Four decades into a career that has had its ups and downs, its health issues and the bailout of bandmates, Jon Bon Jovi hasn't lost his enthusiasm for storytelling.
On Wednesday (April 10), the Rock Hall-inducted frontman made the long drive to Los Angeles for a long overdue chat at Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Just a few weeks after the documentary was released on Hulu Thank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, there was a lot of ground to cover. Bon Jovi was in the mood to come back all the way, with plenty of jokes you couldn't make up and a glimpse into Bon Jovi's future.
In one of the unknown memories, the New Jersey icon told of a first meeting with Michael Jackson at the late singer's hotel in Tokyo. Connections were made, everything went well, and figuring they were now best men, Bon Jovi invited MJ downstairs to the band room. The King of Pop didn't come, but sent Bubbles the chimpanzee as his representative. “Bubbles fall and wreak havoc. Bubbles party like a rock star. There were bubbles, it hung hard,” Bon Jovi remembers. How long did the primary oscillate with the band? Long enough for hotel management to threaten to kick many of them out.
Playing the part of a driver taking a trip down memory lane, Bon Jovi recounted his first recording, earning $183 to play R2-D2 singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in a Star Wars Christmas album.
The singer also confirmed his pals routine with fellow Jersey legend Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi's high school hero. They make long runs. “No radio, no phones, no body, we're going for 100 miles where the two of us can lock the doors and go for a walk and talk and catch up,” he says. There have been sightings, word is out. Although Bowie Jovi remarks that he's still waiting for a cop to pull them over and get the shock of his life.
The rocker also explained how he did his own promo for the band's first hit “Runaway” by putting the record into the hands of hungry disc jockeys. finding a new solution when 500,000 copies of the original, dangerous artwork for Slips when wet, the band's first of six Billboard 200 chart-toppers, destroyed (“worked for Back to black. Let's give it a black album cover then,” he explains, noting that it was his finger that wrote the words). His obsession with collecting; and how he got his hands on his first guitar, buying it back this year from a guy in the neighborhood.
With ax in hand, Bon Jovi wrote the song “I'm In Love With My First Guitar,” which will appear on the group's next, 16th studio album. Foreverwhich is expected to be released on June 7. “This new record is about finding joy in simple things like that,” he explains.
All four episodes of it Thanks, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story will air starting April 26, retelling Bon Jovi's story with personal videos, unreleased early demos, original lyrics and never-before-seen photos, according to Hulu.
Watch the midnight interview below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/jon-bon-jovi-bruce-springsteen-early-star-wars-recording-new-music-1235653736/
