“Jason Isbell is one of those songwriters that I oftentimes say, I wish I wrote that song,” Jon Bon Jovi said, in a video posted to his rock band Bon Jovi’s social media this week.
Jon, who knows a thing or two about great tunes, continued, “When you hear ‘Elephant’, when you hear ‘Cover Me Up,’” citing two of Alabama native Isbell’s many acclaimed songs, “you hear that incredibly smooth voice. You listen to his guitar playing.” He added, “I want to grow up and be Jason Isbell.”
Quite the compliment, coming from the guy who cowrote stadium-rattling classics like “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “You Give Love a Bad Name.”
Jon also thanked Isbell for his work on the song “Waves,” a stirring Southern-tinged anthem off Bon Jovi’s 2024 album “Forever,” the band’s 16th studio LP.
Isbell, an Americana superstar who grew up in Green Hill and Muscle Shoals, also played guitar on “Waves.”
“He actually cowrote this song with [Bon Jovi guitarist/producer] John Shanks and I,” Jon said. “We had written the song. It needed a little love. Jason brought the love both on the record and to the writing. Thank you, my brother.”
The song’s lyrics include, “Waves, they take me down no one here gonna save me now. Waves, they knock me off my feet. Waves, now I understand. I see her face I see her hand, and she waves then fades away from me.”
This year, Bon Jovi issued a “Legendary Edition” version of “Forever.” It’s bolstered by guest appearances ranging from country star Jelly Roll to Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott to rootsy guitar hero Marcus King to blue-collar rock-god Bruce Springsteen.
The “Legendary Edition” take on “Waves” finds Isbell sharing lead vocals with Jon. And it’s excellent.
But what else would you expect? Bon Jovi is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Isbell has won six Grammys and has been nominated for three more for 2026.
Isbell has a lifelong connection to Bon Jovi. His Aunt Kristal had a poster of Jon on her wall “through her first three husbands and would not allow them to take it down,” as Isbell recalled last year.
Jason Isbell performs during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Jon Bon Jovi on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
In 2024, Isbell covered “Wanted Dead or Alive” during a star-studded MusiCares tribute to Jon. Wearing a cowboy hat and duster jacket, Isbell sang a faithful spirited version of that quintessential ‘80s power-ballad. He also nailed former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora’s classic solo on that song, on a Gibson double-neck.
During a Grammys interview, Isbell said, “Everybody’s fun aunt loves Bon Jovi more than anything else in the world, and mine was no exception.” He added, “I’ve known how to play ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ since I was about 7-years-old.”
In 2026, Bon Jovi, founded in New Jersey, will launch their first tour since Jon’s much-publicized vocal cord issues. Isbell, who released his first ever solo acoustic album “Foxes in the Snow” in 2025, will tour next year, too.