Bon Jovi 'Thank You, Goodnight' documentary to include Jon's and Richie Sambora's regrets
Regrets?
Richie Sambora has one, according to the trailer for the upcoming Hulu documentary, “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.” It premieres Friday, April 26, on Hulu.
“I don't regret leaving but I regret how I did it,” says Sambora about his exit in 2013.
“Nobody expected Richie to quit in the middle of the night,” Jon Bon Jovi says. “It was heartbreaking.”
The “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” trailer suggests fans will get the most comprehensive telling of the reasons Sambora walked away from the band mid-tour in 2013.
“Are we telling the truth or are we going to lie?” Sambora says. “What are we going to do?”
Sambora exited prior to a Bon Jovi show in Calgary, Alberta. The band announced Sambora was leaving due to personal issues, which Sambora himself largely confirmed at the time on Twitter.
“Thank you everyone for your concern. I'm well, but had to stay in LA to take care of a personal matter. Love you all and see you very soon,” Sambora said.
Later, Sambora said the band's 18-month touring schedule was having negative effects on his home life.
“Like I said, we weren’t a band that took a lot of time off. My daughter needed me at that time; my dad’s dying of cancer. I was in the middle of a (blank) divorce, and I busted my shoulder up … and it was like, ‘You know, I think the universe is telling me to take a break for a while.’ ” said Sambora to Rolling Stone when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April of 2018.
Sambora, from Woodbridge, had previously spent time away from the band due to stints in rehab — first in 2007 and again in 2011, causing him to miss 13 shows of the Bon Jovi Live tour.
There's a lot of temptation in the rock 'n' roll world, and Bon Jovi band members were not immune to it. The trailer touches on the band's excesses.
“We were just crushing it. Anything any of those bands talk about, we did. It was real fun, and I thought everyone else was enjoying it too,” says Jon as a band member is shown signing a female fan's chest.
“Wrooong,” Sambora intones.
The heights of rock 'n' roll stardom wrecked drummer Tico Torres' first marriage.
“It destroyed my marriage, but I don't think I should have been married at that time anyway,” Torres says.
“It almost killed us,” says Jon, from Sayreville.
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Creating a rock 'n' roll legacy has it's costs — and its rewards.
“Jon's choruses demand to be sung by 20,000 people in an arena,” says Bruce Springsteen.
“Bon Jovi was all or nothing,” says keyboardist David Bryan. “Five guys from nowhere and if you work hard enough and you dream big enough you can make it.”
Jon’s vocal issues wll be explored, according to the trailer. The Sayreville native said he's had surgery on his vocal cords to correct problems that go back a decade. The issue came to a head during the band's 2022 tour of the South and Midwest that was fraught with scrutiny.
“Jon's going through his challenges,” says Bryan.
“I'm optimistic but I'm scared,” Jon says. “I don't know if there's going to be a happy ending.”
Jon, it turns out, also has at least one regret.
“Regrets?” Jon says, laughing. “That key change is one. You can't be 60 years old and expect to hit that note every night.”
The documentary is directed by Gotham Chopra of “Kobe Bryant’s Muse,” “Man in the Arena” and “Tom vs. Time” fame. He’s the son of spiritual Deepak Chopra.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bon Jovi Hulu doc to expose side of band previously unexplored
