The legendary rock star opens up in the
June/July issue of AARP The Magazine about how aging
influenced his new album
WASHINGTON, May 23, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Jon Bon Jovi is determined to deliver one
clear message in his new music: Live your truth. In the
June/July 2024 issue of AARP The
Magazine (ATM), Bon Jovi, now 62, is still living out his
rock 'n' roll dreams and shows no signs of stopping.
Bon Jovi has come far, leading the rock star life his younger
self dreamed of while growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. However, Bon Jovi opened
up to ATM on how his career has changed over the years,
whether surviving new waves of music such as grunge or coming to
terms with vocal cord damage.
He overcame this vocal cord obstacle thanks to the strong
support he's received over the years. Fellow singer Shania Twain
referred him to a voice surgeon, and he also told ATM about
his enduring friendships with music icons Paul McCartney and mentor Bruce Springsteen. Now he's releasing a new
album, which Bon Jovi tells ATM is all about aging, because
he has even more life experience to inspire his songwriting.
The following are excerpts from ATM's June/July 2024 cover story featuring Bon Jovi. The
issue is available in homes starting in May and online now
at aarp.org/magazine.
On whether his new music is about aging:
"Most
definitely. 'Don't try to be what you used to be.' I don't want to
be the kid from Slippery When Wet. I have no desire
to be that kid."
On the impact of age in his songwriting:
"I have a
grander palette to write from. More life experience. I think that
every record reflects somehow who I am at that time."
Bon Jovi's reaction to potential vocal loss
"People
had to talk me off the ledge, because you're like, 'I didn't do
anything wrong! What's wrong?'"
On becoming friends with the legendary Paul McCartney:
"I'm sitting there with a
f---ing Beatle. He comes to my house often, I go to his beach house
often, and our wives are very close…. 'Oh, I've got new stuff!' he
tells me. At 81. Crazy."
Voice surgeon Robert Sataloff
on Bon Jovi's resilience:
"Jon has worked, throughout his
career, harder and more diligently than most of his fans would ever
have guessed."
On other rock stars' acceptance of the grunge
movement:
"I watched my peer group suddenly buy flannel
shirts and run to that. I said, 'This is a big mistake. Why would
you chase something?' ... I realized: Be who you are, tell your
truth."
On what future tours will look like:
"Whether or not I
can ever do a 100-show tour again, I don't know. But if I can have
joy on the stage on night one, that would be great."
About AARP:
AARP is the nation's largest
nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering
Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a
nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for
what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus
and their families: health and financial security, and personal
fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by
sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality
products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source
for news and information, AARP produces the nation's
largest-circulation publications, AARP The
Magazine and the AARP Bulletin. To learn more,
visit aarp.org/about or aarp.org/espanol, or follow @AARP,
@AARPenEspañol and @AARPadvocates on social media.
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SOURCE AARP