Jon Bon Jovi, 62, considers fellow New Jersey rocker and friend Bruce Springsteen, 74, a 'big brother': 'Our connection is deep'
As a youngster growing up in New Jersey, Jon Bon Jovi had a musical hero in Bruce Springsteen.
And in his new Hulu docuseries, the Livin' On A Prayer hitmaker, 62, opened up about the influence Springsteen has had on his life as both a rock idol and a close friend.
'Our connection is deep, on a whole different level of friendship, because how many guys can talk like we can talk, in close quarters, about life and love and loss?' he said, before adding, 'Our relationship is deep, and he's a dear friend of mine, and he really is like a big brother.'
For Bon Jovi (born John Francis Bongiovi Jr.), his first meeting with the Born To Run star turned out to be magical.
The then-high school rocker was performing a Springsteen cover at a local Jersey club when the man himself took notice and joined him on stage, according to People.
'It was so inspirational because those records by the [Asbury] Jukes, and by Bruce, were written and sung by guys in our backyard,' he explained. 'They weren’t the centerfolds of Circus magazine that made the dream just out of reach. These guys were capable of making the impossible seem possible.'
Jon Bon Jovi, 62, opened up about his friendship with Bruce Springsteen while promoting his new Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story
That night he got to sing the Springsteen song The Promised Land, off his fourth studio album Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978), alongside his hero.
'I looked up, and there's Bruce onstage with me. That was the guy. And he jumps up and sings his song with me,' he confessed of the moment in the docuseries, titled Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
'So you go to high school the next day. Needless to say, you look at the teacher and you look at the kids, and you go, "I got a story to tell! and it's a lot better than history class."'
The similarities between the two stars even includes their similar upbringings in New Jersey; with the Born In The U.S.A. star growing up in Freehold, some 50 miles south of the bright lights and tall buildings of New York City, while Bon Jovi comes from Sayreville, which is just 35 miles southwest of The Big Apple.
Springsteen remembered that night when he joined the unknown young musician for the duet.
'I like to play. I think that was [what I heard], "There's some young kid running around here from New Jersey, he's making some kind of noise,"' he shared in the four-part Hulu docuseries that chronicles his epic past and unknown future.
'That was the first thing I knew about Jon. He's a hardworking guy, put everything he had into his music.'
The Boss added, 'We've become much closer, probably as we've gotten older here, you know, recently, as being the only two guys in the same game here.'
Being that the My Hometown star is 12 years Bon Jovi's senior bodes well for the younger Jersey rocker who likes to use him as a source of wisdom and knowledge.
'Our connection is deep, on a whole different level of friendship, because how many guys can talk like we can talk, in close quarters, about life and love and loss?' he said, before adding, 'Our relationship is deep, and he's a dear friend of mine, and he really is like a big brother'
The New Jersey rocker revealed he first met The Boss when he was playing a NJ club in the late 70s doing a cover of Springsteen's song The Promised Land when he unexpectedly jumped on stage to play it with him; they are pictured in April 2003
'It means the world to me, someone who's a step down the road, on the journey,' the father of four said of his friend who he likes to chat with during long drives together, with no phones and no radio to distract them.
'One time, a few years back, when we were comparing where we were in our lives as it pertained to life, journey, career, he brought up that word of mortality, and that never crossed my mind at that time,' the It's My Life singer said. 'And I was like, "Oh yeah, mortality, that’s still on the horizon." So I have a different perspective now.'
After playing together during their initial meeting, Springsteen would hear from the up and coming star again a couple years later when he got a recording of his first-ever single, Runaway, which turned out to be his first hit song that promoted him to form his own band.
'I looked up, and there's Bruce onstage with me. That was the guy. And he jumps up and sings his song with me,' the Livin' On A Prayer star recalled
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story premiered on Hulu on Friday, April 26
'The first demo I got of Jon's was a good song,' The Boss revealed. 'I mean, Jon's great talent is these big, powerful pop rock choruses that just demand to be sung by, you know, 20,000 people in an arena.'
It would take a little while but eventually the classic lineup of Bon Jovi came together featuring Richie Sambora (guitar, vocals), Alec John Such (bass), Tico Torres (drums) and David Bryan (keyboards).
The band proceeded to release their 1984 self-titled debut, featuring Runaway, but it was their third release, Slippery When Wet (1986), that sent them to huge rock star status, which was largely due to their relentless touring and the hit singles Livin' On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name, Wanted Dead Or Alive and Never Say Goodbye.
One of the subjects that reared its ugly face during the docuseries was Bon Jovi's long issues with his vocal cords that almost led him to quit the band.
Bon Jovi shared his gratitude for the docuseries taking the number one spot on Hulu
It shows him enduring many different treatments and vocal exercises through the years, all the way up to 2022.
On Saturday, one day after its release, Bon Jovi proudly shared a photo of himself posing in front of his flatscreen TV showing that his docuseries already has reached number one on Hulu.
'Thank you Gotham. Thank you Hulu. Thank you to all the members of the band. And to all of you for the amazing support - JBJ,' the gracious singer-songwriter shared after learning the news.
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story started streaming on the Hulu platform on Friday, April 26.
