decision. >> "the new york times" did report on the so-called climate e-mail. >> they also wrote news stories about those e-mails. >> there is a huge double standard. if we are going to pretend it is not there, i can live in louisiana land. >> thank you so much for being with us. this will continue. we do understand the right, indeed. i think i do understand it. >> i represent no one. >> thanks, everybody, for joining us. good night from new york. "larry king live" startsds right now. >> larry: tonight, jon bon jovi, he gives rock 'n roll a good name. 25 years at the top of the charts and not going anywhere. >> every day, you have to work hard.

if not, somebody will do it for you. >> wanted, dead or alive, jon bon jovi. here for the hour. the lead singer of the group, bon jovi. their newest greatest hit album debuted in the top five and over 20 countries including the united states. now, you are again on people's list of the top ten sexiest men. >> right next to you. >> larry: good luck. what do you make of that? >> it's flattering but there is a senior section in the back. that's what i call that. >> larry: how many years have you made this list? >> a number i don't know how many. i have been picked by them. >> larry: you were never the most sexiest? >> no.

i'm going to start lobbying. >> larry: what was the reaction like this when it happened? >> i sent it to my wife and my kids on the e-mail. no response. yeah, great, whatever. so it's really, it's cute but it doesn't mean anything. my mother didn't respond to the e-mail. >> larry: how about the band group? >> they are fine with it. they expect their lead singer to go out there and shake his moneymaker for them. >> larry: i see you brought along your great producer. >> the great john shanks, a common friend of you and i. >> larry: we are neighbors. >> he has produced my last three albums. >> larry: how important is the producer of an album? >> in my case, very. he is the sixth member of the band. >> larry: because they do what? >> he understands the message. he is an amazing musician. he is the mediator between richey and i. he is the sixth member of the band. he will do our records until he throws me out. >> larry: if you don't have a great producer that will effect

it. we are all very capable of producing our own records. i like the effort. in that case, we have found a great partner. >> larry: how did you -- what made you? what was your -- how did the public get to know you? >> i wrote a song. i was playing in bars, 16, 17, 18 years old. you thought that was, in fact, the big-time. you realized unless you started writing your own stuff you were going to be in a bar band for the rest of your life. i quit my own cover band to join an original band singing for somebody else. that was short-lived. i started to pen my own material. this was down on the jersey shore. fortunately for me, i thought, who is the loneliest man in the music business? the d.j. you are talking to a microphone. for somebody who began in radio. >> larry: i was one. >> i know. you wondered, is anyone or everyone listening to me? i went to a brand new radio

station. so knew, they didn't have a receptionist. i knocked on the booth of the d.j. he was on the air, put the record on. he came out, what can i do for you? i said, i'm frustrated. i'm holding this tape. nobody is responding to it. listen to it. he said, when i am done with my shift, i will come out and do it. he did. he introduced it to the media market in new york city and put it on a home-grown record. all those same a&r guys had that tape on their desk went fighting for it and 27 years later, i am still with the same record company. >> larry: what was the song? >> it's called runaway. i was traveling in and out of the city. there were a lot of kids whose dream ended at the lincoln tunnel working the streets. the observations was quite simple. it was witnesses somebody who their dreams died working the streets. >> larry: tell me about the name, jon bon jovi?

>> it is professional courtesy here. it's pronounced bon jovi but it is spelled bon govi. the italian g is a j sound. it made it easier to remember. there is one quarterback hire. i had the record deal. it was without the band, prior. so it was a way of inclusion and yet deciphering who was going to be there. >> it was like sinatra being sinatra? >> well, the chairman. >> larry: has the band always stayed together? >> 27 years. we lost the bass player because he quit the business. for no other reason. everybody in the band is the same band since 1983. >> larry: how do you account for that? >> friends, we trust each other. at the end of the day, that is probably the most important thing. i couldn't be in one of those

bands where they don't talk. i just finished keith richard's biography. that would break my heart if i wasn't in their dressing rooms and enjoying the moment. >> larry: you have been dominated for induction into the rock&roll hall of fame. that's got to come, right? >> nothing guaranteed. you know what that is like. your in the broadcasters hall of fame. i'm sure it felt great. we are in the songwriters hall of fame. i hope the band would make it this year. it would be nice to be in a club with elvis and the beatles and the stones. >> larry: that's a great induction. i have been to a few of those. >> that's special. these are the songs that richey and i wrote that we were recognized by our peers. >> larry: what's your biggest solo ever? >> slippery when wet will be the one most remembered for. there are songs that are stel really relevant. there is a song called living on

a prayer that has hit generations of fans. it is unbelievable. >> larry: the hardest thing in the business is staying on top, right? and getting there. >> getting there is not easy. but, then, everybody is gunning for the guy in the top. >> larry: how does bon jovi stay up there? >> you have to work hard. what makes a career is not one, two, or even ten years. talk to me after 25 years. there is a true ebb and flow. there is world travel involved. there is not catering who and what you are about to the marketplace. being true. >> larry: as the a forementioned sinatra said, don't knock

longevity. >> he is new jersey's most famous export. one of my few, if only, regrets in this business, was not having had the opportunity to shake his hand. >> larry: you would have liked him. >> i would have loved the man. >> larry: we are having a nice day with jon bon jovi. more after this. ♪

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♪ >> larry: in addition to selling more than 120 million albums worldwide, bon jovi has performed more than 2600 concerts in over 50 countries. he talked about the drive to do big shows and tin the documenta "when we were beautiful." >> you write a song, you want it to be a great song, a unique song. you want to share it. i've always wanted to share. i'm very comfortable in that environment. people say, do you like playing

stadiums. i want to move in front of stadiums. i want to be in an intimate club. i want to play the desert and sell it out. more than once. >> larry: what is that documentary showing? >> we didn't release it thee at trickily. it played in a few film festivals. because i was so honest, i was partially afraid to release it, because it was so honest. >> larry: in what way? >> it showed you the inner workings of a real band. >> you know what, forget that. we'll do that tomorrow. let's do something a little easier tomorrow. >> i think people would like to see the cliche of a rock band. i was very surprised and pleased with the reaction to that documentary. people enjoyed the honesty and they didn't want the cliche. they didn't want you to throw a television out the window. >> it is the good, bad, and ugly. >> it truly is. >> larry: does the band have a lot of arguments?

>> no, we don't, no, we don't. we truly don't. i think that that's part of the success, is that everybody has a common mission and plays a very integral role. it's a football team. i'm a quarterback and i have to have receivers and linemen. i'm not looking to get in the nfl. it is time to grow up and move on. >> larry: that's a big number. >> i'm working hard. >> larry: got a city in mind? >> a few. in these times, there are opportunities out there. >> larry: many bands do greatest hits albums because they don't have anything new to do. you have a greatest hits album out. how did the decision come to do that? >> the truth is, initially, it was a commitment. i promised the record company. i called the ceo in 2007 and said, i'm going to go to nashville and make a country record. they said, after you are done losing millions of my dollars, will you do me a favor and give me a greatest hits. i said, you've got a detail. it wasn't a country record but

it was a bon jovi country influenced album. it was a number one album. the idea of greatest hits was in the back of my mine. we had had one 16 years ago and in the last 16 years have had a lot of other hits. a whole new generation of kids have found us. we have done five studio records, five subsequent tours. in the case of the new generation, this is my int du introductory course to them. in the case of my long fan base, we wrote five new songs to accompany the greatest hits and made a value at it. >> larry: are the greatest hits the greatest hits? the number ones in moneymakers? >> they are all included, the number ones in the top ten. they are all legitimate hits on the record. we have been blessed with quite a few of them. >> larry: remember how i was introduced to you, on the old radio show? >> yes. >> larry: you came on my

all-night show. you were concerting somewhere, traveling in a bus. >> i'm sure i was. >> larry: have you written a song that you thought couldn't miss and missed? >> dozens, hundreds. the opposite of that was living on a prayer, probably the one they will write about in my obituary. i didn't think was worthy of a record. it goes to show you what you know. >> larry: where did you learn to play? >> the neighbor across the street was in a cocktail band and he moved into my parents' neighborhood when i was a boy. he took me under his wing and showed me a couple of cords. i didn't do very well practicing. he said, i'm going to kick your -- if you don't learn it next week and stop wasting my time. that was what i needed. i made sure i learned the animals to the rising sun and it has been upward and onward since. >> larry: how do you rate yourself as a player? >> miserable.

i'm a singer who plays guitar. i play piano well enough to write. >> larry: never say good-bye, which we won't do. jon and i will be back right after this. or new chardonnay shrimp and sirloin. ends soon at red lobster. whoa! that achy cold needs alka-seltzer plus! it rushes multiple cold fighters, plus a powerful pain reliever, wherever you need it! [ both ] ♪ oh what a relief it is!

>> larry: we're back with john bonn joe virks the singer-songwriter philanthropist. how do you do that hair? >> i'm just happy to still have it. >> larry: does someone do it every day? >> no. it is not that har. you get up, take a shower and comb your hair. looks good, huh?

it is all mine. i like it at my age to still have it. >> larry: is there a bon jovi typical song that people say, that's a bon jovi song? >> there is usually an underlying optimism as a theme in the song. >> larry: you don't like depressed things? >> you can. >> larry: sad songs? >> those are easier to write than the big, uplifting once. if you are in that good of a mood, you put the truth down and go out. when you are miserable, you sit down and write the blues. that's why they call it the blues. i find the magic this band has had that's universal and timeless is that optimism. it goes beyond borders and languages. that's the beauty of our appeal. it is international. we went every we are. we weren't afraid to go anywhere. we would bring our own electricity if you didn't have it. >> larry: how well are you treated in japan where they don't know what you are saying? >> they learned english singing

american pop songs dating back to the beatles. i am going there this week. we will play a couple nights in the tokyo dome, their stadium. i don't think anybody has played that stadium more than i have, any international band ever has played that more than we have. there is a kinship there because the lear cal content relates to them. you know how many times i have watched your show and cnn this places like japan, around the world. it gives me comfort. when they used to wear komonos and the wooden shoes, it was much different. now, with the advent of video television and cable television, tokyo is a metropolis. >> larry: wasn't there a risk the first time you worked in a country where they didn't speak english? >> i'll tell you a better story. when we went to moscow, the

former soviet union, thele wall is still up, 1989, we insisted on headlining this multiple act that was over there doing charity work. our whole rapport with the audience was based on my speaking with them, this optimism and uplifting. we had big hit records in '86, '87, '88. this german band went on before us and knocked the place out. i went on the stage, dead silence. why? they didn't understand me and with the iron curtain, there was no western records released. they were all black market. they didn't know what i was doing. i got my butt kicked. went backstage. >> larry: almost like the bomb? >> the next night, went on, the german went on and did their thing. if you are a good showman, you are a master of the trick. i took a russian soldier and said, come here, take these blue jeans give me the uniform, the hat, the shirt, the coat, the

whole thing. i walked down the center aisle of the stadium doing a strip tease. by the time i got to the stage, one of the guys in one of the other bands punched the concert promoter, the manager, right in the nose and fired him on the spot. i stole the night back and won the audience over. you have to find that thing, whatever that thing is. i was not a guy you wanted opening for you, because i would find the trick. it's an art. >> larry: let's go back to first night in moscow. what's it like when you know they are not getting you? >> you do that, kind of, hello, is this on? hello. that's when you call awed i believe. look, i just come back from south america last month. country to country, some songs were and some songs were not hits. you play something like, there is a song called who says you can't go home,ners band to write a number one country single. big monster hit here in america.

played it down there somewhere. bombed. you have to laugh at yourself and the audience, hello, anybody out there. because, then, you call awed i believes. the football analogies, here we go. pull this one, that one, the cover, the old one. >> larry: run that one, kill this. >> exactly. that's how you win. >> larry: the great john bonn voegy. we are halfway there and living on a prayer. >> you are full of them tonight, larry. >> larry: good writers. back with john bonn voegy after this. [ male announcer ] it's here. the all-new chevy cruze. msn autos called it "the class of its class right now." but that's not the only story. it's got turn-by-turn navigation, onstar, an available six-speed automatic transmission, remote keyless entry, and 10 air bags. it's a big story for a compact car. the all-new chevrolet cruze. get used to more. very well-qualified lessees can get a low-mileage lease on a 2011 chevrolet cruze ls for around $159 a month.

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>> larry: back with jon bon jovi. he was recently given the first global icon award at the european mtv awards. that was the world tour for your 11th studio album, the circle was named the number one tour, the first half of the year, 2010 by billboard. is there a difference to a big stadium and a smaller room? >> not really. the truth is, if i was performing for 50 or 50,000, i still prepare the same way. you want to win the crowd. you want to win the night. i do feel very comfortable in the stadium environment. i always have. >> larry: most people don't. >> i don't know why. i find that there is a disconnect there. i am able to see the back of the stadium, maybe not as well as i used to, and i try to include them. that's why people keep coming back. it is the biggest tour in the world for 2010. it's been, we know that now, it's been announced. that's quite a testament.

when you consider u 2 is on the road and a lot of big bands. are out there. >> larry: you ever get tired of it? >> sure, another club sandwich in a hotel far away. >> larry: something happens when you go on? >> the three hours on the stage are worth the other 21 hours of the day. i'm not an applause junky. how many guys have you met over the years that need that adulation. when i'm not touring, it is the furthest thing from my mind. when you are there, you are like an athlete prepared to go to the game. >> larry: why three hours? >> i done know why. again, i have to revert back to keith richards book. he says in the '60s, they were doing 20-minute sets and they got hooked up to the everilies, because they did a 30-minute set. i would start doing matinees if i could do a 30-minute set. i think a lot had to do with my heroes growing up were known for their long shows. >> larry: like? >> springsteen, south side

johnnie. the jersey guys. these mara thons. you emulated your heroes as a boy. >> larry: why do a show that long, frankly? the other model is fred astaire, famous. he worked las vegas, dance and sang, 42 minutes. walked off. they are screening for more. stayed off. >> i have nowhere else to go. that's a part of it. i have nowhere else to go. >> larry: there is an after. >> it makes sense. from where i come from and the guys i looked up to, now, that's our reputation, is these marathon shows and a lot of hits. you know, you keep them out there. as long as there is interaction. granted. they are not sitting there. it is not that kind of a jam band. nobody i is out there --. they are interacting. >> larry: how do you not let a bad day effect you? >> you do but you have to be

committed to being better the next day. >> larry: are there nights ---is not really there? you've got to work harder. >> sure. you know that. >> larry: what do you do when that happens? you have got to work harder, right sf. >> you work harder. you know if you are fooling yourself u have to go put your head on the pillow that night. in all honesty, you have those nights where you have gone through the motions an you want to shoot yourself for it. you just didn't have the mojo. it happens. it is human. i've been blessed with good health on this tour in the last decade. so i haven't gone out there and ever lost my voice or anything in a long, long time. that would be worse. there is nights where you are off. >> larry: isaac stern said on nights where he thinks he has played the worst, he has got some of his best reviewing and best audience reaction? >> that's a little sad when people come up, eintimate peopl, and say, that was awesome.

you go, really? maybe that's a good sign. maybe it is not. >> larry: do you know it right away, when you go -- >> you know when i know, when the house lights go out. the sec when i hear that roar, i could be a dead man and then the lights, boom, showtime. then, you are on that stage and you are a prize fighter until they pull you off. i did four nights at the new meadow land stadium, the new giants stadium in new york. fourth night we are playing. we are in the encore. i am about to really go for the full three hours and work two plus hours. i popped my calf muscle, literally tore it on the stage. i was in such pain. probably. i sort of zigged when i should have zagged. i felt the shock back in the calf, unbelievable pain but i still had on youtube. this day and age, you see anything on youtube. i was still in tune. i was still in time but i was hobbling like a mad man.

they had to carry me off. i played the next 14 shows, didn't miss one. >> larry: it's my life and jon bon jovi is my guest. keep it right there. >> what i got passed was looking for perfection. >> only the broken hearted. >> larry, we are going to miss you, so don't ever go too long. ♪ >> a good question can open up doors in my mind that i would never think of discussing with anybody. >> help her, help her, help her. ♪

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♪ >> larry: we are back with the great bon jovi. the number one touring band in the world. sinatra once said sitting right where you are, right before he goes on, no matter where he is and where he has made it in life, before the man says, and now -- there is a little jump in him. do i have it? will i have it? you might call it nervousness. there is a little edge. do you get that? >> yeah. believe it or not, i have a

little quick change underneath the stage. when the house lights go out and the band takes the stage, i stair every single night at a portrait of sinatra. he has such a smirk on his face. he has an old rca microphone. some days, i think he is smiling positively and some days, he so, what do you got? i go in and look at that picture of frank and say, okay, here we go. >> larry: your involvement in philanthropy. tell us about the jon bon jovi soul foundation. what is that. >> i began it when i had the arena football team. with he had to differentiate ourself to ingratiate ourselves to the community. from dollar one, we gave money to a variety of charities. with time and effort, i realized the focus that didn't need a scientist to invent the cure was affordable housing. i found someone in philadelphia pennsylvania by the name of

sister mary skucolion who is an expert in the field of affordable housing. i realized it didn't matter if you were white, black, young, old or democrat. the homeless issue can hit anybody at any time. after the economic downturn, what do we stand today. it is very difficult to make ends meet in foreclosures, et cetera. we started to focus. we build houses. 260 of them. >> larry: like the jimmy carter thing? >> with habitat, sometimes. in disaster relief i have had great experiences with habitat. case in point, by the one-year anniversary of katrina, we had paid for and built 28 houses in louisiana. you can get tax credits and you have corporate partners, private sector, my own money. we are able to get the job done. so 260 houses.

now, we are branching out into a restaurant. the concept we call it, the robin hood restaurant. in the economic downturn where families used to have disposable income to go out to den ainner, would have a lot of memories with your family. we have a restaurant where there are no prices on the menu. if you can pay, you see effective change. if you cannot pay, you come and volunteer the next week, either in the kitchen or the food pantry. >> larry: did you come up with that? >> we saw an idea on the evening news, to be honest with you. brian williams did a great piece. we expanded upon it. we saw the seed. my wife and head of my foundation flew out with sister mary, did a bunch of research and started this pilot program. once i perform effect it, i'm going to be acble to say to you

larry, why don't you do it in your hometown. i'm going to be able to do this with a lot of different people. people want to see effective change. they don't know how or who to help. they don't know where the dollars are going. want to see effective change, put a $20 in the envelope. you have just paid for that family against you. >> larry: do you get a feeling of accomplishment? >> that gives me more pride because i know we are effective change. >> larry: when that terrible hurricane, andrew, hit south florida, a lot of homes went down but the homes built by jimmy carter and his crew, habitat, stood? >> they are wonderful houses. it's a great organization. >> larry: what do you put, great construction workers, top materials? >> a lot of things are donated. you are creating jobs but you also have a lot of volunteers in those places. i'm glad to see that those habitat houses stood. i was very proud on the one-year anniversary, because of habitats help and with our partners, we were able to have 28 families in those homes.

that was important. >> who is sister mary scolion. >> larry: how did you meet her? >> a friend of mine was raised in philadelphia. i saw this man in the dead of winter, this isn't what our forefathers were thinking when they drafted the constitution. this is not the way it is supposed to be in philadelphia. find me somebody but make sure it is not lost to admin stray stiff costs. he went to go see her. she said, i work for jon and she said, yeah, right, and santa claus is coming to town. i said, strap it in, sister, when we are done here, you are going to disneyland. last year, she was named one of time's most influential. she speaks to the issue. >> larry: you participated in our heroes. what did you think of that? >> the best use of my time on television since i can remember, since the 9/11 concerts, because

what cnn are doing is shining a light on the sister marys of the world who give of themselves unselfishly, 365 days a year and all they need is the spotlight to shine on them so that the general public sees that, who, where, and how, to get involved. we can't just rely any longer on government. we can't rely on anything more than each other. >> larry: jon bon jovi is the guest. we'll be right back. hostcould i really save you 15% or more car insurance?

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loim back with the man who is at the top of the touring band in the world. what year were you success fell? >> '84 was the first record. >> larry: wow, five years. i started in '85. we started together. >> larry: i know you supported barack obama. do you retain th strong feeling? >> yes. i think it's very difficult, regardless of where you stand in the political aisle. washington is, as we're learning more and more every day, it is such a pile of spaghetti now. it's not easy. no matter who was in that chair. i absolutely still believe in the ideals. i want the guy that spoke. >> larry: did you ever think of running yourself? >> no, because 50% of the people hate you before you have left your front door in the morning. >> larry: sarah palin used your song, who says you can't go

home, during her 2008 campaign rallies. you didn't like that, right? >> well, you know. >> larry: you weren't a supporter? >> i'm not a supporter. it is nothing against the party. it was just, you know, using something without your permission it should be frowned upon. >> larry: do you write all the time? >> no, no. i'm able to turn it off. i think when you are out there on the road, all your energy is around tonight's show. no matter what you are doing during the course of the day, you are thinking about tonight's show. when i'm home, i'm table to turn it back on again. >> larry: how old are the kids? >> 17, 15, 8, and 6, the gamut. our oldest is our daughter, stephanie and three boyce, jesse, jacob and romeo. >> larry: is it tough on them having a famous father who is not home allot? >> you would have to ask them. i think because they were there every step. they were born into it. it is not like i just picked

them up on the side of the road and said, this is what's going on here. my wife and i have been together 30 years now, 30 years. we have seen every slide show here. somebody was talking to me about a business opportunity. they said, man, you get to come on that and see the whole thing. i said, you have to understand, i'm mickey mouse and i already own disneyland. my kids really don't want to go on the rides anymore. they are not impressed by any of this nonsense. they just want you to come home. >> larry: you are just dad? >> oh, yeah. there is not a platinum record hanging in my house, nowhere. >> larry: do you ever hear a song somewhere else wrote and say, i wish i wrote that? >> that's the greatest compliment i can pay. >> larry: what's a song you wish you wrote? >> i don't know. it is timeless, endless. bridge over troubled water. it is yesterday, satisfaction. you can go up and down the list. there are a million of them. you are always trying to write

the perfect song. i don't think it ever comes for anybody. you are always aspiring. >> larry: have you written a song that surprised you, that you liked but it became enormously successful? >> sure. we have had a lot of them. i keep hearkening back to living on a prayer. it has touched people's lives around the globe for generations. >> larry: so it surprised you? >> shocked. >> larry: what disappointed you the most? >> i've had a few of those where you thought the record was going to work or the industry has changed. my business is not what we knew. every time we learn the rules, it seems they have changed them. i do believe that the record industry will rediscover itself in time, not now but in 10 or 15 years from now. the kids in the social media networks that own those social media networks, i think that they will take those catalogs of music and montize them but not now. i don't believe that the old guard are ready to give up those catalogs to those guys.

they are still holding on to an old, ante kuwaited model. >> larry: that's you deal with the social world in the recording business. back with jon after this. guess which congressman gets more of his campaign money from the financial and real estate industry than any other? the same congressman that has been chosen to oversee the financial industry. do you think that's a conflict? we will find out how much money they are spreading around capital. a lot more on that and more news at the top of the hour.

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♪ ♪ >> larry: we're back with jon bon jovi. how do you make money with a record if they can drop it down for nothing or steal it or --? >> i think it's going to be very hard for the next generations,

me, to come and sell 120 million records. as we know the model, i don't think that's possible. but then you have to have had established some kind of touring base. >> larry: you have to be out there. >> yeah. and, remember, back when i began, you were able to have two or three albums before a record company made a decision about who and where you were going to stand. these days, it is instantaneous. and if you don't deliver immediately, chances are you won't get that second record, let alone international exposure. so it's -- the model's changing. but i do believe we've come out of the bottom of it. i think it's time, it's about to reinvent itself. >> larry: how old are you now? >> 48. >> larry: does anything about this social media turn you off? >> you're not going to see me tweeting and, you know, i'm at larry, i'm going to dinner, it's just -- my kids are able -- >> larry: what do you make of it, though? >> it's a way to contact your

fan basin stan tain yesly, you know? somebody on our tour will be out there and reaching 6 million people in the press of a button. that's pretty amazing. you can get the message out there. so if you're able to control it in a way and still remain private, it can be of benefit. >> larry: how do you feel about doing your songs on "glee"? >> i love it. that's the magic of music, appealing to generations. we're not on the where are they now list, you know? we're still doing it and in a major way. i'm honored by it. >> larry: what do you make of justin bieber and that phenomenon? >> i've been around long enough to have seen them all come and either make it or not. justin timberlake who came from that kind of a background is an enormous talent. justin bieber seemingly has some talent. but i think there's room for all of these kind of -- different

kinds of style of music and it's not a competition. we're all in this together. >> larry: what about taylor swift? >> she's the real deal. absolutely the real deal in every way shape and form. she's a writer, she's a singer, she's a beautiful girl, apparently she's got her head on straight. i think she's going to be low recei -- loretta lynn. she's writing songs and they're hit pop songs. >> larry: do you like country? >> i do very much. storytellers. >> larry: comfortable with it? >> always. i go down to nashville for 20-plus years and just go and you sit on a round and pick up a guitar and sing a song together and you're listening and i find they're a fabulous culture who really appreciate music. songwriting. >> larry: bluegrass? >> yeah, i like bluegrass. it wasn't what i aspired to do as a player so it's not as appealing to me. >> larry: what form don't you

like? >> i'm not a big rave guy. i was never a big rap guy. >> larry: is rap music -- >> it's real. >> larry: it is? >> it was the story of the streets and it was told by a generation that hadn't been heard from before. oh, yeah it had a huge influence on the culture. absolutely. >> larry: how about acting? >> loved it. added a great humility to what i do musically, because i was able to continue in something in the arts with awl the exuberance of youth and the music business but truly at the bottom of the ladder, so you went in like a kid. and maybe some day again, but it's so far down the list of things to do these days because the music's been so great, i've got other philanthropic actions and business going on, not real appealing. >> larry: we're going to go out with a blaze of glory. our remaining moments with jon bon jovi after this. [ dad ] here's my new windows phone.

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♪ >> larry: we're back with the incredible jon bon jovi. by the way, what do you make of "american idol"? you were on twice. you were a mentor. >> yeah, i was. >> larry: you were on this year. >> i was. i probably would not have been a winner, i probably would have been voted off. >> larry: because? >> bob dylan, springsteen, tom petty, i can go down a list of guys that would have all been thrown off. >> larry: what does that say for

the show? >> welsh it well, it's just dif. i think what artists have established like the afore mentioned were telling their story their way. they were stylists. and those kids, they're all very technically, you know, good singers. but that does not an artist make. then 30 million people watching you every week, you win the contest and by the way, you better have a hit record tomorrow. wow. i had 21 years to write the first record. have you a year or two after that to develop who you are on a stage. so it's very hard on those kids. >> larry: what do you make of the "dancing with the stars" phenomenon. you wouldn't do that, would you? >> no. all that reality stuff is bothersome to me because i just think if a show like "heroes" could be such a better use of time. there's just so many better things we could be doing. >> larry: what are you going to do for the holidays?

>> i'll be back for australia on the 21st, get over jet lag for the kids for christmas, but we're always in new jersey for christmas. >> larry: australia. >> yeah. where don't i go? tokyo, new zealand, australia on this leg. we go everywhere from south america to south africa to israel for the first time on this tour. >> larry: you did israel already or -- >> not yet. that and greece are the two places i have yet to be. in all the tours, in all those shows, i never got to either israel or greece. >> larry: does that complete the world? >> within reason. yeah. pretty of the western pop culture world. >> larry: you don't know the event, where in israel, where are you at? >> wherever the olympic stadium is. >> larry: so do have you to rehearse? >> we don't rehearse. if you don't know the stuff at