'Thank You, Goodnight' Hulu documentary shows the rare vulnerable side of Jon Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi has lost his voice, and also his co-songwriter and guitarist. What does he do now?

That the crux of the compelling and ambitious “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” a four-part documentary that premieres Friday, April 26, on Hulu. It’s Jon Bon Jovi showing a vulnerability that’s rarely been seen before.

“His audience has grown up with him and they smell it out if it doesn’t feel honest enough and vulnerable and real,” said “Thank You, Goodnight” director Gotham Chopra to the Asbury Park Press. “He understood that and gave me, I don’t even want to say control, but he gave me space and he gave me himself to answer all the questions.”

There are essentially two narratives intertwined in “Thank You, Goodnight.” First there’s the improbable story of Jon Bon Jovi (a native of the Sherwood Forest section of Sayreville), David Bryan (Edison), Tico Torres (Woodbridge), Richie Sambora (Woodbridge) and Alec John Such (Perth Amboy) joining forces after Jon’s single “Runaway” became a hit on New York City radio in 1983. A few years later, they would be the biggest band in the world.

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The second is Jon’s battle with his diminishing voice, a problem apparent during band tour rehearsal in 2022 at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford. The issue came to a head after wife Dorothea Bongiovi told the frontman it wasn’t working following a show on the 2022 tour.

“I used to say to the band, just trust me and I’ll take us to where we need to go,” says Jon, nearly in tears. “That’s why the legacy matters because they believe and I believe.”

Bon Jovi had medialization surgery on his vocal cords as one of them had atrophied, affecting his singing voice. He’s been dealing with voice problems for the last 10 years.

“When you’re 62, you’re not going to be the guy you were at 21 in terms of physically what you can do,” Chopra said. “Part of it is physical, part of it is mental and emotional. It’s sort of navigating all of that. I think Jon has a special relationship with his fans — it’s a 40-year relationship and he wants to make sure he can deliver the best version of himself, even if it’s not going to be the 25-year-old kid.”

A new band single, “Legendary,” was released on March 14, and an album, “Forever,” was recorded in Nashville and will be released Friday, June 7. There has been no announcement of live performances. The current lineup includes Hugh McDonald on bass, Everett Bradley on percussion and backing vocals, and Phil Xenidis and John Shanks on guitar.

Such, who passed way in 2022 at the age of 70, exited the band in 1994; Sambora left mid-tour in 2013, although the beginning of the fissure between him and Jon started years before.

A litany of reasons is cited in “Thank You, Goodnight” for the break: excessive touring; Sambora's substance abuse issues; Sambora wanting to spend more time with his family; and creative differences between Jon and Richie.

Jon and Shanks became the creative nexus of the band in the aughts to the extent that Shanks laid down the acoustic guitar part on “The Fighter” from the album “What About Now,” which was recorded in 2012.

That was the point of no return in the relationship between Jon and Sambora, and it’s deftly depicted by Chopra in “Thank You Good Night.”

“After all those records, people know how I play,” Sambora says in the documentary. “And I went, ‘Have at it.' ”

Sambora didn’t show up for the band’s April 2, 2013, show in Calgary.

“I don’t regret leaving the situation, but I regret how I did it so I’d like to apologize fully right now to the fans especially, and also to the guys because my feet and my spirit were just not letting me walk out the door (and go to the show),” Sambora says.

“These are moments that are the culmination of all sorts of complexities of a complicated relationship and challenges,” Chopra said of events that led to Sambora's departure. “Some of it to do with the band and in Richie’s case a lot of it to do not with the band but stuff he was going through in his personal life and with his marriage, his child, and all that sort of stuff. Yet these moments become defining in terms of what happened because it kind of had to happen in his opinion. It was happening no matter what.”

Richie’s apology to the band in the documentary has had an impact, Chopra said.

“That was something the guys had been waiting for a long time, so that's what these projects do," Chopra said. "They sort of become somewhat therapeutic."

Chopra, the son of author and spiritualist Deepak Chopra, is co-founder of The Religion of Sports. The film company has worked on projects with Tom Brady (“Tom v Time” and “Man in the Arena”), Kobe Bryant (“Kobe Bryant’s Muse”), Lebron James (“Shut Up and Dribble”) and more.

There’s a lot for hardcore Bon Jovi fans to dive into in the doc, including rare pics of Jon and David’s first band, Atlantic City Expressway; audio of the John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones’ song “Wild One”; hours of early Bon Jovi footage, including the band being interviewed and performing on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand”; and the band's debut performance at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford in 1988.

“I’m just walking to the stage,” says Jon while watching a video tape from the show. “The kid’s a little excited. First time we played Giants Stadium — it was as big as it gets.”

There’s also footage of Sayreville and Asbury Park. Southside Johnny is interviewed inside the Stone Pony, and Bruce Springsteen is interviewed in his Colts Neck home studio.

“Jon’s choruses demand to be sung by 20,000 people in an arena,” says Springsteen.

The Boss and Jon have become close in recent years as Jon recovers from his throat surgery.

“That was a dream come true for me,” said Chopra. “That’s a special brotherhood. He’s like a mentor, a big brother. Bruce is in his 70s performing and he continues to be an inspiration for Jon.”

Watch: “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” directed by Gotham Chopra, begins steaming Friday, April 26, on Hulu.

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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: Thank You, Goodnight Hulu doc shows vulnerable side of Bon Jovi