Jon Bon Jovi Reflects on the First Time He Watched Bruce Springsteen Perform — And The Moment The Boss Did Something ‘Incredibly Cool’

Bon Jovi shared his thoughts on how his idol, who is also from New Jersey, eventually became a close friend.

Jon Bon Jovi is reflecting on a significant friendship with Bruce Springsteen.

Bon Jovi, 62, hails from Sayreville, New Jersey, about 18 miles from Freehold, where Springsteen, 75, grew up. On November 25, the “Livin’ on a Prayer” singer hosted SiriusXM’s E Street Radio, a station dedicated to Springsteen’s music, and took a trip down memory lane to the early days of their friendship.

Bon Jovi recalled the first time he saw the E Street Band perform live at the Philadelphia Spectrum. “They had been playing smaller theaters, but this was their first arena show that I got to attend,” Bon Jovi said. “When they played ‘Spirits in the Night,’ Clarence [Clemons] was playing the horn, and during the solo, Bruce ended up in the third tier, sitting with the crowd. I loved that move. I used it myself many years later because it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.”

“The E Street Band were like The Beatles to us growing up in New Jersey,” Bon Jovi continued. “When I was young, I’d head down to Asbury Park, just starting out in the music scene, playing in bars. If you were fortunate enough, you’d walk into a bar and see 10 members of the Asbury Dukes or seven members of The E Street Band.”

He also recalled a pivotal moment when, as a young artist, he had the chance to perform one of Springsteen’s songs with the legend himself.

“In 1978, I was playing with my first cover band, the Atlantic City Expressway, in the bars, and we were doing ‘Promised Land,'” Bon Jovi said. “As I was singing, I turned around and, to my surprise, there was Bruce, standing at the microphone singing along with me. For a kid still in high school, that was definitely a Beatles moment.”

Bon Jovi also reflected on a memorable moment from February when Springsteen joined him on stage at the Grammys MusiCares gala, where Bon Jovi was honored as Person of the Year. “He came up as the band played our latest single ‘Legendary,’ and ‘Who Says You Can’t Go Home,’ which he’s performed with us many times,” Bon Jovi recalled. “But then I broke into ‘The Promised Land,’ and in a way, it felt like full circle. Here I was with my hero again, just like in 1979, but now he’s jumping on stage with me and the band, 40 years later.”

Bon Jovi also shared that Springsteen had come to the event just days after his mother, Adele, had passed away. “I would have completely understood if he’d said he couldn’t make it, but he still wanted to be there for MusiCares. He wanted to be there for me, and I’ll be forever grateful,” he said at the time.