Bon Jovi struggling to find his voice again after throat surgery
JON BON JOVI has revealed he may not perform live again after undergoing throat surgery, saying he does not want to become “the fat Elvis” at the end of his career.
The 62-year-old front man of the rock band Bon Jovi has managed to record a studio album post-surgery, but has admitted he is grappling with the possibility that his voice may never again have the durability needed for a tour.
“This is the first time I’m saying this,” Bon Jovi told The Sunday Times Magazine. If the singing is not great, if I can’t be the guy I once was … then I’m done.”
The band is releasing a four-part show on Disney+ at the end of this month titled Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, and the new album Forever will be released in June.
It will be the first batch of songs from the band since Bon Jovi underwent surgery to repair his vocal cords following a decade of issues. He is undergoing extensive vocal therapy in an attempt to strengthen his voice and said that he would not return to the stage unless he felt he could do justice to himself, his music, and his bandmates.
“I don’t ever need to be the fat Elvis,” he said, referring to the end of Presley’s career where critics said he was a shadow of his former self.
“There is a big difference between being in a studio and going out on the road. I want to perform for two and a half hours a night, four nights a week and I know how good I can be. I can tell you that 60 is different from 50 and my current concern is that I’m going to forget how to sing,” he added.
“I’ll be crushed if I can’t sing live again, but…that’s the situation I’m in.
“I want to look back on 40 years of Bon Jovi, look forward to the new album and appreciate everything. That’s my hope: to find joy in it all.”
The musician is now engaged in philanthropic work with his JBJ Soul Foundation which has set up four Soul Kitchen restaurant initiatives to help people out of homelessness and poverty.
He compared the “high” from helping people less fortunate than him and washing dishes at his not-for-profit restaurants to the euphoria of walking out on stage to legions of adoring fans.