'Thank You, Goodnight' Bon Jovi doc offers much more than just awesome tunes

To celebrate 40 years of being a band, Bon Jovi has given fans an all-encompassing look at their history and inner machinations in Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.

The four-episode documentary gives the audience the expected history of the band, going back to Jon Bongiovi's childhood and musical beginnings to the tale of how by force of will and hard work, he got the song "Runaway" on the airwaves.

The story takes fans on a journey through the decades, of triumphs and pitfalls. It flashes between the history of the past and the issues of today (2022). The biggest insight offered by the documentary was something personal and unexpected.

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story reveals issues not always made public

Maybe the most interesting part of the documentary was how it showed the issues founding member and frontman, Jon Bon Jovi had with his singing voice and all that it entailed just for him to be able to sing.

It took audiences through the process of how he tried to prepare his voice for a limited 15-date 40th-anniversary tour. The band had a two-week rehearsal session to prepare for the tour, but Bon Jovi was struggling with his voice.

It showed how he would exercise his vocal cords daily and take laser treatments on his throat and chords just to be able to sing a note. He never did get comfortable.

As the tour concluded, he knew he had not been his old self vocally. He was bitterly frustrated and ready to retire. As a last measure, he had surgery on his chords that included a nine-month rehab. In the end, his voice did recover and the joy on his face and that of his friends and bandmates was pretty incredible.

We've all heard older singers whose voices sound rougher and rougher as they age. Now we get to see just what these singers have to go through to get on stage and perform for their fans. It is not easy and it is very time-consuming, and it shows a level of commitment to their music and fans that they are willing to go through all they do.

What happened with Richie Sambora?

One area that did not seem to get resolved is what happened between the band and their long-time lead guitarist Richie Sambora.

Sambora did participate in interviews for the documentary and through that medium, he did apologize for how he left the band. The reason given was that he was dealing with some drug issues and that he wanted to spend more time and be a better example to his daughter. That may all be true, but that explanation fell a bit short of satisfying fans' curiosity,

It was made clear that Sambora has never really offered a true explanation even to the band, and that it has been frustrating to Jon Bon Jovi, and probably the other members as well. Sambora insisted they all knew the reasons, but in the end, it felt as if the full, true story of this part of their history wasn't revealed.

In the end, however, their overall story was satisfying and an incredible stroll down memory lane. The music, and how it came to be, was great, and it also walked the audience through how the band has worked to stay active and to continue to produce more music steadily through the decades.

It is a must-watch show for any Bon Jovi fan, but also interesting even if they weren't your favorite band. There is information and processes described that audiences probably haven't ever considered when it comes to the health of the bandmates, especially the lead singers.

It was well worth the time commitment and you can't but help love the music!

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