Bon Jovi has been releasing hit songs for more than 40 years — and the new Hulu documentary Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story offers an inside look into the iconic rock band’s decades-long success, as told by its members. Through new interviews and archival footage, this four-episode series takes viewers on a journey from lead singer Jon Bon Jovi‘s beginnings in a New Jersey-based cover band in the early 1980s to the band’s long overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 — and everything that’s happened since.
Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres take a trip down memory lane in the docuseries, which peels back a curtain on the good (No. 1 hits, sold-out stadiums and record-breaking albums) and the bad (rehab, aging and Sambora’s abrupt exit from the band in 2013). The project — in which the band had no creative control — also features interviews from Bruce Springsteen, famed band manager Doc McGhee and Grammy Award-winning music engineer Obie O’Brien.
Bon Jovi’s story has never been a secret — and the band has even done quite a few documentaries in the past. However, this one offers plenty of new and shocking information, from what Sambora truthfully thought about “Runaway,” to what really led to Alec John Such‘s exit from the band back in the 1990s. Plus, fans get a heartbreaking and inspiring look into Bon Jovi’s vocal struggles, which at one point made him consider hanging up his guitar altogether.
Keep reading for the seven most surprising revelations from Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
Jon Bon Jovi Still Hasn’t Come To Terms With Richie Sambora’s Exit From The Band
Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora are one of the most iconic duos in music. Not only did their songwriting captivate the world, but so did the beautiful blending of their voices. However, everything changed when Sambora abruptly left the band in 2013. In a heartbreaking recollection of events, he says he quit Bon Jovi because of an “amalgamation” of things, including substance abuse issues and his need to take care of his daughter as her mother suffered from mental health issues. Plus, tensions rose within the band when they used a different guitarist to record his parts when he wasn’t able to make it to sessions.
“You always hold out for hope. I think it’s sort of like you’re in a marriage or a family that has a situation like this and you’re always hoping that the family member’s gonna get better and everything’s gonna be peachy,” Bon Jovi says, before Sambora adds, “I guess if you’re in the mafia, the only thing you can possibly do is disappear. And I did.”
According to those interviewed in the docuseries, Sambora’s exit took a while to sink in, with Bon Jovi even blaming himself at times.
“At what point did you realize, like, ‘Oh, this is permanent?’” a producer asks the lead singer, to which he honestly replies, “I haven’t. Ten years later. I still haven’t.”
Richie Sambora Disliked “Runaway”
As young artists in the early 1980s, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora had a similar drive for stardom — but they didn’t always agree on everything. In 1982, Bon Jovi penned what would ultimately become the band’s debut single — “Runaway.” The singer delivered the demo to record labels and managers, though he never heard back from any of them. His “lightbulb moment” came when he decided to send the song to the “loneliest man in the music business” — the DJ. From there, the song started playing on radio stations everywhere, forcing the aspiring frontman to quickly put together a band that would become known as Bon Jovi.
Sambora ultimately joined as the lead guitarist, bringing not only his skills on the strings but also the voice of an angel and the ability to write music. Despite “Runaway” practically becoming an instant hit, Sambora admits 40 years after its release that he wasn’t a fan of the song.
“Jon had a song called ‘Runaway,’ which I kind of disliked very much,” he says in Thank You, Goodnight. “But I saw something that he had — the ’it’ factor.”
David Bryan Left Med School To Be A Rockstar
Bon Jovi’s keyboardist extraordinaire David Bryan came very close to going down a different career path. He and Jon Bon Jovi first teamed up in high school for their cover band The Atlantic City Expressway. Bryan was asked to join the band because he was the only one with a van that could transport everyone from Sayreville, NJ down to Asbury Park, NJ for gigs. After Bon Jovi left the band, Bryan graduated high school and began college at Rutgers University.
“David was going to college. His nice Jewish mother wanted him to be a doctor,” Bon Jovi says.
But it all changed when the singer wrote “Runaway” and signed a record deal.
“I said, “Listen, I love pre-med. But I’ll give this like a year. It looks like it’s way more fun than being a doctor,’” Bryan recalls in the documentary.
Elvis Presley’s Manager Colonel Tom Parker Had Something To Say About Bon Jovi
Thank You, Goodnight was largely filmed in 2022, the year Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis biopic was all the craze. While speaking to cameras post-vocal surgery, Jon Bon Jovi opens up about his connection to Elvis Presley — and how the King of Rock helped inspire his own career.
“I loved the Elvis movie,” Bon Jovi says. “I realized how many things that I had forgotten but I was very conscious of in my career that I had lifted from Elvis and how many things in that movie touched my life directly.”
According to the frontman, Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie Presley — who died in 2023 — was just a kid when she came to see him while he was recording his solo album “Blaze of Glory” for the Young Guns film. Plus, he says Priscilla Presley asked him to “do something after [Elvis] had passed, which I didn’t do.” Even Colonel Tom Parker — Elvis’ manager, who was played by Tom Hanks in the film — had something to say about Bon Jovi.
“The Colonel said to [our manager] Doc McGee, ‘How do you make any money on five of ‘dem ‘der Bon Jovis’ — which I think is one of the greatest quotes ever,” Bon Jovi says.
Drugs Led To Alec John Such’s Exit From Bon Jovi
The rockstar life can be a bitter pill to swallow. For the late Alec John Such, who was Bon Jovi’s original bassist, balancing work and play became too much to bear. In 1994, he was fired from the band, and while he previously blamed his exit on being a decade older than the rest of the guys and feeling “burnout,” they reveal in the doc that there was a little more to the story.
“Unfortunately, Alec — the particular drugs he was doing kind of burns out your mind a little bit,” Tico Torres explains, while Richie Sambora adds, “He caught a lot of shit from Jon because he was indulging a bit.”
According to the bandmates, John Such ultimately went to rehab because he was “drinking and snorting speed.” Despite seeking treatment, he “wasn’t in a physical condition to continue on,” Bon Jovi says. “He wasn’t able to keep up so we had to let him go and it wasn’t an easy conversation. That’s when it’s a bitch to be the boss.”
John Such was swiftly replaced with Hugh McDonald, who has remained in the band ever since. He died in June 2022 from a heart attack at the age of 70.
“Al was the greatest character,” Bon Jovi recalls of his late friend. “He was a laugh riot and a great guy — just a wonderful, warm human being.”
“Bad Medicine” Was Inspired By Richie Sambora’s Sex Worker Girlfriend
“Bad Medicine” is one of the most iconic Bon Jovi songs. But the lead single off the band’s fourth album — “New Jersey” — has an interesting backstory, as Richie Sambora points out in the documentary. According to the guitarist, he was inspired to write the song after learning more about his then-girlfriend while he and the other guys were filming a commercial in Japan.
“I had found that the girl I was going out with was a prostitute,” he says. “I mean, that’ll shake you up a little bit.”
Jon Bon Jovi’s Vocal Struggles Made Him Consider Retirement
Jon Bon Jovi says it best when he says he could be the best frontman in the world — as long as he has all his “tools.” However, for much of Thank You, Goodnight, the singer struggles with his voice as he delivers a raw and honest look at a man who loves what he does for a living — but must learn how to adapt to his aging vocal cords. Despite his drive to keep going in the business, Bon Jovi admits that there were times when harsh criticism led him to consider retirement.
“It hurt. It hurt because I worked so hard — physically, mentally, spiritually — to want to be here again,” he says. “And I had to ask myself: is it worth going forward? Or is it worth saying, ‘OK, you tried but the body can’t do it anymore.’”
The star declares that he can’t be a “quitter,” before going onstage and delivering what he describes as “the worst show.” While fans would never know it, as Bon Jovi has never skipped a beat to the naked eye, he says, “I was exhausted. I just had no gas. My eyes were puffy. I just couldn’t lift my arms or my legs.”
His struggles only make it that much more emotional when he overcomes his vocal troubles (thanks to treatments and, ultimately, surgery) and gets back to doing what he loves in the end. But while the star reveals he has tens of songs ready to go for another album, he won’t continue to tour if he can’t be the best version of himself.
“If I can’t do it at 102%, then I say, ‘Thank you, goodnight.’”
