Calling in for a conversation with Audacy’s Karen Carson, Jon Bon Jovi chatted about his brand new track, “Legendary,” Bon Jovi's 40th anniversary, upcoming 4-part Hulu documentary, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, and more.
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Giving Karen all the “classic Bon Jovi” feels, “Legendary” is the first single of an album in which “every song tells a story.” Written by by the icon himself, and produced by JBJ and John Shanks, “Legendary” arrived alongside an official music video.
“I think that if I can’t tell a story with a song at this point in my life, I realize I don’t care to sing it. So the last few albums have been first person narrations, and in the case of 'Legendary' and where this album is, this album is full of joy,” Jon expressed about his iconic band’s latest track.
“One of the many things I’ve learned at this point in my life are the things that matter, and what matters to me are the small things. Like the loyalty of my family and my friends, and that I have a fistful of them that I can count on 40 years into a career. That it’s not about all the glam and the glitter of a music career… it’s about sitting around your buddies and laughing. It’s about looking your kids in the eye and thinking you know how blessed you are that they’re healthy and you know, living their lives. So that’s where this song comes from," JBJ expressed, noting that the track also has “a cute tongue and cheek," brown eyed girl reference. It's more than just a nod to Van Morrison, it is “more importantly… my wife’s eye color." Reciting the lyrics, “You know my brown eyed girl, she believes in me,” adding, “because after all I’ve been through, if I don’t have that, I have nothing.”
Answering anyone who might inquire about what the secret is to a 35 year marriage, Jon simply put it, “I just got it right the first time,” noting that while “we work at,” that “it’s not hard work.”
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Bon Jovi’s upcoming album Forever, out June 7, will signify 40 years of a successful career in music. Offering up his thoughts, feelings and where he’s at in the whole process, Bon Jovi explained, “The last album came out in the midst of COVID, and there was a lot of my playing narrator because that was a very topical record, as we were all in fact, isolated in our homes. So here I am writing about George Floyd, and gun control, and soldiers with PTSD, and COVID because that’s what I had to write about from the couch in my office.”
Delving into what followed that album’s release, including the “archiving of a 40 year career, four-part Doc series, vocal surgery that I never anticipated having to happen to me in my life, and knowing that that 40th anniversary was on the horizon.” Jon was left wondering, “where am I gonna plant my flag in this?”
Well, “after a lot of deep, truthful, retrospect,” Jon shared, “I came out on the other side full of joy, and that to me is the greatest gift ever, is that I’ve been able to find joy again. And not just in making music, but waking up in the morning, and it’s not driven by fear or mistrust or… being down because I had to go through this physical ailment. But rather waking up and realizing that the sun rose and you go ‘wow okay here’s another opportunity to make the best of the day’ and I found joy, and that is the greatest gift of all on this record.”
The legend also went on to talk about his 4-part docuseries premiering on Hulu April 26, more about Bon Jovi’s 40th anniversary and first album reissue featuring bonus tracks, plus a whole lot more. To catch the whole conversation, listen to the entire interview above.