When Bon Jovi exploded into the music scene in the 1980s, it was on the strength of a hard rock sound that married bombastic riffs with irresistible radio-friendly pop melodies. They went on to sell more than 130 million albums, winning a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction along the way. But the 62-year-old frontman has resolutely steered clear of drugs and the other excesses that sometimes come with stadium-filling fame.
He has two sons, both of whom he and wife Dorothea Hurley have raised to be “respectful, empathetic people.” And while the band has been around for four decades, their marriage is as strong as ever — in fact, they recently celebrated 44 years together.
In a recent appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Bon Jovi told a story about how he and his family got through a rough patch in their lives. “When things go wrong, you’ve got to do a little something to turn them right side up,” he says. “So we sat down and thought about it. We came up with a little chant that we do every time we get to the end of our rope. It goes like this: ‘Whoever is on the other end of the rope, pull her up!’”
The chant was an instant success and Bon Jovi tells the crowd that it’s something they repeat every time they face a tough moment. In addition to being a rock and roll icon, the New Jersey native has been an active philanthropist, running several charities and helping those in need.
But the most important aspect of his life has always been his family, he says. He and his wife are “madly in love more every day,” he says, adding that their children make them happy “every single time.”
In an interview with the BBC, Bon Jovi discusses how his parents’ divorce affected him as a kid. He also talks about the band’s hiatus, his upcoming solo album and why he hasn’t gotten into politics.
As a teenager, Bon Jovi’s cousin helped him get a job as a “gofer” at the Power Station studio in New York, where he ran errands and was able to watch legendary sessions with the likes of Queen and David Bowie recording Under Pressure. That experience was influential in how the band approached their own recordings, he says.
Bon Jovi’s second album, Keep the Faith (1992), included the hit “Bed of Roses.” The band’s third album, Cross Road (1994), was less commercially successful, but the following year’s These Days widened their artistic style. The band took another break, reuniting for the Young Guns II movie and the album Crush in 2000.
In 2013, Bon Jovi parted ways with Richie Sambora, who had a history of substance abuse and left a tour for rehab. The split didn’t last long; the band reunited in 2014 and released a new album in 2021 with Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles, marking the first time a rock-crossover act reached No. 1 on the country charts.