Jon Bon Jovi has admitted his decision to agree to a gut-busting key change in Livin’ on a Prayer has ended up causing problems later in life.
Speaking in an interview with the Australian TV show A Current Affair, the 64-year-old explained the extent of his recent vocal struggles and made light of a certain creative choice he made when “young and dumb”.
Discussing the key change at the climax of his band’s biggest single, he joked: “You know when they say: how many regrets have you had in your career? I’d never modulated a song at the end before. So I’m wide open to the idea. [We were] 24 when we wrote the damn thing, and you work up the demo, and they go ‘let’s try this!’ When you’re that young and dumb, you’re like, ‘I could do this’”.
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In recent years, Bon Jovi has been forced to take a break from performing due to health concerns that have made Livin’ on a Prayer a particularly difficult track to sing.
In 2022, he underwent risky surgery to repair an atrophied vocal cord that meant he couldn’t even sing Happy Birthday.
The vocal damage came as a huge shock, with Bon Jovi insisting, “I never did anything to hurt the cords. I didn’t have any excesses. I’m a trained vocalist.
“I’ve practiced the craft. So when a doctor had to explain to me that one of the cords was literally atrophying, it was confusing.”
After a long recovery, the rock icon returned to the stage earlier this summer. Elsewhere in the ACA interview, he reflected on the brilliant doctor who helped turn things around.
“I found this guy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was literally on the verge of retirement,” he explained. “He’s very majestic in his approach. To seal the deal with me, he says, ‘I promise you nothing. Stick to the protocols. Do this operation because it’s your only choice. And eventually you will be better than you are now. Trust the process.’ I couldn’t have said thank you any deeper.”
