When a Bon Jovi member dies you start to feel really old

This week we heard the sad news of the passing of Alec John Such, founding bassist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted member of Bon Jovi, who died at the age of 70.

The band confirmed the death of their former bassist Sunday in a statement on social media. No cause of death was provided.

We always talk about celebrities whose deaths, for whatever reason, affect us more than others. And for some reason, if someone in a rock band dies, it seems even more tragic.

But this hits harder. Maybe it’s because we grew up with Bon Jovi and listening to the music now makes us feel as young as they were when they first started out. But I think it also hit home because he was from NJ and like the band as a whole, was considered one of ours.

Also, the older I get, the less “old” age 70 seems.

And even though he left the band in 1994, being a founding member of Bon Jovi, serving as bassist on the first five Bon Jovi albums, is huge. Like his bandmates, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

According to TMZ, Such, who most recently was a resident of South Carolina, reportedly got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night this past Sunday. He then called out to a friend who was staying with him who helped him get back into bed. According to the story, when the friend came back later to check on John, he was dead

There was no bad blood between Such and the rest of the band after he left. In fact, he called out his former band mates during his Hall of Fame induction speech and said how much he loved them.

Although I was never a huge Bon Jovi fan, I related to them as many in my generation did. They represented freedom. New Jersey, and rock ‘n’ roll to the Nth degree.

Although I would never compare the two bands, nor would I compare a former bassist to a front man saxophonist who was Bruce Springsteen's sidekick, I did have a similar feeling when Clarence Clemons from the other iconic Jersey group, the E Street Band, died. First of all, he was ours! You think, “How could someone who brought so much joy through his music be gone?” It’s a sad reminder of the serious business of mortality.

They say rock and roll will never die. But unfortunately, when it’s their time, those artists who seem larger than life eventually leave us— and leave their music as their legacy.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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