Jon Bon Jovi’s ‘One Regret’ Is Never Meeting Frank Sinatra

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Frank Sinatra sang about his regrets and having a few, but Jon Bon Jovi only has one: not meeting Ol’ Blue Eyes. On Tuesday’s Stern Show, the rocker explained how much Sinatra meant to him and how he wrote one of his most recognizable lyrics about the crooner.

“I emulate a lot of what I do after Frank,” Jon told Howard. “I have very, very, very few regrets. I wish I’d met him. That’s the one regret.” Jon ran down the list of Sinatra’s accomplishments including helping get President Kennedy elected, fighting racial inequality with friend Sammy Davis Jr., and owning and running his own record company. Just like Frank, Jon also took a turn at acting. It was after shooting the 2000 war movie “U-571” that Jon came up with the line, “Like Frankie said, I did it my way” for his song “It’s My Life.”

“Frank Sinatra had just died and I said, it means everything to me because I really, really, finally am old enough to understand Mr. Sinatra,” Jon told Howard about writing the lyric. After Bon Jovi put the song out, the line became less about Frank and more about what it meant to their fans. “That line became everybody’s buddy, brother, or friend,” Jon explained.

Jon also told Howard a story of one of his first acting gigs and how green he was his first few days on the set. The movie was “Moonlight and Valentino” and co-starred Whoopi Goldberg, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kathleen Turner.

“I was surrounded by ladies – completely different vibe than being in a rock band with four guys,” Jon said. He was cast in a small role as a house painter and recalled having to do several takes for one scene.

“We’re doing take two, take three, take four, and I climb down off the ladder and I walk over to the director and I say, ‘Um, I’ll pay for the film. I’m really sorry that you gotta do it over and over again.'”

“He said, ‘You’re an idiot. This is how they make movies. You get to do more than one take,'” Jon continued. “The funny thing was, I didn’t know any better.”

Jon got better, though. He went on to star in several other movies and even became a series regular on the TV series “Ally McBeal,” all while continually putting out some of the most popular songs in rock and roll.

Bon Jovi’s new album “This House Is Not for Sale” is available Nov. 4. To preorder and for tour dates click here.