After 4 decades in music and major vocal surgeries, Jon Bon Jovi is optimistic and still rocks

PASADENA, California – When Jon Bon Jovi agreed to let director Gotham Chopra follow him with a documentary camera to delve into the story of his band Bon Jovi, he didn’t anticipate that it would catch him at a very low point in his career.

The band was launching a tour and, despite doing everything he could to be vocally ready, the “Livin’ on a Prayer” singer struggled with the songs and couldn’t hit the notes like he used to.

Critics noticed and wrote about it. A review from the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minnesota, said, “It sounded like he had forgotten how to sing.”

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Bon Jovi said the reaction at the time was “heartbreaking.” After exhausting holistic options, he consulted a doctor who said one of his vocal cords was atrophied.

“That was unique. It wasn’t a nodule. The strong (vocal cord) was pushing against the weak one, and suddenly my disabilities were exacerbated,” Bon Jovi said. He underwent major surgery and is still recovering.

“Every day is like doing curls with weights and having them both be the same size and work together.”

This year was a turning point. In February, he performed in front of an audience for the first time since his surgery at the MusiCares Person of the Year benefit gala, where he was also named Person of the Year. The band’s next album, “Forever,” hits stores June 7, and their first single “Legendary” is out now. The four-part “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” premieres Friday on Hulu.

In a Q&A, Bon Jovi talks about his voice, his famous hair, the music industry and his work ethic.

Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

BON JOVI: I’m great. Registration was easy to do. The process has been constant. Do I wish it was a light switch? Yes. I told the doctor, ‘I want to push the button and get this over with.’ That’s just not how it works. Like an athlete coming back from a torn ACL or something, it takes time. The therapy is still intensive, but I am confident that it will progressively improve.

BON JOVI: Not so much when he sat down and said, ‘I have an idea.’ In fact, I was a byproduct of what the 80s were. Those were my baby photos. I love laughing at them. Now I can at least jokingly say, ‘After a 40-year career, I still have all my hair.’ This is a good thing. Genetics works in my favor.

BON JOVI: Yes, every now and then. My day job comes back to get in the way. I actually have a big record coming out and I’m hoping to go on the road, so I don’t have time for that. And I respect the craft too much to think that I’m going to go on a set and achieve my goals and call that acting.

BON JOVI: If you’re not going to do well, the guy who comes in tomorrow night is going to be better. This is not a career you should take lightly. There are a million other young people waiting to take your place. And there are no guarantees in this business… You have to win hearts to earn people’s hard-earned money. 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.

BON JOVI: We never had a big fight. He quit 10 years ago. It’s not that we don’t have contact or anything like that, but he was choosing, as a single father, to raise his son. The door is always open if he wants to come up and sing a song. I mean, there’s a lot of them that we co-wrote together. This is a huge part of our lives. There is no animosity here.

BON JOVI: For some, it makes sense because they need it. For some, it makes sense because they want it. I just found out that (Bon Jovi music) is my baby, and I have no desire, at this point in my life, to even consider that.

BON JOVI: Part time! My license is still New Jersey. I still vote in New Jersey.

BON JOVI: See, I’m the opposite. I can only release one album. I do everything I know how to do. I have to tell the full story. It has to be the beginning, the middle and the end because that is who we are and what we are.

BON JOVI: What passes is joy. My goal with this record was to capture the joy that the last few years have been difficult, whether it’s the dark cloud of COVID the world has experienced or my own personal journey. With this record, I think we captured the joy.