Jon Bon Jovi Crushes Hope of a Richie Sambora Return
Jon Bon Jovi basically crushed any hope fans had about a potential return by guitarist Richie Sambora.
The singer told Ultimate Classic Rock that he and Sambora haven’t been in contact, despite both participating in the upcoming docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. JBJ shared that Sambora’s interview portions were filmed in London, and he wasn’t there. The frontman also noted that he has yet to see the complete docuseries.
Bon Jovi said, “We’re not in contact because he’s not in the organization any longer. Doesn’t mean that there’s not love forever, but it’s 11 years ago that he just didn’t show up anymore.”
Sambora, of course, left Bon Jovi in 2013. At the time, Sambora cited wanting to spend more time with his daughter, Ava, who is now 26. Sambora’s exit will be addressed in Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which premieres on Hulu on Friday, April 26.
Details on New Bon Jovi Album
In addition to the docuseries, Bon Jovi also has a new album on the way. Forever comes out on June 7 and is Bon Jovi’s 16th studio album. Jon Bon Jovi told Ultimate Classic Rock that the album’s overall theme is “joy,” which he had to work towards by facing some “dark misery.”
JBJ said, “I’m thinking about where to go musically and I run into a problem physically, where now I have to seek out a specialist in the field to do a vocal surgery that is not often done.”
There’s certainly a lot of joy on the new single “Legendary.” As with many Bon Jovi songs, “Legendary” features a bombastic chorus that you can seemingly already hear fans singing along to at arenas all over the world.
JBJ told Ultimate Classic Rock the mention of a “brown-eyed girl” is a nod to the Van Morrison hit, but it’s also a nod to his wife/high school sweetheart, Dorothea.
“Got what I want/Cause I got what I need/Got a fistful of friends/That’ll stand up for me/Right where I am/Is where I wanna be/Friday night comes/Around like a song/Sweet Caroline and we all sing along/Got my brown-eyed girl/And she believes in me/Legendary”
“Legendary” can be heard below and is available for streaming/download here. Meanwhile, Forever is available for pre-save/pre-order here.
