Bon Jovi talks singing future, Sambora’s exit in docuseries

Jon Bon Jovi has been pumping out rock anthems for over 40 years, but a new documentary is forcing him to look at his life and the legacy of his namesake band through a different lens.

“Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” is a fourpart, warts and all docuseries that chronicles the epic past of one of the most recognizable music makers on the planet.

But over the course of four episodes, which began Friday to Disney+, filmmaker Gotham Chopra captures bandmembers wrestling with an uncertain future after Bon Jovi, 62, hit pause on performing live in 2022 to deal with an atrophied vocal cord.

With the outfit set to release its 16th studio album “Forever in June” and the new single “Legendary” out now, Bon Jovi, whose full name is John Francis Bongiovi Jr., isn’t sure he’ll ever mount a large-scale tour again.

“We don’t know,” Bon Jovi replies over Zoom when asked what the future holds. “The new album is incredible, I think it’s the best album the band have made in 20 years. Legendary is off to a huge start and the reaction to the docuseries is also fantastic. But all I can do is let go, leave it to God and see what happens.”

With over 130 million albums sold worldwide and over four decades of touring, Bon Jovi was encouraged to reflect on the story of his music life for the first time after seeing Chopra’s documentary on retired NFL superstar Tom Brady.

“Jon is a huge sports fan, particularly a (New England) Patriots fan, and he’d seen Man in the Arena and approached me after that,” Chopra, 49, says. “(He said), ‘Well Tom’s got 20 years, but I have 40 years and a story to tell.’”

The end result runs almost six hours and follows the highs and lows of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

“We really wanted to make a truthful piece about the last four decades. But it’s everybody’s truth,” Bon Jovi says. “We were setting out to make a docuseries that wasn’t a puff piece, and so it talks about everything that’s happened in this roller-coaster ride of a career.”

That “truth” means addressing former guitarist Richie Sambora’s unceremonious exit from Bon Jovi while they were in the middle of their 2013 Because We Can tour.

In a moment of candour, Sambora, who co-wrote some of the group’s biggest hits including “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Keep the Faith” and “You Give Love a Bad Name,” apologizes to Bon Jovi’s longtime fans and fellow musicians for the way he walked away.

Chopra interviewed Sambora at length for the documentary and he says the guitarist’s appearance was critical to the story.

“I don’t think you can tell the story of 40 years of Bon Jovi (without him) — he was part of the band for 30 years,” Chopra says. “He wanted to be a part of this and he understood the scope of this. Richie is super charming and he was warm and funny and honest from his perspective.”

Chopra expresses regret that he wasn’t able to interview founding member and original bassist Alec John Such, who died in 2022, but adds that the finished product is the most comprehensive story Bon Jovi fans can expect to see.

“Jon will tell you ... this isn’t a Jon Bon Jovi documentary, it’s a Bon Jovi the band documentary ...”