Richie Sambora‘s abrupt exit from Bon Jovi has long remained a mystery. As a New Jersey resident and daughter to lifelong fans of the band, I can vividly remember the day my family, and mother in particular, went into mourning over the shocking ordeal. But, after more than a decade, our burning questions finally get answered in the new Hulu docuseries, Thank You: Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
Sambora was a crucial part of Bon Jovi ever since the band formed in the early 1980s. Not only did he play guitar and sing, but he also helped write many of the band’s hit songs, making it all the more surprising when he left in 2013.
According to Sambora — who, along with singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres, is interviewed in the series — his decision to quit the band was an “amalgamation” of things, including his struggles with pain pills and alcohol.
“I was also having some deep family problems. I spent so much time being on the road,” he says. “At that time, unfortunately, my ex-wife [Heather Locklear] was having some mental health issues and my daughter was coming to an age where she could understand. She needed me. And I needed her. Truthfully.”
However, tensions reached their boiling point while producing the band’s 12th studio album What About Now. Sambora said the “band was stale at that point,” adding that things got “sour” when he wasn’t able to show up to recording sessions and his parts were subsequently recorded by a different guitarist.
“I’m just pushing to keep going and Richie was really upset that a song that I had written called ‘The Fighter,’ he didn’t play this one part on an acoustic guitar,” Bon Jovi explains. “That caused a problem.”
He adds, “I didn’t know, and no words were spoken, that Richie was crushed that he was replaced. Richie, we had had some issues falling off the wagon during the course of pre-production. For whatever reason, I can’t even say it’s substance abuse — that was a part of it — it’s not like this is the first time.”
Torres notes that there was “a lot of distance” between Bon Jovi and Sambora at that point.
“He had the whole thing kind of planned out which basically was telling me, ‘Look, I can do it without you,’” Sambora says. “I was getting treated kind of like I didn’t write and do all that stuff and I wasn’t the guy to talk to anymore.”
Everything came to a head in 2013 when Sambora didn’t return to the tour after their short break. “There was a lot of tension. Not only with me, but with the guys in the band. I really thought to myself, ‘They’d be better off without me,’” he recalls.
Despite having a concert that night, Bon Jovi knew the show must go on — therefore, Bobby Bandiera stepped up to cover Sambora’s parts, while Bryan helped out on vocals. Once it became clear that he was never coming back, he was permanently replaced with Phil X.
“I signed this record deal alone in 1983,” Bon Jovi says. “There was no, ‘I’m quitting the band because the guitar player’s not showing up.’ I got a hole to fill. It sucks. But I’m filling the hole. That decision was not hard to make. It just hurt to make it.”
But, according to Sambora, the entire band knew “exactly why” he didn’t get on the plane to return to work, though he didn’t elaborate further on the specifics.
“I don’t regret leaving the situation but I regret how I did it, so I’d like to apologize fully right now to the fans, especially — also to the guys because my feet and my spirit were just not letting me walk out the door,” Sambora says.
It’s been more than 10 years since that moment and Bon Jovi admits that Sambora’s “void” still hasn’t been filled.
“The true magic of our live performance was when we sang together,” he explains. “And when we sang together, that was our unique spot. It was as identifiable as any great combination that made one and one three. And I don’t think that’s been replaced.”
Sambora, for his part, insists that there was nothing but brotherhood between himself and the lead singer, despite popular belief that there was a feud.
“Jon and I touched the planet with those songs. You realize that you were warriors who loved each other, watched each other’s back, told each other the truth,” he says. “If anybody doesn’t think that we were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Jimmy [Page] and Robert [Plant], any way you want to slice it, now come on.”
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story is currently streaming on Hulu.
