This week’s People Magazine promises to shed some light on one of the most successful, and trickiest partnerships in rock music.
In 2013, guitarist Richie Sambora suddenly didn’t show up for the start of a world tour with his mega-successful band Bon Jovi. He never came back – to the tour or the band.
The new Hulu docuseries, “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” begins streaming Friday, April 26, and reportedly will shed some light on Sambora’s departure.
For his part, Jon Bon Jovi told People that Sambora left to focus on raising his young daughter after his divorce from Heather Locklear. But, all these years later, the two still haven’t talked about it. “I’ve been waiting at the door for 10 years. But just to be clear, there was nothing but love. There was never a fight. Ultimately being in a rock band is not a life sentence. He had to deal with his other issues,” Bon Jovi said to People.
In the docuseries, Sambora said this about leaving: “I don’t regret leaving the situation, but I regret how I did it, so I want to apologize fully right now to the fans, especially, and also to the guys because my feet and my spirit were just not letting me walk out the door.”
Bon Jovi also said he invited Sambora to his house to screen the docuseries. However, a Sambora source later told People, “Richie flew out to see Jon and brought him a birthday present — a really nice guitar — but they screened Jon’s documentary instead. Richie left after the third episode because he was sick and tired of what he was seeing. He didn’t like the way he was being cast. He disagrees with how they framed his departure from the band and to him, the currency of happiness is more important than the currency of money.”
Well, whatever the case, we’ll be watching the docuseries AND picking up People Magazine this weekend!
Bon Jovi will release its 16th album, “Forever,” on June 7.