Interview: Jon Bon Jovi Hopes His Legacy ‘Was There to Do Some Good’

On the morning of March 14, Bon Jovi brought rock fans together across the world as they released their brand-new song, "Legendary."

The new track points toward Bon Jovi's upcoming record, Forever, the band's follow-up to 2020's 2020. On Thursday's edition of Loudwire Nights (March 14), Jon Bon Jovi joined Chuck Armstrong to help celebrate this new music as well as reflect on the last 40 years of making some of the biggest rock songs in the world.

"I just feel that there's an opportunity for me to leave a legacy that was there to do some good and maybe just cause a little ripple in the sea," Bon Jovi told Chuck about what he feels his music's responsibility holds today. "[Bon Jovi] is just one little thread in the patchwork of American pop culture."

Bon Jovi's Thread in American Pop Culture

Though the band may be one thread in that patchwork as far as Bon Jovi is concerned, there is no denying that there are many parts to that thread itself.

From the band's international tours over the last four decades to his powerful songwriting, there is something unique about the impact Bon Jovi has had on American pop culture — and there is something unique about how that impact has affected the entire world.

"[Bon Jovi] was a great representation of maybe some excess, but ultimately of optimism," he said.

"We went to the Soviet Union, we shared that sense of optimism with the youth of those people. We went into Central and South America during times of upheaval. When I meet somebody who will say, 'I learned how to speak English singing one of your songs,' you go, wow, isn't that absolutely amazing that American pop culture exports the way it does?"

Bon Jovi admitted that he and his bandmates didn't grow up thinking about many of the French rock bands that were around at the time or even the German bands — "with the exception of maybe the Scorpions or Kraftwerk" — and he asked the question, "What was it about American pop culture?"

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And though he didn't have an immediate answer to the question, he did feel comfortable acknowledging that there was, and is, something powerful and distinct about American pop culture.

"It's the [American dream] and the dream hasn't ever really been realized. But it's the dream of what America was meant to be from the time the bunch of guys in Philadelphia put a pen to paper and throughout history since — it was the possibility of the dream. It hasn't been fulfilled, it's a work in progress, but it's got some really good pages in its book."

What Else Did Jon Bon Jovi Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What fans can expect from the April 26 launch of Hulu's four-part documentary series called Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story: "It's each of the [band members'] truths, some of which, you know, isn't pretty, but the beautiful thing is that I didn't change any of it. I didn't care to. And I get punched in the nose quite a few times, and that's okay. That's their truth. That's their truth. That's my truth."
• How he feels to still be celebrating new Bon Jovi music: "If you had told me as a boy that we'd be having this conversation in 2024...40 years down the road is humbling. And it's exciting."
• Why he hopes he can help keep the light of optimism shining through his music: "Hate is not something that I'm filled with."

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Jon Bon Jovi joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, March 14; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.

Jon Bon Jovi: New Documentary Tells the Whole Truth