Jon Bon Jovi on songwriting at 20: ‘I didn’t break up with people all the time like Taylor Swift did’

Bon Jovi was speaking at the launch of his new documentary ‘Thank You, Goodnight’

Jon Bon Jovi has reflected on his songwriting journey, joking that as a young man he didn’t have the same life experiences as Taylor Swift.

“At 20, when I got a record deal, I didn’t have a lot else to write about other than High School,” said the 61-year-old singer and songwriter. “And I didn’t break up with people like Taylor [Swift] did all the time…”

Fans consistently speculate that many of Swift’s songs are about her ex-boyfriend

Bon Jovi was speaking in Pasadena, California, at a launch event for Thank You, Goodnight, a new Hulu documentary series about Bon Jovi and his band’s rise to fame.

The four-part docuseries, directed by Gotham Chopra (Kobe Bryant’s Muse, Man In The Arena), features four decades worth of personal videos and interviews following Bon Jovi and his band’s rise to fame.

It also picks up the story in February 2022 as the singer struggles with his health after a vocal injury and plots out an uncertain future.

Jon Bon Jovi attends the MusiCares Person of the Year gala in Los Angeles on 2 February 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

Last week, Bon Jovi was honoured for his musical achievements and philanthropic efforts as the MusiCares Person of the Year.

He was joined onstage by Bruce Springsteen, who Bon Jovi hailed as “my hero, my friend, my mentor” to a crowd of 2,000 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Instead of performing at the end of the evening as is traditional for the honoree, Bon Jovi got the nearly three-hour show going. He and Springsteen traded guitar licks on “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” as scenes of New Jersey were projected behind them.

With the crowd on its feet for a standing ovation, they segued into Springsteen’s “The Promised Land,” with Bon Jovi on harmonica before Springsteen joined him.

Bon Jovi then retreated to his star-studded table in the crowd. He was joined by his wife, Dorothea, Paul McCartney and his wife, Nancy, Springsteen, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and actor-singer Rita Wilson.

Kraft presented Bon Jovi with his award as MusiCares Person of the Year. The two first met on the sidelines at the 1997 Super Bowl.

Bon Jovi founded the JBJ Soul Kitchen Food Bank and his Soul Foundation, a nonprofit that operates community restaurants in three New Jersey cities. His foundation also has helped fund more than 700 units of affordable housing in 11 states and the District of Columbia.

In 2022, founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec John Such, died at the age of 70.

“He was an original,” Bon Jovi wrote in a post on Twitter. “As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band.”