"Our connection is deep": Jon Bon Jovi talks about his friendship with fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen

American singer and songwriter Jon Bon Jovi recently opened up about his friendship with rock singer Bruce Springsteen, aka The Boss, in a sit-down for the promotion of his new docuseries, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.

The 62-year-old's exclusive interview with People was published on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Jovi spoke at length about his bond with The Boss, explaining that while he considered Springsteen “a hero growing up,” he now knows him as a friend.

"Our connection is deep, on a whole different level of friendship, because how many guys can talk like we can talk, in close quarters, about life and love and loss? Our relationship is deep, and he’s a dear friend of mine, and he really is like a big brother."

Jon Bon Jovi also joked that Springsteen is “the Ghost of Christmas Future” due to their age gap and similar life paths. Jon is 62 years old, while his friend Bruce Springsteen is 74.

---

Jon Bon Jovi says Bruce Springsteen is like a "big brother" to him

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story is a four-part docuseries chronicling the past and uncertain future of the iconic band Bon Jovi. The band currently consists of five members, Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald.

Original bassist Alec John Such left the band in 1994, and co-songwriter Richie Sambora left in 2013, after a 30-year run. On Saturday, Jon Bon Jovi had an exclusive interview with People, where he spoke about his friendship with his "hero" songwriter and guitarist Bruce Springsteen. He also spoke to the media outlet about the meet-up and his idols.

"It was so inspirational because those records by the [Asbury] Jukes, and by Bruce, were written and sung by guys in our backyard. They weren’t the centerfolds of Circus magazine that made the dream just out of reach. These guys were capable of making the impossible seem possible."

During the series' first episode, Jon Bon Jovi described the pair's first encounter in the 1970s. He was still in high school at the time and was performing a Springsteen cover at a local venue. To his surprise, Springsteen himself showed up and joined him. Bon Jovi said he was singing a cover of The Promised Land when The Boss appeared, and added,

"I looked up, and there’s Bruce onstage with me. That was the guy. And he jumps up and sings his song with me…. So you go to high school the next day. Needless to say, you look at the teacher and you look at the kids, and you go, ‘I got a story to tell!’ and it’s a lot better than history class."

Bruce Springsteen has also appeared in the features interviews on the first episode of the HULU docuseries.

Jon Bon Jovi grew up in Sayreville, New Jersey, about 18 miles from Bruce’s hometown of Freehold. Springsteen spoke about his initial impression of the young rocker in the interview saying,

"I like to play. I think that was [what I heard], ‘There’s some young kid running around here from New Jersey, he’s making some kind of noise. That was the first thing I knew about Jon. He’s a hardworking guy, put everything he had into his music… We’ve become much closer, probably as we’ve gotten older here, you know, recently, as being the only two guys in the same game here."

Jon Bon Jovi also revealed that he and Springsteen take long drives together, with no phones and no radio to distract them, sometimes “for 100 miles.”

---

Thank You, Goodnight: The Jon Bon Jovi Story is streaming now on HULU, owned by the same parent company as ABC. The documentary is directed and executive-produced by Gotham Chopra.