BON JOVI has released the official lyric video for the band’s latest single, “Legendary”. The monumental new track, out now via EMI, sets the stage for BON JOVI‘s upcoming 16th studio album, “Forever”, arriving on June 7. The new album is now available for pre-order where fans can find exclusive colored vinyl options, CDs, cassettes, and limited edition signed copies. An extremely limited run of Ocean Waves colored vinyl will include a one-of-a-kind instant photo of frontman Jon Bon Jovi.
“Legendary” sees Jon sing: “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.”
In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Bon Jovi revealed the inspiration for the song: “The brown-eyed girl, which of course is a Van Morrison nod, but not in this instance. It’s my wife. She has been there faithfully throughout this process: ‘And the brown-eyed girl/ She believes in me / Legendary.’ There it is. That’s who and what I am at 62 years old.”
Jon said in another interview that he has had to overcome serious vocal problems that plagued him on the band’s 2022 tour and ultimately required surgery. He explained: “The overarching sentiment of this album is that of joy. How did I get to joy? I had to work through a lot of dark misery. 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.”
In conjunction with last month’s 66th annual Grammy Awards, Jon Bon Jovi was named 2024 MusiCares Person Of The Year and was honored with an all-star tribute concert at the L.A. Convention Center featuring Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain, Melissa Etheridge, Sammy Hagar, Jason Isbell, Jelly Roll, Pat Monahan of TRAIN, and many others.
“Forever” features Jon Bon Jovi once again alongside fellow founding BON JOVI members, keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres. They are joined by bassist Hugh McDonald and guitarist Phil X.
“Forever” track listing
01. Legendary
02. We Made It Look Easy
03. Living Proof
04. Waves
05. Seeds
06. Kiss The Bride
07. The People’s House
08. Walls Of Jericho
09. I Wrote You A Song
10. Living In Paradise
11. My First Guitar
12. Hollow Man
“Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story”, the first-ever docuseries on the band’s history with full cooperation from all past and present members of BON JOVI, premieres Friday, April 26 on Hulu in the U.S. and coming soon to Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories. Following one of the world’s most iconic bands and its frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, the documentary gives us a view behind the music and the man.
The docuseries is a ROS production, the banner of filmmaker Gotham Chopra, and celebrates the band’s 40th anniversary of its self-titled debut album which was released on January 21, 1984 via Polygram/Mercury Records, less than a year after forming in their home state of New Jersey.
Guitarist Richie Sambora left BON JOVI mid-tour in 2013 in order to spend more time with his family. His exit came after he missed 13 shows on the band’s 2011 tour when he entered rehab.
Sambora joined his former bandmates onstage in 2018 when they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Last November, Sambora told People that a BON JOVI reunion tour was not out of the question.
“There’s a documentary that’s being done about the band and stuff that I’ve participated in, and people want to come see us play, and it’s going to make everybody happy,” the guitarist said. “I mean, essentially, that’s why you do it at this point.”
He continued: “I think that we wrote a lot of songs that changed a lot of people’s lives just by letting them have a good time. I know that’s what music did to me … kept me company. And I hope that I can reflect that in what I do.
“So yeah, it definitely could happen,” he added of a reunion. “It’s just a question of when everybody’s ready to go do it. It will be a big, massive kind of undertaking.”
Photo credit: Mark Seliger