm thinking i've

four to six weeks of this radio yeah moment yes if i can get some guys maybe

can build you know a little marquee value so that when i'm booking myself

there in the original circuit I could start getting paid. Yeah. You know,

because still, you're at $100 a night for the band.

And so I got a hold of Alex Hutch, who was in one of the successful cover

Right. He could sing. He could play. He looked the part. He was a great guy.

He knew Tico.

Oh, he knew Tico. And Tico was really successful, too, right? Not only was

successful, but he was the baddest -ass drummer in Ashbury Park.

You know, and he was in a band that had a record deal.

Yeah. And he was between legs of a tour with Frankie and the Knockouts. Wow. And

we started playing.

Different guitar player, a kid named Snake Sabo from the neighborhood, the

second student of only three students with Al Parinello, the neighborhood guy.

Two of us, which went on to make records. So Al had a pretty good track

Wow. And that was the band for this showcase stuff.

Wow. And then Richie came and saw me play one night. And he said, we should

talk. And I said, great. You know, let's.

Let's get to know each other. He had quite an attitude. I heard he said, I'm

going to be your lead guitarist.

Straight away. I was curious, you know, what was his background? What was his

story? But Alec also played in an original band with him. So Alec, again,

vouched for Richie.

So let's hit it off. Let's see if we can write together, how we play together,

how we sing together.

I immediately hit it off with him. I thought the world of him. And he was an

incredible talent.

completed the lineup but still i thought it was going to be a couple few weeks

because i expected tico to leave richie and alec were in an original band and

dave was going to go back to school so what kept that from happening runaways

climbing the charts and i signed a record deal that I still have to this

Polygram, right? It was Polygram, and now it's Universal.

But the same record deal, same everything 43 years later. Wow, that's

incredible. All these years, 42 years. I think it was 1983 when you went to

Madison Square Garden, right? Now everybody's interested in you. That

didn't go the way you wanted to, did it? Well, what happened now, we're on that

stage, and we have a 30 -minute set, and it was wonderful.

People have asked me recently, were you afraid?

No, I wasn't afraid. I don't think any of us were afraid, because we all had

enough bar band chops.

Yeah. But what had happened was Richie was meant to start a song, and as he

went, it didn't work.

So now we're on stage, and he goes again, and it don't work. And he's like,

don't know.

It's dark, and you can't help yourself, and you can't see anything. So I take my

guitar off. I give it to him as the crowd is chanting, see, see, talk, see,

talk. And our hearts are sinking.

By the time he takes my guitar and just starts wailing away and starts the first

song, the 30 -minute set became 17 minutes because we played like the

We ran through the songs so fast.

You know, this is where you cut your teeth.

This is how you learn to do it. And our first record, our second record, the

beginning of the third record, we're out there earning our chops and winning

hearts and minds on a nightly basis in a variety of situations, which, again, it

only helped us. And if you could put yourself in our shoes for a moment, when

you're the opening act and there's gear like this, well, they don't move that

gear. So you're setting your gear up here.

Chances are that drum is at my back. You have this much room. There's no room.

There's no lights for you. There's no video screens for you. There's nothing.

You get a microphone. Good luck. Now, your real explosion, though, really

happened when you went to Japan. They treated you like you were the Beatles. I

mean, thousands of people meeting you at the airport.

Who knew? Why did they take off there and have that affect the band?

I think that what that gave us with one little small accolade was our first

attaboy. So at least, you know, now you're out and you're working and you're

getting quarters thrown at you and you're getting no room on the stage. But

the Scorpions and their manager took us to Japan to open on this festival and we

won hearts and minds over, it was a well -deserved attaboy because it wasn't an

overnight thing. You know, they were like.

There you go. You got one. So we got our first gold record.

You know, we got, you know, that kind of, we went on to become, it was

wonderful. It was wonderful.

We became one of the biggest, if not the biggest international band in Japan.

Right. You know, for many, many, many, many, many years.

So I'm thinking of 1986, a few years later, and you do your third album,

really took off slippery when wet. I mean, I remember I was 23 years old at

time, I think, something like that, 25.

Yeah. And I was working out to your music like I didn't know you then, going

crazy on this is the great living like a prairie. It was incredible. But you

were up in Vancouver.

There was a slight change the way you looked at the music. New producer, as I

understand. Yeah. And I understand the name came from a strip club there in

Vancouver. I heard that you guys had an album cover and that you got censored.

on it. And so you just took some, we took a trash bag and put that across

through some water and let it slip through and wet? Yeah. So the first

working title of the record was wanted dead or alive and we all grew beards and

mustaches and wore dusters and we shot the actual album cover for the song

wanted dead or alive and the pr lady from the record label flew up to to see

in vancouver hey remember now this is before the internet before fax machines

before cell phones you couldn't get to vancouver unless it was a connection it

was hard to even get to and it was the wild west out there

She flies in and sees us with beards, mustaches, and dusters, and she's like,

over my dead body. You know, you're 25 years old, and I, like the cute boy, get

in there and shave. And so, like, okay, we begrudgingly, you know, go in and

take another picture.

Middle of the night, Mark Weiss, the photographer, and I shoot water onto a

hefty garbage bag, takes a picture, but it looks like the cosmos.

And I go, well, that's not going to work.

So we take another one, he squirts it, and I write.

Slippery when wet. And my finger takes a picture. I go, that's the album cover.

We have no time. It's this or nothing.

And I thought if it worked for ACDC back in black, a black album cover's got to

work. And I turn it in. And that's what it is. The photograph on the back isn't

a real picture. It was taken at the video shoot for Bad Name because we

have any other pictures unless we had beards and mustaches.

That's an incredible story.

And now you find out you have the number one album in the world and you're

opening with somebody else in like Sioux Falls.

Tell me that.

It's the third album. We're in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in a Holiday Inn

opening for 38 Special who had a lot of... radio hits at the time they were

fabulous and fabulous to us and um and we get word that bad names you know

rocketing up the charts and the album came in and it's going to be number one

now we're going to have a number one album and we're still the support act

flies out on a private plane which to us was like colonel parker all the way

right he comes into sioux falls in his little learjet and we have a wonderful

night and we celebrate our accomplishment this is great and it's

Gets on the plane with all of us the next morning. Instead of getting on the

buses to go to wherever the next city was. And we clam on to a Learjet with

members of the band and the manager.

So we're like this. You know what a Learjet is. It's a tiny sardine can.

And we're on this thing. We get there. Now we're still very excited. Go to the

promoter and say, this is amazing.

We're going to have the number one record next week. The promoter knows

we're selling a lot of tickets.

And by the way, we came in on a private plane. And the promoter says.

I'm going to pay for the plane tonight to take you to the next city as a reward

and an accomplishment. Good for you.

Now the precocious young kid's going, put on the cute act tomorrow night,

and we're going to get a plane free tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

I never said put on a bus again.

You then had this explosion that happened because now MTV comes along.

Tell us how that changed you. It was like rocket fuel for you guys.

It was. For the whole genre, you know, the MTV generation, it was now in

households from coast to coast. It was the biggest cultural phenomena of the

80s. Yeah. And we benefited from it. Didn't that take you at different levels

global band at that stage?

Another trick.

Why Bad Name, which was a great song, a number one song and all that kind of

good news.

We wanted to show everyone what a great live band we were. And we said to this

young director named Wayne Isham, you capture this over and over and over.

And that's why Bad Name Prayer wanted.

Come and see this band. Come and see this band. Come and see this band. Oh,

that's smart.

You had enough authority, enough power to be able to make this decision. Well,

by that point, well, enough mistakes were made.

You learned. Yeah. Listen, so you get to 1990.

You've been...

living an insane life for a decade.

You're exhausted, you're tired, you're burnt out. You get to Mexico and things

kind of blew up. Tell us about what happened at that stage.

You had a good time. You guys were doing things that most young men would have

loved to have done. Sure.

But tell us about what you experienced, the good part, and then what was the

price you paid by 1990?

Well, those in charge were truly doing their jobs, now that I really can look

back on it many decades later.

But if they...

had done their jobs with a little more perspective, they would have been a

little more nurturing and said to young guys, I believe in you. Go home for six

months, and then we'll come back. You know, a year after the slippery when wet

phenomena, one year after, We had written and recorded and were back on

with New Jersey, which yielded five more top ten hits than 240 more shows.

So understandably, we were tired of each other's jokes.

It wasn't like there was ever a fight or anything, but we were exhausted

mentally and physically.

Everybody went their separate ways for the better part of two years.

And the great news was that growth came out of it for the individuals.

The perception was, oh, this is the beginning of the end. I never believed

was going to be the beginning of the end. But I did know that unless there

some changes made physically and mentally, we couldn't survive this.

Yes. You know, I don't know who could.

This is a cliche in entertainment.

But you get to the pinnacle and then it's really hard to stay there. So you

twice as hard to do it. Yeah. And you can and you do most likely flame out.

Yeah. Whether it's steroid shots, whether it's, you know, alcohol or in

for some drugs or some, you know, just beating yourself up or relationships at

home suffer.

These things all were real. The beautiful thing about you guys as a

I've loved about you, John, is the loyalty you've all had to each other,

your most stressful times. And so you knew you could have gone on on your own,

but you didn't want to. You wanted that brotherhood back.

I never. So is that when you took, when did you fire Doc and decide you're going

to run the show?

You know, it's a harsh word to say I fired him, but I did let him go. It was

that point when I had such success with writing songs for film, and I found it

easy and exciting and a challenge when I thought, I should study acting, if only

to get my hands on scripts to write more songs, it would also expand as an

artist the opportunity for me to grow in something in the arts. So I had said to

my first manager, I would like to do this, and his...

Thought process was no you should be with the black t -shirt crowd doing this

and I said this is where we see things differently And so I said, you know, I

don't get it and he said well Then you should go and do it on your own. I said,

I think I will Well, you also though it allows you to take back control the

quality of your life for you and the band because you have actually Become

manager of your own band. Are you still today?

No longer. Okay, good. In truth, in 2016, I hit a glass ceiling and I just

didn't know any more tricks.

But you were able to at least take control of your destiny. Yeah. Make sure

didn't burn out. Oh, yeah. You worked with a team to make that happen. Nearly

years of self -management. Wow. That's a lot. That's true.

So now we get into that stage of your life where grunge comes into the boat.

And, you know, all the bands of the 80s and, you know, the 90s are now coming

towards the end. Yeah.

It's looking like, you know, you guys are... All the critics are saying you

are gone, but you're filling stadiums in the 90s. You did some of the biggest

scripts in the world. How did you pull that off during that time when

you... You know, we were never worried about what anyone else did. I think

again, was one of our strengths.

Don't chase fads.

nor fashions because you're always going to be a day late and a dollar short yep

you're right let's stay the course and mature and grow as writers and and as a

band and and and become the next decades version of us you know you came up with

it's my life and it's like a whole new audience another generation discovered

you like you're a brand new band true tell us a little bit about that and what

that did for the band when you know again we we thrive in the 90s from

back together with Keep the Faith and touring that, putting out Always and the

Crossroads record, then These Days, and then again, with, again, big public

blessing. Richie's going to do a solo record. I'm going to do a solo record.

We're not going to tour them. This is going to be fun and art.

And then I was doing a lot of movies.

Came back from Malta and Rome, where I was in U571, and we write It's My Life.

Like Frankie said, I did it my way. I had to fight for the lyric, because

says, I know what it is.

But no one else is going to care.

And I said, well, to me, and Mr. Sinatra was, you know, still alive, just

passed. This matters.

Like Frankie said, I did it my way. He was making movies. He was making

He went on to own the record company. He got a president elected.

You know, he was a huge inspiration for me.

And I said, it matters. He said, I get it. You have to sing that lyric every

night. So I understand.

Now, Frankie.

to me, was Mr. Sinatra. But to Jane and Joe, it became their buddy, their

brother. Yeah. You know, somebody that they could latch on to, like Tommy and

Gina. Yeah, yeah. You see?

So it really became an anthem for anyone who had an

aspiration. Yeah, and it's all about your life, man. It's all about what our

life is. We've got to reinvent.

We've got to be resilient. We're going to now have the band and yourself to go

up and deliver it live for us. Wonderful. It's my life on Jovi.

This ain't a song for the broken hearted.

No panic, breath, hope, deep, deep hearted.

I ain't gonna be just whizzing about.

Gonna hear my voice shout out loud.

You ain't even lucky, gotta beg your own...

When they're calling you out, don't bend, don't break, don't back.

To think that we could ever fight.

You don't need to even try.

We're kicked, paid, and justified.

Cause your son's bricks on bricks.

The book you don't try to pick. Now, yeah, there ain't no wise in you.

Don't get up, but you did this.

and decide what kind of me do I am.

Living in love with the Lord of the land.

These are my dreams, that's where we stand.

Raise my hand to me.

I knew before I knew you, that you were gonna be the one.

So take me up the dead lane, cause that's just what we do, where we come

Can you leave any chance for me?

You said, boy, don't you hurt me. Yeah, you got it cracking up.

Now look at us, look at us, look at us.

We had our time to know all night that I had to do your thing.

But you've never been afraid to dream of dreaming about everything.

And it doesn't matter. It's only right to feel like home to me.

We'll always be there.

Right. It changes.

We'll be right back.

We'll always be there.

Now, where have all the summers gone?

Here we are still going strong, going strong, going strong.

We had our time looking up all night at the lights in New York City.

Seven eagles are playing in the deep, but it's evening, my favorite thing.

Bigger stars are rising, glory, I still feel like home to me.

We'll all be red, white, and blue.

Red, white, blue, blue, blue.

Red, white.

You came out with this album, This House Is

Not For Sale. And it was just like, it was this core statement. What were you

saying to the world at that stage?

There's a line in the song, this heart, this soul, this house.

this house yeah cannot be compromised yeah you know it is people have tried to

tear it down a number of times whether it's the beginning of the 90s whether it

was because of grunge whether it was 2000 and we come back with it's my life

2005 when we come back with have a nice day in 2008 the country records yes

every time they say oh it's done self -managed done this house is not for sale

these these guys and i have had this vision of keeping this not only alive

This is not on the where are they now tour.

I agree with you. This is top shelf A -list.

You know what it is? It's the difference between, John, what I respect you about

most is I always talk about you're here to be the creator of your life, not the

manager of your circumstances, not a maintainer, not a survivor, a thriver,

right? And we're created to be.

to be able to create our lives the way we want, create love, create joy, create

pain, create whatever you want to create, but we do it. But what I love

you and the band is how you've been so loyal to each other to absolutely

continue to evolve on your terms, not.

chase anything not follow anything i remember in 2017 you came to my unleash

power within event in new jersey your hometown right the stadium and we had

about 15 000 people you bet and one of my guys called me and said there's a guy

up on the top of the rafters that's going crazy do you want us to do

you know i said that's my friend just leave him alone he's totally fine what

were you thinking that was a year before going to the rock and roll hall of fame

what were you thinking back then what were you going through back i was

to go through

something physical with the throat and I couldn't quite understand it. We had

released this house is not for sale. We did a very short tour because I wasn't

really feeling it. I needed to get back in touch. Like when we first met in

2000, because there's been touch tones in my life that go back to you and your

work and how it's inspired me.

So this time when you were at the Prudential and you had kindly said, we

seat you right in the front.

And as I went to the front, before you even started the program, I was getting

too much attention.

Yeah. So they said, we're going to put you in a box.

I stayed up there for the entire 11 hours by myself. I know you did. And I

everything out loud.

I know you did. I did. And when we went down to walk on the fire, I was right

there. Now, one thing that I'd tell your cameras is that.

You said, you go first. I was like, you go first, but I'll go second.

I was like, I really, I'm ready. Cause you know, you're yelling down the

hallways. We're going, I am pumped. I am ready. My shoes and socks are off, but

I'm going, I really, I'm not afraid of this, but you go first. So I see how we

do this.

And I remember the other thing, the great takeaway from it was the second it

over. I really wanted to get back on the line and do it again. I was so pumped.

And, you know, your work has carried me through phases and stages of my life for

the last quarter of a century.

So grateful for our friendship, but for your work, your inspiration, not to only

me, but to millions of people.

I'm also glad that I get the chance to have that testimony on this show. I'm so

grateful for what you've done for my dad, who's a stroke survivor and the

inspiration of the books that he reads over and over and over.

And back in the day of the CDs and buying them as Christmas gifts for all

friends. Listen to this, you know. So you have been a huge influence on us.

that night in New Jersey at the Prue, oh, I remember it like it was yesterday.

Well, I appreciate that. The reason I remember, I wasn't looking for the

compliment, but thank you. It was very kind of you. No, it's all true. I just

saw you so lit up, and I saw you before.

And I didn't know what you were going through. You hadn't told me about the

voice yet.

Which, by the way, that started to occur because you were taking injections so

you could go on the road. That cortisone injection so you could stay on the road

for 40 days a year.

When did that start? That could be.

A side effect, aging.

But I mean, having to do those. Look, you also know me well enough. The only

thing that's ever been up my nose is my finger. You know, so I never did

anything. And so as one of my cords is atrophying, you know, if they're both

symmetrical and supposed to look like this, mine was starting to look like

And the strong was pushing the weak one. And I pride myself on being a vocalist,

not a stylist.

I can sing. I know how to sing for a lot of years. I've studied the craft.

I'm not singing well.

Yeah. And I can't figure out. And the tours are getting much shorter because

not having fun.

Yeah. Because it's torturous.

Yeah. And you know, like an athlete, they'll offer you the shot.

You'll gladly take two to get out there again. Because it's your life. It's what

you're here to serve. You want it so bad.

And it's not the accolades. It's not the applause.

It's not the money. No, what I love about you, you are a pure artist, man.

would not go out there if you couldn't give 110 % and hit those notes.

Killed me. Yeah, I can only imagine. Ripped my soul out. But I want to go to

happy moment first.

2018. Yeah.

You go in your Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which you so deserve. Thank you.

Richie came back. You're all together. What was that like having everybody

together? To have Alec with us and Richie as well as Phil X and John Shanks

Hugh up there. All the generations. Everybody deserved.

that accolade together i certainly did not do any of this on my own this is a

project this is an unconditional love compounded by that wisdom of our being

together yeah i would not want to do it without them yes and so to be there for

that weekend and i'm also really glad that our induction was in cleveland

because if you wanted to come

You wanted to come. This wasn't like New York where you go, well, I'm going to

go to dinner and I'll stop by the hall induction or in LA. You're like, you

came. Now the voice challenge.

This is your entire life.

You have a standard that is insane.

And you know you're going to go for basically the facelift of your vocal

And you don't know. There's no guarantee what's going to happen afterwards.

How do you start to deal with, what if I lose that portion of my identity?

It's been a huge part of my identity. How did you deal with that? I had these

tours.

Got shorter because I was forced into shorter and shorter tours I just wasn't

having the fun I wanted to have when I would turn around from the microphone

Smiling at the audience and then look at the guys with fear in my eyes and they

were just trying to tell me to hold on it was

Not even song to song, Tony. It was word to word in every song of every night.

While I'm smiling at the crowd, I turn around and go, I'm dying.

I mean, it was that bad. Because I knew it wasn't great, but I was willing it to

happen. It was anything to make it happen.

I tried everything under the sun.

Until I came backstage at a show in Nashville, and I said to Dorothea, who's

obviously going to always tell me the truth, I said, it was pretty good.

She said, no, it wasn't.

Your own wife tells you that. Yeah.

And I just thought, that's the end of the run. We're done.

I wouldn't miss the lights.

I wouldn't. I don't need the applause. I certainly don't need the fame. I don't

need the money. I've had all of this joyride and then some. The joy of

song is the greatest of all of it.

The memories with the guys, incredible.

But I sought out a surgeon.

um who i love the most robert saddle off from philadelphia who's now retired he

says i promise you nothing work hard and you'll be better than you are now but i

don't know what what the future holds and i said i like you i drove myself to

the hospital i drove myself i got in that car to philadelphia and drove

like cut me i would have cut myself to do it now I had no idea it

would be three plus years of recovery.

Because truthfully, that tests you.

That tests you. It's not about celebrity. It's not about another tour.

honestly, God, I could care less.

But I sure would love the joy of sharing those nights with that audience. I have

a mental picture that I'm the one lucky enough to hold the light.

But we power the light.

Yes. And then I get to stand in the reflection of that light. Oh, that's a

beautiful metaphor.

And that is awesome.

Yeah. And so I work every day.

Oh, the amount of work you did was insane. Every day.

Today. But how important were friends during this time? I mean, you know, the

years before that, you already saw us coming. And we'll ask the band about

because I know they'll be willing to share.

Have they stuck by you? Oh, yeah. I mean, a lot of people would have checked

or said the end's coming.

But also, you had Shania Twain, who also went through the same surgery. Same

surgeon, same surgery. And then I know Bruce showed up, and I just met Jelly

Roll the other day. He's a really cool man. Robbie Williams, all those guys to

support you. How important was that support while you're going through this

process?

You can't put a price on it. Some of these folks I had just met.

You know, Jelly, for example, in the beginning of 24, he's a great man.

I'm in love with that guy. I think everything about him is genuine, and

his spirit. And his wife, Bunny, as well. But Bruce would come and pick me

when I could barely talk, and we would take our famous, you know, drive, where

he would do more of the talking.

Thank God.

But, you know, and he was, like, trying to comprehend.

what this was because he's been blessed with chords that just worked his whole

life yeah in this day and age when you put out an album and you don't tour and

you don't do late night television it's dead yeah there's no second single it's

dead yeah and that broke my heart because this house is not for sale

its its accolades because i did a very short tour 2020 covid yeah another great

album and now forever's coming to accompany the 40th in this doc and i

tour

So then I thought, the creative thought again, I said, I need a little help from

my friends.

I need to take this album and call friends and acquaintances and say,

record these songs with us so that we can re -release it.

writing a couple of new songs for it yes and then hopefully i can go out now and

you know and do what i'd like to do again yeah and so whether it was jelly

laney wilson or bruce or robbie williams several people came and did it and we

wrote a new song it's on the charts now

You still never lost your soul, even at that stage.

And you've always had, we've had both a passion for helping people like the

homeless and feeding people.

But you've done that, you don't just virtue signal. I've seen a lot of people

that over the years. I mean, you're hands are, you've gone and built those

places. You had places there in New Jersey where your hometown is. Tell us a

little bit about your foundation, the Soul Foundation, why it's so important

you, why you put so much time and energy into it.

Dorothea streamed a consciousness one night. We're watching television.

She says, I have an idea for a model of a restaurant.

It was not pay what you can. It was a paid forward model.

Got it.

So she says, my theory is farm to table, really good food, silverware plates, no

government subsidies.

It's all good and good for you.

And so we created this pilot program in a church basement. It grew into being at

a soup kitchen until we found our first location and worked out the model. Yeah.

It's a model that continues to grow, and as Dorothea said many times, I only

wish we could go out of business.

But as you know, that's not going to happen. That business is going to grow,

unfortunately, in the current times. Yeah. You know, when you look at life,

and I have lived a few decades. We're very similar in age.

And, you know, you're a grandpa now.

You know, you've lived a lot of life. You've had health challenges. You've

such an extraordinary life and such diversity, so much growth.

How have your priorities changed today versus 20 years ago? How do you look at

life differently now?

Most certainly, I look at it much differently than I ever did.

The spotlight is just me looking for joy.

Soul purpose.

It serves no other purpose at this point.

So my priorities now are in my 60s. It's all about legacy. What are we going to

leave behind?

What have you left?

spiritually for your kids. And then what is your grandkids going to think of

you? You know, I think that all of that really mattered not to be something that

you're not or something you may have thought you were. What I came to realize

the time I was 60 plus was you have to give up who you think you are to

become who you want to be.

Oh, you're leading to one of my more important questions. Why don't we give

one in between?

Because I get this question all the time. I'm sure you've heard it a million

times, but I think it's still worth asking.

If you were looking back and giving advice to your 25 -year -old self from

slippery when wet's coming out, knowing what you know today, what would you say

to that young man?

Simply to step back and enjoy it more.

I didn't enjoy a lot of it. I was so...

nose to the grindstone.

Even if I thought that was the joy of it, I was always so nose to the

grindstone. You know, how do I do this? How do I do this again?

How can I do it once more?

I didn't enjoy a lot of that stuff.

And, you know, we were tired as a result.

Yeah. You know?

Yeah, without the joy, it's hard to keep going.

You've got to have the joy.

In my million mirror, my life's been getting clearer.

Yesterday night, the clothing didn't fit.

Shrinking, watch for treasure.

Light changes like the weather.

You grow up, go on, and hit the road around here.

So I drank.

Watching my life dancing by.

When my man said, just want Jesus.

He's waiting, said Jesus.

Hey, hey, I finally found my way.

Next time I see you today.

You forget, there ain't no place on the law I ain't going.

Hey,

hey!

Hey, hey!

I feel that I'm afraid to go back in.

Here I climb into my flying

time. It's waiting there to greet us. It's my plastic

test for Jesus.

I finally found my way.

Say goodbye, here's the thing.

You can get a period, don't wait till you're lost. I'm going.

I'm going to lose, I'm letting go.

I'm out on the road to go.

You can get a period, on this lost highway.

These two feeling lonely souls tell this boy which way to go. Just got this car,

you got the keys, farewell.

The opportunity, I'm slipping off. Cruise control, turn it up. The radio, I

nothing to do.

It'll never change. Yeah, come on!

Let's go!

I finally found my way.

Say goodbye to this day.

Thank you.

When the spotlight fades away, when, you know, you're all by yourself and you've

gone on this journey,

what have you really learned about yourself and this journey of life so

I'm still learning. And some days, you know what, for those who are watching

thinking, oh, he's figured it all out. I haven't. Yeah, none of us have. I'm

working on it. Yeah.

Wisdom comes with this age.

I'm hoping.

For me, if I can go out and share this with the guys and with this audience,

me, I'd do it for free to have this amount of wisdom on the stage when I go.

Dreams don't have to end just because we're 60.

But if you're fortunate enough, a wisdom comes with it. Yeah, 100%. People get

locked into an identity.

to having to be a certain way. This is who I am. And we all have to evolve.

And you've done an amazing job of that over the years when there'd be a lot of

pressure not to, to keep you in a certain place. You know, you're going

you know, you shouldn't do movies, you shouldn't do this, you shouldn't get

hair. Yeah. You know, as you face this issue with your voice not having that

uncertainty, what identity did you have to let go of to be the man that I'm

sitting across from today?

I think I've gotten past the point with most people who have known me or think

they even know me.

that I'm not the cliche of what a lead singer in a rock band should be. So I

myself out there, the better part of, let's say, 30 of the 40 -plus years, I

just saying to hell with it. I'm cutting my hair, I'm going gray, I'm going to

get married, I'm going to grow and be who I am and what we are. So I'm not

afraid of shedding the skin with each decade or year even.

I'm not afraid of that.

I'm glad that I'm not painting my fingernails and pretending to be from

That would make me just feel yucky. You know, it's just not who I am. You've

kept your authenticity no matter what people pressured you on. And I think

that's why you're here 42 years later. I think so. As popular as you've ever

been. So we've alluded to your voice. Tell us what's happened and where are

going now? What's about to occur?

I think that the idea is that because I am, in fact, healthy.

We're going to go back on the road finally.

That's awesome. So 2026 should welcome Bon Jovi back to the road. Yes.

And it just won't be a 240 -show tour. I know. It's going to be a gentleman's

tour where we're going to shine that light. Yeah.

Be there for the reflection.

That's beautiful. We're going to do stadiums again, right? Both arenas and

stadiums around the globe. You know, I think we'll do extended stays in a city

and an arena and then play, you know, a couple nights in your stadium, that kind

of thing. So we're just, we're working through that because, like I said,

depends on the time of year and the place in the world.

But, you know, if you could do 10 nights in this city and two stadiums in that

city, it's mix and match.

Well, we're going to go talk to the band, but I want to take a moment and

thank you for launching here.

Thank you.

Watching your path over the last 30 years, 42, but 30 knowing you has been

inspiring. Thank you, brother. Thank you for everything you've given all of us,

all of us as your friends and fans. And what you've done, you've changed and

saved lives.

Your music has moved multiple generations, including my generation and

We both have that wisdom together. Thank you, brother.

Thank you so much. Love you too, Tony. Let's go talk to him, Tony. Good. Let's

get him.

Thank you.

Love is a beautiful thing, but you want all you need.

Love is a beautiful dragon.

Love is a beautiful dragon.

The poor bird did not cry.

The kind of wonder that is divine.

Love is a great thing.

to heal your verge.

What's not there? You can't leave a healing verge.

Love is beautiful.

Love.

I'm talking about love.

It's beautiful.

If you need it, it sets you free. But you want it only for you.

Love is beautiful.

me

It moves you in, it's like the tide, deeper, deeper, higher.

I can't touch it, touch it, can't bear it, I can't feel the truth. I'm out of

mind, almost out of my mind.

Don't go with me, you're kind of hurting me.

Love,

you're beautiful.

Love,

I'm talking to you.

Thank you. Thank you.

I guess this time you're really leaving.

I heard your 2K say goodbye.

As my broken heart lies bleeding.

You say true love is suicide.

You take my...

The valley and river

With.

Miss your birthday, baby.

Wish I'd seen you blow the candle.

We're here with the band.

It's very few times in your lifetime you get to hang out with a group of legends

like yourselves.

You guys have been doing this for 42 years.

I want to bring you up to today, but before we do, one of the things I know

and I have talked personally that one of the most emotional things he shared

with me is how you all stood by him during that time when he was in that

shape. John, how important was that to you, these guys? What were you feeling

back then?

I could not have been here with you tonight.

if it wasn't for each and every one of these guys.

And on this journey before this surgery, while I was in this pain emotionally

because my tools were giving out and the frustration of that, when I would try

so hard, they didn't give up on me. There wasn't a night where they said,

screw you, you know, good luck to your audios.

And then after the surgery, because Tony, it's been three plus years to get

tonight. The bond to me is deeper than ever because, you know, we just care

about each other as individuals more than a money -making machine or anything

like that. Yeah, of course. It means so much to me. My admiration, adoration,

and love for these guys is unparalleled.

It's beautiful.

What was it like for you seeing that happen?

It's like somebody that's closest to you being hurt.

And the pain you go through, he's in pain, but you also go through the pain.

you go and you see it and you anguish.

And all you can do is stick together and hold each other's arms to keep up.

And that's what we do. That's what we're supposed to do together.

And we're from that part of the world and we're kind of that kind of band that

does that.

But I can relate, it's just family. And when somebody's hurting, you've got to

take care of them. Yeah, well, we did.

It's beautiful.

We always had each other's back.

We always did. That's the thing about the band of brotherhoods. You know, we

always have it. And we faced a lot of adversity.

And our statement always was we laugh in the face of adversity.

But at the end of the day, really, we're there for each other.

I don't think there's enough words. It's just love.

It's love and support and never let your brothers, never leave anybody down.

Never. Band of brothers is the best description. Think about that in the

military.

Nobody left behind.

Well, I was just thinking about the song Legendary. You know, I got a fistful of

friends who'll stand up for me. I got my brown -eyed girl, and she believes in

me. Yeah. You know, legendary.

Yeah. You know, so it's more about the moment is legendary, and the team is,

it's, that's the great thing about being in a band.

It's been painful, but it's gotten us closer together as a unit.

You've been through so much together. We've talked about so much.

What do you really admire about John, personally, since you're all so close to

him? Go on.

Lack of humility.

His lack of humility. All I see is his butt all the time, so I'm in on stage.

Same with me. We're not so excited.

Let's talk about David.

Giving up is not in his makeup.

Yeah. It's not in any of your makeup, is it? No. No, I don't think so, but it

comes, like I said, it comes from the top.

And, yeah, I never had, I don't care how many years it was taking, I didn't have

any doubt that he was going to pull through it. That's beautiful, yeah. He

also shown us how humanly vulnerable he can be, too, which has actually

made him even higher in my eyes.

His vulnerability has been his power.

Yeah, it really has been. I see that. Truthfully, I've said it before and I

it again, that I'm fortunate enough to get to hold the light, but we power that

light. Yes. And in turn, that light shines on that crowd and then the

the reflection of that light. Yeah. That's what all this is. It's an

of that light back and forth to an audience.

Yes. And that's what this is all about. And there's no one I'd rather go to war

with than...

these six guys anything you want to say to these gentlemen i love them all with

every single heartbeat that i still have left um i know that more than any other

time in our careers when we go out on this tour next year there will be such

joy and wisdom when we take that stage now yes this isn't you know little boys

walking down the hallway and they know a pop song These are men coming down the

hall. They have a catalog and it's loaded.

We're coming, guns a blazing.

It's going to be fun.

The look on everybody's faces.

I hope the camera can capture it all.

It says more than any words can say, guys. You guys are legends, and you

to be.

What an incredible time. I can't thank you enough for letting us have the

privilege to be the first ones to hear it. How do you feel knowing you're about

to go out live, knowing this man's got his voice now?

I mean, this is it.

Joyful. We get to be 17 again. Yeah.

That's what we get to do. That's true.

The perfect way to end this thing is how about living on a prayer?

Are we in? I think we know it.

All right. All right, let's go, guys.

Thank you.

Oh, it's gone.

I'm not so long, though.

So

Thank you.

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Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We were born wild. Come on and get up off your

knees. Life is a bitter, bitter swallow.

Got to hold on to what you believe.

Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow.

There's many things that make us bleed.

We were born.

What do you believe?