Jon Bon Jovi has spoken out about his personal evolution when it comes to his music, saying his priorities have changed as he has gotten older.
Discussing the latest album released by his band Bon Jovi, the singer revealed why he decided to take on politically-charged topics such as Black Lives Matter, the coronavirus pandemic, fake news and mass shootings, saying the commentary has come as a result of him being “grown-up and evolved”.
“I’ve grown up and evolved. I wouldn’t have written about this in the mid-eighties because my focus at 21 to 25 was to be a successful singer in a rock and roll band. As 30 comes, then 40 and 50, life starts to change,” Bon Jovi explained.
“If I was attempting to write a topical record and call it 2020, I had to include a COVID song and, in light of George Floyd’s death, I had to write about that as well.”
A track on the album, ‘American Reckoning’, explores the aftermath of Floyd’s killing at the hands of Indianapolis police officers, with Jon Bon Jovi saying he felt “crushed” by the story, but he admitted he needed to be “very careful” when writing the song due to his “white privilege”.
He told The Sun newspaper: “I couldn’t believe that this was in close-up, on film, with the audio, as a big, strong man cried out for his mother with his dying breaths. If that didn’t move you as a human, I question who you are and where is your soul?
“I was crushed watching that and it took me back to my notebook. I was very careful with the song, to make sure that I got it right, and I wanted to say something from my heart. But I had to be very aware of what I was singing because I realised that I’m probably the poster boy of white privilege.”
Love Classic Rock?
Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“I’m old, I’m white, I’m wealthy and I’m a celebrity, so the chances of a run-in with the police are slim, you know what I mean? I’ve never had to have ‘the talk’ with my children. It has never crossed my mind,” Bon Jovi added.
“At least now these things are being discussed in the open, honestly, and with more volume than ever before. I can only pray that we can get beyond the colour of a person’s skin.”
Bon Jovi added that he is now “writing about my family and I hope you think it’s about your family too.”
“I couldn’t have written a song like that at 24. But when you think about mortality, your own kids and your parents getting older, there’s a time and a place for it. I’m there now.”
Check out ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ by Bon Jovi:
