The Day I Met My Hero: Jon Bon Jovi on Finding Joy, Overcoming Adversity, Growing Old & Spirituality #594

Summary

Podcast Summary: Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Episode #594: The Day I Met My Hero: Jon Bon Jovi on Finding Joy, Overcoming Adversity, Growing Old & Spirituality
Date: November 12, 2025
Host: Dr Rangan Chatterjee
Guest: Jon Bon Jovi

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Main Theme & Purpose

In this heartfelt and deeply personal episode, Dr Rangan Chatterjee sits down with his boyhood hero, Jon Bon Jovi, to explore the universal ingredients of a happy and meaningful life. The conversation traverses themes of joy, gratitude, long-term relationships, overcoming adversity, dealing with fame, growing older, and the spiritual journey. Jon Bon Jovi opens up about his struggles, the evolution of his music and personality, and what keeps him grounded after decades in the limelight. At its core, the episode is about embracing optimism, authenticity, resilience, and connection, providing inspiration for listeners from all walks of life—not just Bon Jovi fans.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Finding Contentment and Joy (05:47–09:30)

• Dr Chatterjee observes that Jon seems deeply content and comfortable in his skin, noting how the lyrics in Bon Jovi's latest album reflect all the key ingredients of a good life: gratitude, friendship, joy, and love.
• Jon Bon Jovi explains that contentment is an ongoing process:

  “It’s a process. There has been progress. I haven’t quite achieved that place of satisfaction yet, but... I can take more of a macro view and see how far I’ve come... I feel like I’m making progress every day.” (06:10)

• The song "Legendary" is explored as an anthem of gratitude and appreciation. Jon acknowledges that each line is a “complete thought” representing an essential element of happiness.

2. The Foundations of Long-Term Relationships (09:30–11:12)

• Jon attributes his long marriage to Dorothea and enduring relationships with his band to knowing which relationships are worth fighting for and recognizing that they must be two-way streets built on give and take.

  “It mattered to me to take the time to nurture those relationships, to be giving and to get. But... they mattered and it was worth working on and fighting for.” (10:11)

3. The Cost of Fame and Success (11:16–12:51)

• Jon acknowledges the sacrifices required for a high-profile career but feels the cost has been "worth it." He emphasizes living a truthful life he can be proud of.

  “We cannot carry that water all by ourselves. We need people to help us on this journey... If you live a good life, you’re living a truthful life.” (11:26)

4. The Power of Optimism and Music’s Universal Language (13:41–19:09)

• Jon reflects on Bon Jovi as "America’s greatest exporter of optimism" and how music transcends language and culture.

  “The music exported optimism... we took that optimism to places that didn’t even speak the language.” (13:41)

• They discuss the impact of positive messaging in Bon Jovi’s songs and its enduring appeal, even during darker or trendier eras in music.
• Jon: “Everybody wants the same thing... shoes on their feet, food on their table, roof over their head, someone to love, the opportunity to dream.” (19:14)

5. Living in a Changing World (21:19–23:34)

• Jon contrasts the world of his touring youth with today’s technological and social changes, reflecting on both the opportunities and hazards of the digital age.
• He warns about the “loneliness the kids are finding in that little box…” (21:19) and stresses the challenge for musicians to connect in a world dominated by “10 second TikTok moves.”

6. Evolving as an Artist – Progress vs. Change (24:48–30:04)

• Jon distinguishes between “evolution” and “change”:

  “Evolution is not change, it’s progress... I wouldn’t want to at 35 be writing the songs that we wrote at 25.” (28:38)

• He discusses critical reception and long-term appreciation of Bon Jovi’s albums, citing “These Days” as a record that aged well, even if it wasn’t a commercial smash at the time.

7. Redefining Success with Age (30:11–33:14)

• With time, Jon’s definition of success has shifted away from commercial achievement to creative fulfillment and personal satisfaction.

  “The motivation should be soul-fulfilling stuff, not gratification... not just the cash cow.” (32:40)

• He now writes primarily for himself, trusting that what’s deeply personal can also be universal.

8. Overcoming Vocal Loss and Adversity (34:29–46:47)

• Jon speaks candidly about his vocal struggles and the difficult journey of recovery:

  “So much of my learning in these last few years has been about excellence, not perfection.” (36:32)

• Losing his voice forced Jon to reflect on his identity and taught him to embrace gratitude and humility.

  “All of these trials and tribulations... have made me a better man than I would have been otherwise.” (44:26)

9. On Fame, Spirituality, and Aging (54:19–57:38, 71:16–73:10)

• Jon warns of fame’s dangers:

  “Fame is a liar and a thief. Fame will ruin you if you buy into it.” (56:19)

• He embraces aging and spiritual growth, expressing gratitude and a desire to grow old gracefully without chasing immortality:

  “I don’t mind growing old gracefully, but I am going to take care of myself in real time during it.” (54:51) “Gratitude... humility... knowing that everything happens for a reason.” (71:25)

10. Soul Foundation and Service (73:17–75:32)

• Jon discusses his and Dorothea’s philanthropic work feeding people in need; empowerment and dignity are at the heart of the Soul Foundation’s mission.

  “Empowerment is the key to the universe, because now there’s a pride in it... a sense of, I’m a part of this.” (75:08)

11. The Meaning of Happiness and Regret (75:32–78:31)

• Jon equates happiness with joy, fearlessness, and selflessness.

  “To be happy is to be joy filled. To be thinking of myself less and to be fearless the way I once was would give me all the happiness that I want in the world.” (75:37)

• On regret:

  “Failure is different than regret… Regret is not getting up to work out so that you can run the marathon...” (78:13)

12. Final Messages on Dreaming and Living Fully (79:45–80:06)

• Jon’s closing advice:

  “I don’t know how many lives you get, but take this chance while you get it. If you have a dream and it’s truly your dream, pursue it. I don’t care if you fall down. I don’t care if you fail, pursue it. Because when you lay your head down on the pillow at night, you just need to know that you gave it your all.” (79:45)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On optimism in music:
  “For the longest time, we were America’s greatest exporter of optimism... if we can do it, you can do it, too.” — Jon Bon Jovi (13:41)
• On what everyone truly wants:
  “Everybody wants shoes on their feet, food on their table, roof over their head, someone to love, the opportunity to dream.” — Jon Bon Jovi (19:14)
• On the dangers of fame:
  “Fame is a liar and a thief... You gotta tame that pony quick before it gets the best of you.” — Jon Bon Jovi (56:19)
• On the meaning of success:
  “The motivation should be soul-fulfilling stuff, not gratification.” — Jon Bon Jovi (32:40)
• On long-term relationships:
  “I knew ones that were worth fighting for... to nurture those relationships, to be giving and, and to get, it has to be two way.” — Jon Bon Jovi (10:11)
• On advice for dreamers:
  “If you have a dream and it’s truly your dream, pursue it... Because when you lay your head down on the pillow at night, you just need to know that you gave it your all.” — Jon Bon Jovi (79:45)
• On spirituality and gratitude:
  “I’m in touch with that higher power... It’s all about gratitude.” — Jon Bon Jovi (71:25)
• On heroes:
  “I don’t want the burden of you looking up to what was a fictional character. I can’t carry that any longer, but I can carry that you’re gonna be rooting for me in the crowd, and guess what? I’m gonna crack... but we’re gonna smile through it and I’m gonna hit the next note.” — Jon Bon Jovi (62:26)

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Important Timestamps

| Segment | Topic | |---|---| | 05:47–09:30 | Contentment, joy, and the "Legendary" song lyrics as life philosophy | | 10:11 | The secret to long-term relationships and fighting for what matters | | 13:41 | Exporting optimism through music and connecting to fans worldwide | | 19:14 | What everyone wants from life—universality of human dreams | | 24:48–30:04 | Evolution vs. change for artists and revising definitions of success | | 34:29–46:47 | Vocal loss, overcoming adversity, and lessons from health struggles | | 54:19–57:38 | Aging, spirituality, and the dangers of fame | | 73:17–75:32 | The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation and the dignity of service | | 79:45–80:06 | Final words of advice on following dreams and living intentionally |

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Conclusion

This engaging conversation reveals Jon Bon Jovi’s deep wisdom, humility, and humanity behind the rockstar persona. Listeners are treated not only to an exploration of music’s power and the journey of a global icon but also to universal lessons on happiness, adversity, relationships, and spiritual growth. Beneath the anthems and the accolades lies a simple but powerful message: choose optimism, nurture real connections, keep growing, and live truthfully—because when you feel better, you live more.

Transcript

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I don't know how many lives you get, but take this chance while you get it. If you have a dream, and it's truly your dream, pursue it. I don't care if you fall down. I don't care if you fail, Pursue it. Because when you lay your head down on the pillow at night, you just need to know that you gave it your all.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Hey guys, how you doing? Hope you're having a good week so far.

[Podcast Narrator]

My name is Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and this is my podcast, Feel Better Live More have you ever thought about what it would be like to meet one of your heroes? What would you say to them? What would they actually be like in real life? Well, two weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet my own boyhood hero. If you've read my latest book, Make Change that Lasts, you might recall the start of chapter two when I share how much I idolized Jon Bon Jovi.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

When I was growing up.

[Podcast Narrator]

Now, when I say idolize, I really mean idolize. I wrote songs like him, grew my hair like him, bought the same clothes as him, even wore cowboy boots just like he did. And to date, I think I have seen Bon Jovi in concerts or on 33 different occasions. So when the opportunity to talk to him on my podcast came up, you can probably take a guess as to how I felt. Now you might be wondering, is this conversation going to be a little different to the usual ones I have on my podcast? Well, in some ways yes, but in other ways, no. Jon Bon Jovi has led an incredible life and despite the fame, success and money, like all of us, he's had to deal with challenges and adversity. And I firmly believe that the life lessons and wisdom he shares in this week's episode is relevant to all of us, whether we are interested in his music or not. Jon Bon Jovi is the frontman for the Grammy Award winning band Bon Jovi. They have been together for over 40 years, have sold an incredible 130 million albums, and performed in over 50 countries around the world for more than 40 million fans. In 2018, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame in recognition of their longevity and impact. And outside of his music career, Jon and his wife run the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing about positive change and helping those in need. Now, the last 10 years of John's life have been incredibly challenging for a number of different reasons. In 2013, the band's iconic Richie Sambora suddenly left the band. He was not only a dear friend he was also the original guitar player and the co songwriter on many of the band's biggest hits, including the Living on a Prayer. More recently, in 2022, after years of struggling, John had to seriously contemplate the prospect that his voice was gone forever and that perhaps his days of singing and performing might be over. Later that year, he underwent serious and risky vocal surgery in an attempt to rescue his voice, and after years of intense rehab, he has just announced a series of live concerts for the summer of 2026. In our conversation we talk about so many different topics that I think you are going to find really fascinating. We discuss the core ingredients of a happy and meaningful life and how many of his most recent song lyrics reflect a deep sense of peace and contentment. We talk about the importance of staying true to yourself, how our definition of success changes as we get older, and why hope, belief and optimism have always been at the heart of his music. We also talk about what losing his voice taught him, why he seems to be so successful at long term relationships, how he thinks about getting older, and why he's becoming more spiritual with every passing year. One of my favorite parts of the conversation was our discussion on what heroes actually represent in our lives. Not necessarily mythical characters to look up to, but instead people who can reflect back to us something we already have inside. This was a wonderful conversation with a man that has had a huge impact on me. It was so powerful to take a trip down memory lane and as an adult, look back and reflect on why John and his music resonated with me so deeply at various stages of my life. Beneath all of the anthems and achievements, there was always a simple, powerful message that I absolutely live by today, that happiness, optimism and connection are essential if we want to live a life of meaning and purpose. They say never meet your heroes, and I understand why they do. But hand on heart, I can honestly tell you that there is a little boy inside of me who's pretty pleased he got to meet his.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

As I listen to the lyrics in your latest album, as I listen to you talk in a lot of your recent interviews, it strikes me that you're in a very special place you feel to be, to me at least, super happy, super contented, someone who's very comfortable in their own skin. Why do you think that's the case?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

It's a process. There has been progress. I haven't quite achieved that place of, you know, satisfaction yet, but in the process I can take more of a macro view and see how far I've come in these Last few years, spiritually, mentally, physically. And I'm not quite where I want to be yet, but I'll make it by the target date.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

You know, and I don't know what the target date is, but I'll make it on the target date because I feel like I'm making progress every day.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. The mission statement of the album is a song legendary, and I'll be listening to it again and again all week. And I'm someone who thinks a lot about the ingredients to a happy, meaningful, and purposeful life. When I hear the bridge and chorus of Legendary, all the ingredients that I write about are in it. I raise my hands up to the sky. To me, that speaks to something that's greater than us don't need more to tell me I'm alive. It speaks to appreciation. Got what I want because I got what I need Gratitude Got a festival of friends that'll stand up for me Friendship Right where I am is where I want to be Contentment Friday night comes around like a song Sweet Carolina, we all sing along Joy got my brown eyed girl and she believes in me the love of your wife. Appreciation, Gratitude, Friendship.

[Podcast Narrator]

Contentment.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Joy. And the love of someone.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

That's it, isn't it?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That is the keys to a good and happy healthy life. Yes. And I feel like I have all of those elements. Yes, Most definitely.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Did you know when you wrote that that all the ingredients, or what I consider to be the ingredients for happiness and contentment are literally contained within those six or seven lines?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Well, I may not have broken it down the way you did, but I knew each line was a complete thought. You know, I got what I want. Cause I've got what I need. If that was all the chorus was, that's good enough for me. That's it. That's a complete thought. I don't need anything else.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Got a fistful of friends that'll stand up for me. Boy, if that isn't a complete thought and something that we all aspire to in our lives. Now you're making me sing it right? Where I am is where I want to be. Well, am I really vocally where I want to be? Well, pretty close. Not exactly, but pretty darn close. I'm in the room.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

So I feel good about that. The progress, the process. Friday night comes around like a song. It's sweet Caroline. We all sing along. That kind of camaraderie and joy, that is my aspiration. That is the absolute, only sole reason I'm sitting here in this interview today. Only Sole reason I'm re releasing this record and the sole reason I want to do another show again. To seek joy, to hold hands with joy. And that's the idea. Got my brown eyed girl and she believed in me. That was who got me through all this. Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You're speaking to Dorothea, your wife.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And as I think about your life and your career, I think about relationships. So many people struggle with long term relationships, yet you seem to be someone who, from the outside at least, does not. You have a 40 year or so relationship with your wife. Yeah. You have a 40 year relationship or so with your band. What is it that you know about long term relationships that many of us don't?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I don't know if I know anything more than anyone else knows, but I knew ones that were worth fighting for. I knew ones that are two ways. Give and take streets, which allows for growth and learning in the process. So that leaves you with a sense of awe when you're growing and learning from the others and as well as an excitement to start a new day. So it mattered to me to take the time to nurture those relationships, to be giving and, and to get, it has to be two way. But whether it was the band who had faith and all the members of the band that are either with us or no longer with us, and certainly with my wife, they mattered and it was worth working on and fighting for.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

I think everything in life has a cost.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yes.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

What is the cost of being Jon Bon Jovi?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

The cost has been worth it. Okay. But the sacrifice that you make is, is you had to work when others didn't always want to work. You had to, you know, maybe carry a little more of the burden that was self imposed, but you had to learn how to love. You had to learn how to be a friend. You have to learn how to accept a friend. When, you know, you might think I could just put up my dukes and carry this burden all by myself. We cannot carry that water all by ourselves. We need people to help us on this journey. The journey has been long. I've lived it. I'm proud of all the peaks and the valleys. There's nothing I've done that I'm truly, you know, embarrassed by or anything like that. I've had long lasting relationships and friendships. And even if business acquaintances are no longer, you know, part of the fold, it doesn't mean that there was any ill will. So if you live a good life, you're living a truthful life. You're living a, a life that you can look in the mirror and be proud of. That's all I can ask, you know? And so whatever cost I had to pay for that was worth it.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. For a fan like me, yeah. You have literally impacted my life in more ways than you could possibly imagine. I remember getting my A level results, learning. I've just gotten to medical school, got in my car, put the radio on. First song that comes on is Sunday. I'll be Saturday nights. And I'm like, yes, come on. Right? And I could give you a million different examples of that. So. And I was thinking this week, what is it about Bon Jovi? What is it about what you guys do that leads to this kind of hero worship where we follow everything you do, everything you say. What do you. I'll tell you what I think it is, but I'd love to tell me.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I'll be curious.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Well, what do you think it is?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

The music exported optimism. For the longest time, we were America's greatest exporter of optimism. We took that optimism to places that didn't even speak the language. You know, you could go to the Soviet Union and win hearts and minds with a language that wasn't even native to their tongue and win hearts and minds in South America and African nations. So that was a real thing. And I think we also represented that American pop culture dream of fun, that kind of, if we can do it, you can do it, too. All of that was a part of it. And then I grew up in front of you. You know, I may have been a little older, but I was just on the journey just ahead of you on the road. So you could see that as something that you looked up to, the way I've looked up to my heroes. They were just further on down the road, and we're all on the same journey. So you just. Because I got there before you, I could look back over my shoulder and say, yeah, this is about to happen. And you'd go, whoa. But I wasn't a fortune teller. I just got there before you. And the journey goes on. You know, I'm questioning things the way anyone else is today. But now that the road, it's making everybody play on a level playing field again. The globe in these trying times, one great thing is the safety net of. You always could rely on that lyric. Well, now I could rely on you. I know that you got my back, too.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. I want to read you something, if it's okay. From my latest book.

[Podcast Narrator]

Please.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

This is my sixth book, and this is how I've started. Chapter two. Long before I knew I was going to be talking to you on my podcast. Okay. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be Jon Bon Jovi. My bedroom walls were covered in posters of the singer and his band, and one of my prized possessions was a huge silk Bon Jovi flag that I had pinned up next to my des. I honestly thought that if I could be Jon Bon Jovi, my life would be perfect. I mean, what wasn't to like? He was successful, handsome, talented, and wealthy. He had cool tattoos and hordes of screaming fans.

[Podcast Narrator]

He appeared to be constantly performing in.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Stadiums all over the globe. And he was the center of attention whenever he went. To me, a typical teenage boy, the everyday life of Jon Bon Jovi sounded like heaven on earth. That's what got me in to you and your music. But over the last week, I've been thinking about it. I think, what is it about them? Why have I gone 33 times to see these guys in concert? Why, when you play Shepherd's Bush Empire and tickets were like gold dust and I couldn't get tickets. Why did I go down to Shepherd's Bush at 9am and spend 10 hours? And I got the only ticket from a scalper that day. There was only one available, and I managed to get it about half an hour before showtime.

[Podcast Narrator]

This is a crazy level of hero.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Worship, and I'm a bit older now, so I can reflect. And I think it was the music for sure. It was your voice, but I think it was the belief that I could listen to your lyrics and feel that I believe every word that he's singing.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

The passion, the intensity, I think it did something inside of me. I saw in you what I knew I had within me.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That's right. Yeah. Because I was further on down the road than you are. I was just saying, come on. And we grew up at a time when, in fact, I was taught to believe that you can achieve. I was born at a time when President Kennedy was in office in America. We had two working parents at our house that said that you can go and be whatever you want to be. And then I carry that as the mantle for the band, as the flag. And those are the lyrics that I felt comfortable writing. And music resonates. Music creates sound waves. Those sound waves got into your skin and they moved your soul in a way that you didn't realize it was being moved. And it made you optimistic and believing in yourself, and that's a good thing. Some songs can make you sappy, and some songs can make you angry. Our songs made you happy, and that was a good thing. It made you optimistic.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. And it wasn't always cool to write happy songs.

[Podcast Narrator]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

There were times where the trends were going a bit more depressing, a bit more introspective. Introspective? You know, maybe the grunge movement of the 90s. You guys have always pretty much put out positive messages to the world. You can be an unashamed optimist because a lot of bands won't do that. You also said something that I found really profound, which is you have sung songs to people who maybe don't even know the meaning of some of those words, but they were still smiling back at you.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

In fact, your career has gone through a seismic shift in the way the world operates. You were touring in the 80s. There was no Internet, there was no smartphones, there was no social media. So in a world that does seem so divided at the moment.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yes.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

What do you think you've learned over the years by singing your songs to millions of people around the world?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Everybody wants shoes on their feet, food on their table, Roof over their head, someone to love, the opportunity to dream, to not be oppressed or supressed. That they want to believe that they may not be the best at anything, but can always win. Doesn't everybody want that? You know, doesn't everybody just want that? And even on a. On a record like 2020, where I was talking about a lot of topical stuff, gun violence and Donald Trump and Covid and, you know, George Floyd, there was still limitless on that record. You know, life is limitless. You know, there still had to be optimism in the face of COVID and had to. Because without that hope, we're doomed to failure and darkness. We have to try to find the light in the darkest of times. So where I said that we were the exporters of optimism, and then it got to a place where a lot of people were talking about optimism after that grunge movement. A lot of the. The pop movement came around to that optimism. Now, in these times, it's gonna be interesting to see what people are gonna write in the next year or two. You know, it's daunting for me not to want to sit down and write more topical things, but I really wanna feel some joy again in my life, so I'm keeping it away. Yeah, but everybody wants the same thing, Rangan. Everybody wants the same thing. Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Listening to a song like Better Roses almost has a different meaning now when I think about this, you know, A king's ransom in dimes I'd give each night to See, through this payphone. A payphone is something that my kids will never, ever have to use, probably. So this idea that you could be on tour thousands of miles away from home and the only way you could communicate and talk to your wife is by putting in some dimes into a payphone, it was quite an evocative image this week for me because that's a world that doesn't exist anymore.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

No, no, no, no. Pictures that are instantaneous. A world that has brought us all closer together. The blessing has become the phone, the supercomputer in your pocket that gives you access to any and everything in the snap of a finger. ChatGPT my best friend is going to be our worst enemy. You know, Holy Christmas. The loneliness that the kids are finding in that little box because they're afraid to not be up to the standard of looking that way or sounding that way, or the attention span of an audience to listen to a song. Instead of giving me three and a half minutes, if I don't have 10 seconds and a TikTok move, chances are they're not going to get to the song. World's changed. We have political leaders that aren't motivators, they're aggressors. But we still have to find a common thread in this anxiety ridden time. And I think that that crazy word that I Never heard before 10 years ago is the word that will allow us to come back together by simply admitting that in this darkness, who's dark? Me, me, me, me, me. Do we want to find the light? Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Then we find the we instead of the me in the sentence and then we can get through this. Yes.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Rock and roll has always brought people together, hasn't it?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Music does. It is the international language.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And although I didn't go to any of the Oasis shows this summer because I was away, what was kind of interesting for me is certainly in the UK there was this incredible movement around Oasis this summer. A band who hadn't performed live for a long time.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And it was almost a sense of nostalgia from people who went to the show. I think you went to see them in New Jersey, right?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I did.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And I think that's the power of music. I think those shows in the summer, and I'm hoping your shows next summer, which I can't wait for, hopefully, can be an antidote to the times in which we're living.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You know, joy, collective effervescence, where people come together in shared purpose and sing along. I mean, I can remember coming out of countless bon Jovi shows feeling like I could take on the world.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Good.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Like, with a big smile on my face going, right. I can do anything I want.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Good, good, good.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You know? And is that intentional for you guys? Is when you're up on stage, is.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That'S how we felt.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I wasn't preaching the gospel according to someone else. It was our gospel. If I could do this, you could do this, too.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Absolutely true. Yeah. And that's all the messaging was as I got older and wiser and I could be the narrator and talk about topical issues that became by choice, but the optimism was it was our calling card.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. As a songwriter, it's really interesting for me to see how you've evolved over the years, and I think there's some just utterly beautiful songs on Forever. I particularly love the. The new duet with Bruce. I think the Jelly Roll one, I think, is my favorite on the album. I just think that is just his voice in the second verse adds such a different energy to the song. But when I was listening to Hollow man again this week, when with the new version and the harmonica was there, I thought that wasn't there on the original. I went back to listen to the original. This sounds like a Spring Scene song.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

It does now.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Now with his voice on it, which shows you the, you know, just how important the singer is to a band.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yes. Yes. I couldn't have written that song 30 years ago. I didn't have the life to, you know, have lived that song.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

When I wrote it, amongst a whole lot of other songs for this record, I played the demos for Bruce, and he'd called me the day after and said, man, that song Hollow Man's really special. So I was able to then use that, you know, when I called him and said, would you do it as a duet with me? And by the way, knowing that, you know, this revisiting of Nebraska and all, it says, I would really like a harmonica on it. Why don't you do it like this? And he did what he wanted to do, but I wanted it on there, so he did that for me. And, you know, it's one of my really good songs.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

It's special song. And the way he harmonizes with you in the. Oh, it's utterly gorgeous.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Thank you.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Songwriting. In a recent interview, you said that you don't like change.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Sure, I like progress, not change.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You like progress, not change. But it's really interesting. Not many bands from the 80s have endured in the way that you. You guys have.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That's true. That's true.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And I hear someone who says I don't really like change. And then I listen to Slippery When Wet in New Jersey in the 80s. The band has a little break. Keep the Faith sounds like a completely different sound of album compared to Slippery New Jersey. Not only that, that's in 92. Three years later when you come back with these days that is just a masterpiece from start to finish with a completely different sound again. So help me understand this idea that you don't like change yet you were able to change with every album.

[Podcast Narrator]

Just taking a quick break to give a shout out to the brand new updated formulation of AG1, one of the sponsors of today's show. Now, this is the time of year when our immune systems are under the most pressure. Between spending more time indoors, travel and seasonal bugs, it's natural to look for extra ways to support our immune defenses. But most people don't want to juggle multiple pills. They want something simple, effective and easy to stick with. AG1 is a daily health drink that provides key immunity supporting nutrients, Vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc and selenium, all of which contribute to the normal function of the immune system. These nutrients are included in highly bioavailable forms, meaning they are much easier for the body to absorb and use. Backed by clinical research, expert formulation and continuous improvement, AG1 has been in my own life for around seven years now. And each batch is independently tested for quality and safety. That's how they guarantee what's in your scoop and what's not. And the best thing, of course, is that all this goodness comes in one convenient, tasty daily serving. Right now I have a very special limited time offer for you worth 58 pounds, which is around $80. Subscribe now and get 10 free travel packs and a welcome kit with your first subscription. Simply go to drink ag1.com forward/livemore.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Evolution is not change, it's progress. And and I wouldn't want to at 35 be writing the songs that we wrote when I was 25 and slippery I was 24. 25 and by 95 I was 33, 34 years old. So you better evolve as a man and as a songwriter because otherwise you're gonna be the guy that got stuck when grunge came along and suddenly my peer group are wearing flannel shirts cause they think that's gonna fool the audience. That was career suicide. We didn't worry about the grunge movement, we just evolved. And you know, as songwriters and his grown ups and his family men and his men, that evolution caused us to write a Little deeper and wider and better. And. And it's. But, you know, I love how glowingly people look on the these Days record now. And I really like it too. And the songwriting is great at the time because it wasn't as commercially successful as its. The songs, you know, records before it. People were like, wow, that record didn't do as well. Well, now they look on it and they go, wow, what a wonderful album. Well, we thought it was a pretty wonderful album too, but it didn't sell as well as New Jersey and Slippery. So with time, it suddenly put up on this mantle.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

You know, and that's. That's the thing about history. It's revisionist.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. But that's really interesting, isn't. Didn't sell as well. Okay, so let's just talk about success.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Because when you've had an album like Sipri one where. And for people who maybe are not as familiar with your career as I am, that was probably the biggest album on the planet that year.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

It was the biggest record of the year. Okay.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So you were literally on radios in every country around the world just going stratospheric. Basically the thing that every band probably dreams of that was happening, including us at the same time. To achieve all your dreams in your 20s can be a dangerous place to be. We see this with many sportsmen, how they really struggle at the end of their career. I once spoke to arguably one of the best rugby players in the world called Johnny Wilkinson, and in 2003, he scored the winning goal in the World cup final to giving them the world Cup. But when he came on my podcast, John, what he said to me was, even before the ball had gone through the goal, he was starting to come down. He had 10 years of anxiety, depression after that. And in some ways reaching his dream so early was a problem because what do you do next right now? So in that context, your third album goes stratospheric. You're still here 40 years later. If you define success purely on album sales or downloads, like, it's very hard to do that again, isn't it? So how do you define success these days?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Well, these days it's going to be different than it was between Slippery and New Jersey. But unlike Johnny with that goal, I would have said, well, we're going to win the championship next year or I'm going to die trying, you know, then hence New Jersey. Or with keep the Faith that the reinvention in the face of grunge that wasn't as commercially successful as Slippery, but it reinvented us. And we were very proud of that. And not only did we. We survived grunge, but we. We thrived. Then I write Always, which is a monster song which keeps us going into what became these days. So the trajectory was steady. We stayed true to who and what we were. We worked as hard as we did yesterday towards getting to tomorrow. We didn't try to live up to slippery because there was a moment in time.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

And it was what they said about success or failure of a record that was on them, that wasn't on us. Our thing was about do it, was. It made you feel good.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

It's a dangerous place to be, isn't it? If you are judging success purely on outcomes.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Because eventually you're going to basically do the Macarena because that's the biggest song in the world at the time, you know, and now you're going to be selling your soul to do TikToks today. No, you know, that's. That's not. Yeah, that's not the right reason. That's not the motivation. The motivation should be soul fulfilling stuff, not gratification. It should be things that move your body, the resonance of the song, not just the cash cow.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Who do you write a song for?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Me. Me. That's it. Hollow man couldn't be more selfish. Legendary. The lyrics of all these songs couldn't be more selfish. Me, me, me, me, me. You know, that's it. With the hope that someone else will like it.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

I once spoke to Rick Rubin on this podcast and he said to me that you cannot make great art with the audience in mind.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Which I completely agree with. When I'm writing books or even, you know, when I write songs myself. You write them for you.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You know, they say, don't they, in writing, that the most personal is the most universal.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That's correct. Because everyone else is feeling that same thing. It's the ones that come from your deepest place that are most likely to resonate with the crowd because they're living that same shared experience. I can sit here and craft a song with you, and the rhymes can be Moon, June and spoon, and it'll sound like a record, but if it doesn't move you in your belly and think that I'm going to want to sing this in 40 years from now, there's no point in doing it.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You just mentioned whether you want to sing a song 40 years after that. You have written it. And of course, you've just announced after a tricky few years that you. You guys are going back on the Roads.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And it was kind of interesting. I heard you on our mutual friend Chris Evans show a few days ago and I don't know if I read this right or not, but you almost seem to suggest that. Let's see what happens when the tickets go on sale. You know, will they, will they shift? There was a. I don't know whether you losing your voice over the last years has really shaken your confidence because we're all looking at. These tickets are going to literally disappear on announcements. And as I shared with you before we started recording this morning at 9am, I was on the pre sale link and I got on. I was on at 8:45. I was early. By the time I got In, I was 140,000th on the list to get tickets for Wembley. Okay. There's only 80,000 tickets available.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So there is clearly a demand. Do you know what I mean? So are you surprised to hear that?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Sure, but I'm pleased. Yeah. I'm surprised. I'm surprised in as much as it's been a little while. I'm pleased because the reputation of myself and the band is spoken to people in such a manner that they would be on the, the cue at 15 minutes before it goes on. Yeah, I'm pleased, but I'm surprised. And now it's up to me to, you know, be ready when the, when the bell rings, you know, to come out of the corner and be ready.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. Well, let's talk about your vocal issues. Clearly, very traumatic time for you. When did you first realize something was off with your voice?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Realistically, 2015, 13 was the year that Richie left the band. We went on and did another 80 shows when, you know, he surprised us by not showing up. And then 14 was a year of kind of turmoil, you know, uncertainty. Fifteen, I tried to do a couple shows and it just wasn't working. And I thought, oh, it's because I'd been laid off for so long, I sought out medical help. And in truth, the doctor, I'm not sure knew what the hell he was doing because he was like, I don't know. That was his answer. And I could tell something wasn't right. Sixteen, we put out this House is Not for Sale. We do some 40 or so shows only and they're fine. But I could tell, again, something's not right. Covid hits, which restricts us from going on the road. I wrote a narrative record. We put out legendary, you know, the Forever album in 24. And after the surgery, it's not right yet. So it's been A long slog and, you know, I just have to embrace. So much of my learning in these last few years has been about excellence, not perfection. And knowing that I've planted the seeds, you know, I've built the house already. I'm good. It'll be good. Believing that is another thing. And then letting it go, you know, so I'm sort of dealing with all that on a daily basis, but it's getting better and better and better daily because the physical is better, the mental is better, and the spiritual has always been good.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Did you ever have to think about your voice before this happened?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

No. Even if it went awry, even if I was, you know, in my youth burned out and out there on steroids, I didn't know any better. I didn't think about it. I wasn't worried about it. It's like, yeah, it sounds like poop, but I'm not worried about it. It's gonna come back.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

The confidence of youth.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

The confidence of youth. Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Because there's many singers who've struggled with their voice. Obviously, Steven Tyler had to hang up his boots recently. Right, Right. And I wonder, is there something about the 80s rock vibe in the sense that singers today, let's say Ed Sheeran or Chris Martin, when they hit the high notes, they're often going into falsetto. Damn right. You never did that. Right. You were in full throat voice. I mean, I've fallen in love again this week with my guitar lies bleeding in my arms.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Thank you.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

That could well be my favorite Bon Jovi song of all time. Although I've got about 50 top three favorites. Okay. So it depends on the day, but in the choruses, you go up an octave. I'm like, how was he singing that high in full throats? And then when I think about these back to back 240 day tours that you did in the 80s, I'm like, well, maybe that's the cost. Maybe the cost of actually that rawness, that passion that we all fell in love with. Maybe there's only so many times you can do that. Do you know what I mean? I don't know.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I don't know either. I'll let you know.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. So what does success look like for your tour next year?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

My ultimate goal that I put up for myself was to be able to sing anything in the catalog that I want to sing. And I'm pretty close to that.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Can I. Can I ask you on that point? This is really interesting. Right? So you've said in multiple interviews that your standard is two and a half Hours, four nights a week. Cause that's what you guys have done. I've been to shows where I think you played for three hours. Right, but why does that still need to be the standard? Like, no one would mind if you were like, you know what? Those four songs are great, but I can't hit them anymore. So we've still got another 40 hits. Do you know what I mean? So to a fan, I'm like, to us, I don't think it matters. But why do you think it matters to you?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Maybe it doesn't. I don't know yet. I'm good with that. You know, it doesn't mean that you can't do a different set list, but, you know, I can assure you that I'm singing prayer every day and hitting the high notes. Yeah, I am. I do. Every day. No problem. It works. So we're okay?

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah, I can't wait. I mean, I can't wait to see it. You know, the last time I saw you guys live was the last time you were in the UK was in 2019 when you played at Anfield.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And I taught my son, who at the time would have been, what, nine years old? And I'd say, actually, this is really interesting. You'll probably be pleased to hear this. We read about the organization and how there's a lot of loyalty in the organization. Let me tell you something that happened at Anfields. I was really excited to show my son, Bon Jovi, this band he's heard so much about from his dad. And we were in the standing area, and a security guy comes over and says, he's too young. You gotta go. You gotta go up to the tears. We had our tickets. I was like, no, I don't wanna be up there. And one of your guys who was doing the video, he just called us in and he said, don't worry, he can sit here with me. So my son literally stood behind in the little square where one of the guys was videoing it. He stood just behind him and he watched the whole show, and we were standing next to him.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Beautif.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Do you think that comes from the top? Because I was really impressed with that. I thought, john doesn't know this has just happened, but I'd love to be able to tell him one day that it was such a beautiful thing.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

It's a beautiful thing.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So why do you think your guy did that?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That's the organization that comes from the top. That's who we are. That's what we are. That's the kind of people we hire. That's what I expect. And I want the people that work for me to represent who we are. And I want the people that work for me to be a part of what it is that we do and feel that pride in what they do. So that connection is real because it's what we exude. That's the messaging that we give them to share with that crowd. Yeah, absolutely.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You never had to think about your voice until it went. I've been a doctor for 23 years and I've seen so many times people who never, ever took their health seriously until something happened. So the 52 year old executive who kept working and kept pushing and thought he could just do it all until he has the heart attack, or the 46 year old mother who never, ever did anything for herself, everything was for her husband, her children, her parents, her community until she comes down with the autoimmune disease.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

But I've also heard many times people say that my disease or my diagnosis was my greatest gift. Now, you have to say that with sensitivity because it's only a greatest gift if you come out the other side. Right. So I have had patients with cancer before who told me afterwards that was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah, the because part. Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

They look at their life differently. So I guess with that in mind, I know losing your voice was incredibly painful. It was your thing. It's what you're known for all over the world. But was there an upside?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

All of these trials and tribulations from 2014 on are part of the journey which have made me a better man than I would have been otherwise. I'm aware of that. It's a hell of a cost. And it's not cancer, you know?

[Podcast Narrator]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

So, yeah, I get it. And to come out the other side and the way I'm feeling with joy and gratitude and knowing that I don't have to carry the burden, but it's we, not me. And all the kind of things I've learned in the last couple years through this process will make it that much better. Because even the reward of the it, whatever the it may be, let's call it the applause of the crowd. Okay. Or the idea that I get to take the bow with happiness in my heart. At the end, it's not just me that's gonna take the bow. You're gonna take it being in the audience. Cause you're gonna go, my man did it. Yeah, your son's gonna do it.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

I mean, I'm semi tempted to come for the first Madison Square Garden show. Because I'm thinking that's gonna be. That's the first date of the tour. And I'm thinking it might be too much.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

But we're not gonna go. You know, don't. Don't even go there. Don't put too much weight on it. I don't want that weight. I don't want any of those burdens any longer. It isn't me. It's we. I'm doing this for us.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah, because you don't need to do it, do you?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yes. But as a doctor and as a wise man, I want you to take that thought and consider what you just said. Because when people say that to me, I'm so confused by it. Because they go, well, you've got fame, you've got money, you've got. It's not why we do this. We do it for that spiritual resonance that happens when the song vibrates and you feel that connection to it or to the band or the band with the crowd, and vice versa. Metaphorically speaking, I've realized this. I say I get to hold the light. I've dreamt about a light like this. My job is to hold it. The band's power is powering it. We shine it on that crowd. I get the reward of the reflection. That's it. That's all I wanted. Yes. I don't need anything else.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

When I say you don't need to do it. Throat surgery is super hard. You are like an athlete having to rehabilitate your voice.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That's right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Right. But you've also said that being a singer off a rock band is not who you are. It's just something that you do. And it's something that you do very well. So when I say you don't need to do it, what I mean is that you seem to have so many other interests outside rock and roll family. You're a father. Your soul foundation, your business with your son, whatever it might be. Right. People often say, don't they, that athletes should retire at the top. I spoke to Eli Kipchoge a few months ago. He's the fastest marathon runner of all time. He's run a marathon in under two hours. And then I also spoke to him two days after he did the London Marathon, where he came seventh, and he was still full of pride and joy. He's like, yeah, I don't do it just to win. I do it because I love running. I want to show the world that actually the world is a happier place when we all run. And we experience joy. So I guess what I'm trying to get to is this idea that people, fans, the media can put expectations on you, but ultimately all that matters is why do you want to do it? And if you want to do it, that's good enough for anyone.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right. And you're prepared. You know, I mean, he ran that marathon because he can, because he's trained for it, because he's not just showing up and singing in the shower. You know, he can do it. So he came in seventh. So what? Who cares?

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Can you tell me about the T shirt your friend Obi o' Brien gave to you and why you wouldn't wear it?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Nothing left to prove. Yeah, well, because I think at the time he gave it to me, I felt like if I wore it, it was almost like quitting. And that was pre surgery, and I wasn't ready to give up on me. So I did the surgery with no idea that it was going to be the three and a half years of recovery. But I didn't wear it for that reason. Now I do wear the shirt, but it has a different meaning to me now. You know, I had to do that surgery for me. Not even for getting back out on this big stage. I just had to do it. You know, if I can sing great in the shower, that would have been cool. That was good. You know, that was fine. But the kind of bravado of nothing left to prove, chip on my shoulder, me against the world, been there, done that. I don't need that. I don't need that. It's not about that.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Because you really do, from a musical perspective, have nothing left to prove. I mean, you have achieved all the milestones that any band could dream of. You've played every venue. You closed the old Wembley Stadium. You're playing the new one next year. You've done Hyde park, so you don't have to prove it to anyone else. Is there a part of you that wants to prove it to yourself?

[Podcast Narrator]

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[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Or in Egypt last October when we.

[Podcast Narrator]

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[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Host.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

The only thing that I would say about that, if it's at all proving it to myself, is I would remember as a child if I would run nine tenths of a mile and I just stopped before the goal line. Somewhere in my traumatized head, I would say I Didn't finish the race.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I don't have to win the race, but I did want to finish the race. And so there was a time when it was very important to me to finish the job. So this surgery has changed some of the perspective. And as long as I can approach it with joy in my heart and good health, then I have to do it. You just have to. With no expectations. Do not focus on the expectations.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Just the moment. And if I can remember everything I've read and learned in the last three plus years. We're good.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. When you lose something that you have never had to think about before, your voice, we suddenly realize that we're a fallible human, that things can go wrong. Yeah. But, you know, you're 63 years old. I mean, in my world, longevity is huge. Right. Everyone's talking about how to live longer now. How do you see longevity? How do you see the fact that you're getting older now when you've had something as serious as vocal surgery?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right, right, right. The craze now in social circles with the affluent is to try to live forever. Right. All these rich billionaires, you know, they can't buy time, and so they're trying to create the Dr. Evil's magic potions. I'm not seeking that out. I don't mind growing old gracefully, but I am going to take care of myself in real time during it. That's important to me. I feel good. So I'll do the exercise, but I'm not going to take 99 vitamins that I don't know if they work and this concoction and go to that country to get that special needle. I'm not really chasing the fountain of youth.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

That strikes me as something you've always had, Even back in 2000 when Crush came out.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So one of my favorite songs again, is just Older. And you write in that song, you know, I like the skin I'm sleeping in. I'm not old, just older. You were writing that in your 40s.

[Podcast Narrator]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So the sense of gratitude and appreciation has always been there.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And where does that come from? Because a lot of people don't. Right.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Well, I don't know who a lot of people are. I know what I believe, and I'm grateful for it. Always have been. Yeah. Don't take it for granted. You shouldn't.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. What do people misunderstand about fame?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Fame is a liar and a thief. Fame will ruin you if you buy into. Will tell you things that you shouldn't have Believed. And it'll take from you things that you never wanted to lose. You gotta tame that pony quick before it gets the best of you. Like it had to so many people. That's why the 27 Club. How many young of the greats died because they couldn't handle the ride? I wasn't interested in that.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

The fact that many of your peers seem to struggle with fame, I mean, it's a rock and roll cliche, I think about the fact that you have been with Dorothea, or you've known Dorothea, your wife, since you were in high school.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Correct.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So she knew you before you were Jon Bon Jovi to people like me.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yep.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Let's go back to legendary for a minute. Second verse. I know this town like the back of my hand. Every crack in the sidewalk tells me who I am. Even the fact that you still live in New Jersey, that you're not in LA or you're not in, I don't know, the media hub of the world. How important do you think New Jersey and Dorothea are? Oh, hugely to this huge. Huge.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

It's a lot easier to have gotten lucky, as I did, than to wonder if the lady, you know, sleeping next to you is there for the right reasons. And, you know, and when you're crying at night, which is that often happens that somebody's there to hold your hand when you're hurting. Because believe me, you know, I've had a lot of hurt and, you know, it's not easy. But you support each other and she supported me and I've needed it. You know, it's been tough, but that's what partnerships are.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. In 2022, when you were on the roads, that 15 day tour where you were really struggling with your voice, people are commenting online, people are talking about Jon Bon Jovi's voice. What was it like for you to, I don't know, read some of that criticism?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I'd be honest, I'd be lying if I told you that it didn't hurt, but it did. And in truth, you know, you had to really try hard not to look at it and to convince yourself that it'll get better tomorrow. It'll get better tomorrow. It'll get better tomorrow. And it wasn't from neglect. It was, you know, it just was broken and you couldn't have fixed it. Nothing could have fixed. Was not easy. No, no, it sucked.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And of course Dorothea was there, to be honest with you, wasn't she?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Sure.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You know, I think you said that you came off one night thinking, yeah, I think it was pretty Good.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Right. I came off the stage in Nashville and I'd really psyched myself up to try to be great. Cause it's Nashville, it's my friends.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

And. And I came off thinking, you know, all right, that was pretty good. And she says, no, it's not. You know, I know when you're good. And that hurt because I thought that was the end of it. Because I've tried everything. And I'm telling you, from a dietary gluten, sugar, booze, dairy, exercise, tons and tons of vitamins, acupuncture, guys on the road, two different singing teachers, two and a half hours of singing before the show. Wow. Just to try to warm it up to a place where it could go 30, 45 minutes after the show, plus the two and a half hour show. It's not easy.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

But I've gotten through it. I'm past it. Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

It reminds me of a little bit of my own wife. She'll tell me, like, I don't think that's very good. You know, you can do better.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Of course.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And you want that because there's not many people who are going to tell you that.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Of course. Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That's hugely important. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

It's interesting for me, John. Yeah. I'll be honest with you. This interview was a really funny one for me to prepare for. I've been doing this show for almost eight years. I spoke to all kinds of people. Some of the best people in their field in the world, some super famous people, like Matthew McConaughey. But I've never spoken to someone who was literally on my wall for two decades. And I would see space looking at me.

[Podcast Narrator]

Right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And so I had this really weird thing today because I've evolved. I'm not that person anymore. I'm not that boy. You know, that chapter I read, the first paragraph to you before from my book, is all about that heroes can be helpful, but they're not real in the sense that you're only seeing one aspect of their life.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That's right.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So you don't know everything. You think you want to be them, but you don't know. And they say, don't they? They say, never meet your heroes. You've met quite a few of your heroes in life.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yes.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Has that been a good thing or has it sometimes been disappointing?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Well, it's been amazing. You know, my example would be Bruce, Right. He's like a big brother. He's 13 years older than me, as I'm older than you. And I get all this stuff. And when I look at him, I try to think, well, what is it about him now that I see in that light? Well, in truth, it's the same thing I saw when I. It's the little kid in me.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That admired the fictional character of what he is and was.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Exactly.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

And I admired that and I loved it and I was drawn to it and I wanted to be like that. But he's still, you know, just a confused family guy like the rest of us, trying to figure it out. That, too, helps me now to realize that you, as an accomplished author and a doctor and a self help guru, and with all these years of a podcast that is reaching now, millions of people, we're all just figuring it out.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That, to me, is the greatest breakthrough I've had in the last several months. Because I don't want the burden of you looking up to what was a fictional character. I can't carry that any longer, but I can carry that. You're gonna be rooting for me in the crowd with your boy, and guess what? I'm gonna crack. But you know what? We're gonna smile through it and I'm gonna hit the next note. Yeah. And that's gonna be sexier than all of it.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. That's beautiful. It won't just be my boy. I'm bringing my daughter this time as well.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Bang.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. So, yeah, I love that, because I've been thinking about heroes all week, and I don't think it's necessarily that we want to be them. There's just something in them that reflects within us.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Sure.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

I think that's all it is. We're all fallible humans.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That is the greatest breakthrough I've had in forever.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

You could take an aspect of a fictional character and hang it up on your wall. Right on. But I love the beauty that we are all experiencing the human element together. And it's not going to be perfect and it's not gonna be pretty, and that's what's making it sexy.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

As a daughter, I'm really interested in routines and how we reach our health goals, how we live a happy, contented life in good health. Because health is related to happiness and happiness is related to health. It goes both ways.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

True.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And I'm just fascinated. Like, when you're on tour and this would have evolved over the years, but I don't know, in the 90s and the 2000s and the 2010s, when you're getting older, how did you look after yourself on tour or even today? How Are you going to look after yourself on tour? What do you need to do?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I feel better when I do healthy things. Eating, sleeping.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

But you're an early morning guy.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I am.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So how does that work with rock and roll?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Well, if you're really in that touring cycle, everything shifts and you're going to bed at 2 in the morning and you're waking up at noon. But that's part of the price you pay to be on the road. That's just what it has to be. Because by the time you travel after a show, and that's just the way it is. But let's just say in my non touring life, I do like to get up at 7 o'. Clock. I do like to have my mornings, I do like to journal, I do like to work out in the morning. I do a little something to eat. Probably not enough before I sing, but that's just what I feel most comfortable in my belly with. But you know, I know that when I had a bottle of wine last night and I wanted it, I didn't need it, but I wanted every drop of that bottle. It was a long day of work and I was in a good mood. It does cause some cells in the body to be more tired today. Now what's that gonna do to you? I'll tell you what it's gonna do to you. It's gonna fuck with your head. Cause your head's gonna go, your throat's tired. Guess what? Your throat's tired. Oh, I'm never gonna sing good again. Yeah, wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out. I had a great bottle of wine last night. That's all this is, you know. Leave me alone. Yeah, so you, you gotta get out of your head and know that I have put in the hours and I have put in the days and the weeks and the months and the year and I am better. But these are all things that you learn, you know, and you evolve. So if I could go on the stage with two bottles of wine in the 80s, I would never do that and go and think I was playing the stadium tonight. That just wouldn't happen. You see, so everything evolves. I'm 63, I don't want to run five miles, I want to run three.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

You know, but I found something else in tennis that moves me, you know, and spiritually moves me.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

It's interesting. I'm, as you say, behind you in age. I did my first UK theater tour in March. Okay, just to be clear, I'm not at all comparing it to a rock show. Okay?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Sleeping in a hotel. You're traveling funky hours, kind of theaters, maybe 2,000 people.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Theaters. I did 16 dates. Yeah, I'm a morning guy. When I'm at home, I get up at 5. Like I love time to myself, to journal, to meditate, to move, whatever it might be. Yeah. I was coming on stage at half seven and coming off stage usually about 10, 20.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Wow. Three hours.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Three hours with a like 50 minute break. It's a lot and I loved it. But I'd come off and obviously you've got lights on you as well. And the more we're learning about light and what it does to our circadian rhythm. I'm coming off a wired. Yep, totally amped up. I'm like, how the hell do these guys do it? Cause you're rocking up to a hotel, sometimes you're traveling after. And I was finding I was still up in hotel rooms at 2am you can't phone anyone. Cause your wife and kids are asleep. I'm like, wow. This is why rock stars go off the rails on the roads, right? Cause they're in a hotel room with nothing but the minibar, booze and sleeping pills. Yeah. So we're currently looking at dates for next year with all your years of touring experience. And I know I'm the health guy, but I don't have the experience you've got. What would you say to me about how to make my touring life a little bit easier on me?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Sleep is the key to the universe. Hydration is also the key to the universe. It doesn't have to be seven nights in a row. You know, I won't do back to backs any longer. It just takes too much of a toll. And even on the last tour you do two, but in our youth we do three or four. I won't do that any longer. You do one, but that's okay. So to me, it's about sleep. It's about. I don't believe that I got to take 99 different kinds of vitamins. I tried all that and I didn't feel that much better. You know, I'm way into pliability than I am into chiropractic. You know what I mean? I don't have to have my bones cracked every day like I used to think I did. It was. Now it's about stretching. It's. It's just different. It's not better.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

How do you wind down when you get to the hotel room after you.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

If you're. If you're not boozing, which I was not on that last 22 tour. It's not easy to go to bed, especially when your mind's going right. But this is all meditative stuff and reading, and he had to find other things to get you to sleep. The road's not fun. No, it's not fun. The show's good, but the rest of the day, yeah, tough job.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And you must have been so bored at times because, you know, we were talking before about how the world has changed. You were doing all that pre smartphones. Right. So these days, people can numb their brains and actually watch whatever they need.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

To, but we could never watch television. Or did you get CNN in a foreign country? Couldn't understand the language.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

But I wonder if that boredom actually had a real upside. And the reason I say that I made a TV documentary last year on smartphones and kids and the impact that they're having. And I made it with a chap called Matt Willis and his wife Emma. And Matt is the singer, songwriter in a UK boy band called Busted, who are very successful. Maybe around 2003. Time.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Okay.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And he said to me while we were making that documentary, he said, rong, the problem is your smartphones. I don't write songs anymore because I'm just. I'm just looking at this phone the whole time.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yuck. Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So that would be time where people would actually. That boredom would lead to them picking up a guitar. Right.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Okay.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And starting to sing and like, writing. So I don't know. To me, it seems like, are these smartphones perhaps getting in the way of songwriting and real creativity?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

They're getting in the way of the world. You know, they're getting in the way of your self esteem. They're getting in the way of you being a creative. They're getting in the way of your politics. You're getting in the way of influencing who and what we are. Because if an algorithm that they're feeding you, that isn't necessarily the truth. You know, the gift is the curse. Like I said, you have a supercomputer in your pocket, but unless you tame it, it's gonna break you. And so does that get in the.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Way of your songwriting?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

No, not songwriting. But, you know, am I victim to playing with the Instagram a little too much? Yeah, I do that. I don't have any of those other things on it. And in fact, I have made a point mentally to say, I just got to even erase this thing. I made sure I don't look at anything about me. You know, I make sure, like, my algorithm don't come up in there.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

But no, even getting rid of that is a good thing. No. It doesn't get in the way of the songwriting. No, no.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You've mentioned before that you're spiritually in a good place.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yes.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And I've read in another interview that you've been saying that as you are getting older, you're becoming more spiritual.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yes.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

What does that word mean to you?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I'm in touch with that higher power with God. You know, I don't ask for favors or for successes. It's all about gratitude. And it's not going to church on Sunday, which is a little. Still broken to me, but the connection is there more than ever and ever and ever been, you know, so. But it's all about gratitude and that. That's really what I get out of it. Humility, gratitude, and knowing that, you know, everything happens for a reason.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Have you always believed that?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Well, it's been magnified more as I've gotten older.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Does being a creator, does songwriting perhaps feed into that belief that there's something greater out there in the sense that, like, where do these songs come from? I know you're.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

That's for sure. A little bit of that. Sure. A little bit of that. I mean, our better angels are all out there if we have take the time to see them. You know, it's a dark world, in my opinion right now, but there are beams of light, and there are people that are doing good that aren't in the spotlight and not on your podcast and not on the stage behind a microphone, but they are the ones that are keeping the lights on. And these are very trying times. And with kids that are victims of these smartphones, for example, and the learning deficit that happened during COVID those five years, grades are falling behind, and it's scary as fuck out there right now, but there are people that are shining rays of light, and I'm still not giving up on the it because of them.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You're a very humble guy. You say there's people out there doing great work, but so are you and your wife.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So can you just tell people about the Soul foundation, what it is, and why it's so important to you and your wife to actually do this kind of charitable work?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

We've done it for a long time. World travel made us a little more enlightened when realizing that there were the haves and the have nots. And that divide was happening more and more and more as my life has gone on. When we started the foundation some 20 years ago, it was under the guise of sport Ownership. I used to own an arena football team. In order to ingratiate ourselves to the community, I wanted to be more philanthropic than what we called the Big Four. Baseball, basketball, hockey. And at first, we were whatever you needed. Pencils, computers, bedsheets. Okay, fine, we give it to an orphanage. And then one night when I saw a homeless man sleeping on a grate outside of the city hall, and I realized that you didn't have to be young or old, black or white, Republican or Democrat. Homelessness could hit anybody at any moment, as most of the world lived paycheck to paycheck. Two bad weeks or months, and you're on the street. So I found an expert in the field who taught me everything I know about it. In 2008, Dorothea conceptualized the soul kitchens, where there are no prices on any of the menus. It's all farm to table food. If you want to come there and affect change directly, instead of writing a check to a charity and wondering what, you know, what good did you do? You'd see it because your donation just paid for your meal and the meal for someone in need, the person who's in need. And you would never know the difference between you and the person in need. They volunteer for their meal, and in turn, they're empowered. And empowerment is the key to the universe, because now there's a pride in it. There's a sense of, I'm a part of this. And so we have four of these restaurants, and the need is only growing, and it works. We don't need the scientists to find the cure.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

What has it given you?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Oh, a great sense of satisfaction, great sense of pride in knowing that, you know, you're putting more food in someone's belly. It's as comforting as you imagine it would be. You can't think of yourself in that position without wanting to cry. And it's given me great feeling of satisfaction and pride knowing that our little ripple in the water has resonated.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. What does happiness mean to you today?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I mean, it's top of my list. To be happy is to be joy filled. To be thinking of myself less and to be fearless the way I once was would give me all the happiness that I want in the world, you know, And I know what we do in service, that's all well and good, and I feel good about that, but spreading that optimism is something that I look forward to doing, you know, in the. In the next year.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You're a parent. You're a new grandparent, I believe, as well. Congratulations.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Thank you.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

I'm super fascinated by. What is it like being the children of Jon Bon Jovi? Is it hard, do you think, growing up when your dad has been so mega successful, that's a kind of a tough bar, isn't it?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Well, inasmuch as what would your work ethic be? No shortage of that. So they're all working very hard, independent of each other, and I love what they're all doing. The blessing and the curse of being the son of is that, you know, your name is recognized everywhere, and everyone's going to look at you most times because, you know, we've done a lot of good in the world. It benefits them. And so, you know, overall, it's not been bad. It's not easy.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

But it's not bad either.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah, for sure. Any regrets?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Even the bad was okay because, you know, these were lessons learned. Even the bad things that you did in your life were not bad enough to put you in jail or give you cancer. So everything else was an opportunity to learn from it.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah, I think a lot about regrets, and I've come to believe that regrets are a form of perfectionism. Actually, you mentioned perfectionism before, because I think regrets, for many of us, at the heart, there is this belief that we think that we could have done better, but I think we're always doing the best that we can based upon what we know and based upon what we have availability to do and what.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

You put into it.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And what you put into it.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Yeah.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

So I kind of feel in some ways, and I know not everyone will agree with this, but I certainly feel for me that regrets are a waste of time in the sense that that's not me saying that I couldn't have improved things, but I'm like, no, let me look back and go, ah, you know what? I made that decision. But if I'm in that situation again, I'm gonna make a different decision now.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Because I've learned failure is different than regret.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

You can fail all day long. That's so. That's. In fact, that's great.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Regret is not getting up to work out so that you can run the marathon. Regret is staying in with the drink and the drug instead of writing the song that day.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

You know, so, yeah, it's all been great.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Well, John, we started off talking about gratitude, and I want to end off talking about gratitude. I've already mentioned it on the show today, but I just want to express my gratitude to you.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Thank you, Ryan.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

And everything you and your band have done over the years. I'm not exaggerating when I say your music has literally provided the soundtrack to my life. It has touched me, it has moved me. Joy, belief, optimism. And although me being a doctor and doing what I do today might seem very different from rock and roll, I think you have a role and you've played a pretty significant part in what I do today. So I want to say thank you.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Thank you. That means a lot. That means a lot. And that will help me tonight to put my head on the pillow and get through, you know, and do it again tomorrow.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

So thank you for that.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. For someone who is watching this, John, who knows that they're not living their life and they have a dream, they have a passion, but they're not living it, do you have any words of advice for them?

[Jon Bon Jovi]

I don't know how many lives you get, but take this chance while you get it. If you have a dream and it's truly your dream, pursue it. I don't care if you fall down. I don't care if you fail, pursue it. Because when you lay your head down on the pillow at night, you just need to know that you gave it your all.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Yeah. Love it. John, you're an inspiring man.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Thank you.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

You're humble, you're optimistic, and it's been a sheer joy. Thanks for coming on the show. Thank you.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

This was great. Thank you very much. I looked forward to it and I appreciate it.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Thank you, man.

[Jon Bon Jovi]

Brilliant. That was great.

[Dr. Rangan Chatterjee]

Really hope you enjoy.

[Podcast Narrator]

Enjoyed that conversation. Do think about one thing that you can take away and apply into your own life. And also have a think about one thing from this conversation that you can teach to somebody else. Remember, when you teach someone, it not only helps them, it also helps you learn and retain the information. Now, before you go, just wanted to let you know about Friday 5. It's my free weekly email containing five simple ideas to improve your health and happiness. In that email, I share exclusive insights that I do not share anywhere else, including health advice, how to manage your time better, interesting articles or videos that I've been consuming, and quotes that have caused me to stop and reflect. And I have to say, in a world of endless emails, it really is delightful that many of you tell me it is one of the only weekly emails that you actively look forward to receiving. So if that sounds like something you would like to receive each and every Friday, you can sign up for [e-mail] Friday 5 Now if you are new to my podcast, you may be interested to know that I have written five books that have been bestsellers all over the world covering all kinds of different topics, happiness, food, stress, sleep, behavior change and movement, weight loss and so much more. So please do take a moment to check them out. They are all available as paperbacks, ebooks and as audiobooks which I am narrating. If you enjoyed today's episode, it is always appreciated if you can take a moment to share the podcast with your friends and family or leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you so much for listening. Have a wonderful week. And please note that if you want to listen to this show without any adverts at all, that option is now available for a small monthly fee on Apple and on Android. All you have to do is click the link in the Episode Notes in your podcast app and always remember you are the architect of your own health. Making lifestyle change is always worth it because when you feel better you live more.