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Richie Sambora recently was a guest in Billy Corgan’s “Magnificent Others” podcast “Magnificent Others” and told about his time as a guitarist at Bon Jovi. Above all, he gave new insights into the dynamics between the band members shortly before leaving and told about a conversation that “shook” him.
At that time, the musician seemed to have noticed that the ideas of him and front man Jon Bon Jovi had changed over time. “I felt that Jon changed his focus and that he often wanted to be a solo artist,” said Sambora. “And I said: ‘Make a solo album’ … He definitely changed the direction.”
New songs sounded “not like Bon Jovi”
Sambora itself also published his solo project “Aftermath of the Lowdown” in 2012 and when the band wanted to work together on new music again, it seemed to have changed a lot. The 65-year-old explained that he and Jovi usually worked together on new songs. This created hits such as “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Livin ‘on a Prayer”.
Sambora continued in the podcast: “[Jon Bon Jovi] Suddenly said: ‘No, you don’t need to be around [das Songwriting] to take care of. [Session-Gitarrist] John Shanks and I wrote about 30 songs. ‘”The new band dynamics seems to have been a problem for the guitarist.” It shaken me a little, “he admitted. The new material sounded like “every song that I didn’t want to write”. He also revealed: “It didn’t sound like Bon Jovi. It didn’t sound like the band.”
Sudden ribbon exit
Richie Sambora worked with Bon Jovi as a lead guitarist and background singer for 30 years, but in 2013 he decided to turn his back on the band and take care of his then 16-year-old daughter Ava. A decision that was discussed at the time and could not be understood by everyone.
Sambora explained his decision in an interview in 2024 and revealed: “Of course it was not a popular decision, but I had almost no other choice.” At the time, the musician also emphasized that he would not regret the final line until today. “I am really happy that I did it. It definitely worked for our family,” said the guitarist.
After that, Bon Jovi continued. It was not until June 2024 that the band released its current album “Forever”. In March, Jon Bon Jovi revealed that he is probably planning to recover the album with feature guests and also hopes for a tour.