Jon Bon Jovi was a guest on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, April 10. The singer visited the talk show to promote the upcoming four-part Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
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During his interview, Bon Jovi talked about his friendship with fellow New Jersey legend Bruce Springsteen, who started as his idol and has become a close pal. The 62-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer revealed that he and the Boss not only hang out, but they take long excursions together.
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“[N]owadays, we go out of our way to spend time together,” Bon Jovi shared. “And the story that’s gotten around is that we take these drives … no radio, no phones, nobody. … The two of us will go for a hundred 100 miles, where the two of us can lock the door and go for a ride and talk. Catch up.”
He then admitted, “[F]or the first five, six, seven times, I’d say, ‘God, I wish a cop would pull us over. This would be a great shot.’”
Bon Jovi pointed out that, as of now, the two stars now have been spotted together so many times that it’s no longer that much of a novelty.
“[I]t’s like … Bigfoot, because we’ve been everywhere,” he said. “You know, people see you at the flea market or the ice cream parlor or the bar. … We’ve done it a bunch.
Jon Shares Why Springsteen Is a Big Inspiration for Him
Bon Jovi also explained why Springsteen and the E Street Band were such an inspiration to him.
He recalled that growing up in the late 1970s, bands like Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Lynyrd Skynyrd seemed like they were from “another planet.” That being said, 30 miles south of his hometown, Sayreville, was Asbury Park, home base of Springsteen and his group and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
“There was 10 Asbury Jukes, seven E Street Band members,” Jon noted. “They had been making records—they’re 10, 12 years older than I am—so that you can go down and touch the impossible. It was right there.”
Bon Jovi Has Known Springsteen fro a Long Time
Bon Jovi also pointed out that he’s known Springsteen for his “whole adult life.”
“I mean, the first time he jumped up on stage with me was 1979,” he recalled. “I’m still in high school. So I go to high school the next morning, and I say, ‘Boy, do I have a story to tell,’ because … I’m playing with Southside or Bruce, and they’re several records into their careers at this point.”
Asked if he ever gets used to the fact that he’s friends with Springsteen, Bon Jovi said, “No. No, he’s him. No, never.”
Springsteen also appears in Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which premieres April 26 on Hulu.
