Back in 2022, Jon Bon Jovi went under the knife to fix his vocal cord problem that had been well documented by the cruel trolls of the internet. After watching the documentary, ‘Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story’, we got to see first hand how bad things were for Jon. It is amazing he is even able to still sing. When Bon Jovi released the first single off their upcoming album, ‘Forever’, all questions were answered if he could sing. The answer was a resounding, yes!!
The first single was the song “Legendary”. It was released on March 14, 2024. It did not hit the Top 40 as no band from that era is probably ever going to hit again. Instead, it hit #9 on the Adult Contemporary Chart and #2 on the Rock Digital Song chart. And it even charted elsewhere as it hit #21 in Canada and #27 in the UK. Not a bad start. The song was written by Jon, John Shanks and Billy Falcon who have both been writing with Jon for quite some time.
“Legendary” pays tribute to this wife, “Dorthea”, and their sweet love. He has been married to her for decades. Heck, she has been there since the beginning. It is also a little nostalgic looking at the band’s past and all their accomplishments. It also is a look in to the future and what is in store.
It is a song Jon has done a lot lately for opening tracks of the band’s albums. A very uplifting, anthem like feel yet tempo here is a little slower than some of their other opening tracks. The bridge/chorus is so catchy and you can’t help but get swept up in it. There is a line that mentions Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” (who is his wife in this case, Dorthea) and it helps give the song some familiarity. It is a solid opening track and a great way to say that Bon Jovi is still alive and well. I read some comments that his voice isn’t good, but they are so wrong. No, he will never be where he was, but it is solid here and it sounds like Bon Jovi. Isn’t that what we want.
The flip side is also the song “Legendary”, but it is the radio edit. It only cuts off about 20 seconds and isn’t that noticeable. You don’t miss it as it still feels and sounds the same. I great track regardless of which version you hear.
And there you have it. I was really excited they released a physical copy of the single and a 7″ single is even cooler. Especially a beautiful clear transparency one. The song is nostalgic and so is the physical release. I have so many 7″ singles from Bon Jovi so this one won’t be lonely as a lot its family is already in my collection. I hope more bands continue to do this. Now let’s get to the last review in the series…the full album ‘Forver’.
NEXT UP: BON JOVI – ‘FOREVER’ (2024)
THE BON JOVI COLLECTION SERIES:
- Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set (2017)
- Jon Bongiovi – The Power Station Sessions (1980-1983) (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi (1984)
- Bon Jovi – Shot Through the Heart: Live in Cleveland, OH March 17, 1984 FM Broadcast (Bootleg)
- Bon Jovi – “Burning For Love” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1984)
- Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
- Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
- Bon Jovi – “Borderline” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1986)
- Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
- Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
- Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
- Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1990)
- Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1990)
- Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
- Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
- Bon Jovi – “Keep the Faith” – CD Maxi Single (1992)
- Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
- Bon Jovi – Cross Road (1994)
- Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
- Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
- Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
- Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
- Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
- Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
- Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
- Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
- Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
- Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
- Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
- Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
- Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
- Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
- Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
- Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5 & 6, Part 6) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
- Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
- Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
- Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
- Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
- Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
- Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
- Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
- Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
- Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
- Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
- Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
- Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
- Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
- Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
- RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
- Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
- Bon Jovi – “Legendary” – 7″ Single (2024)
- Bon Jovi – Forever (2024)
- Bon Jovi Albums Ranked Worst to First
- Bon Jovi – 40th Anniversary Box Set (TBA – I Hope it is out by the time we get here)
We’ve reviewed a bunch of pieces already over the years and won’t review again. They are as follows:
- Bon Jovi – The Brotherhood Tour Book (1988-1990)
- Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi Tour 2011 – Tourbook
- Bon Jovi – The Rock History – Bootleg CD
- Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – 12″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – Red Hot & 2 Parts Live E.P. – 12″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Bad Medicine” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Born to Be My Baby” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Lay Your Hands on Me” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Living in Sin” – 7″ Single