By Larry Neumeister
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Rocker Jon Bon Jovi returned to a Manhattan fire house Wednesday to pay tribute to firefighters marking the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The New Jersey native was filmed singing “America The Beautiful” by an NBC television crew preparing for a special “NFL Kickoff 2011: Back to Football” show Saturday. The joint NFL Network/NBC Sports production features football, music, and a tribute to 9/11 first responders.
He sang the same song for a performance that aired nationally on Sept. 23, 2001 prior to the kickoff of the first NFL games after 9/11. Bon Jovi said in an interview after Wednesday’s performance that it was “as moving this time as it was then.”
Bon Jovi said firefighters who were there a decade ago, as well as police officers from a nearby precinct, came to the taping at Engine Co. 8, Ladder 2. He said he felt some of the same camaraderie that he felt in 2001.
Bon Jovi said he was in his New Jersey home’s gym on Sept. 11, 2001 watching the news with his wife when the towers were hit by hijacked planes. He said later that day he joined others at the shore in Seabright, N.J. in Monmouth County, home to many of the victims.
“I want the country of Sept. 12th again, when everybody came together,” he said. “We said we’d never forget and now we can live up to it.”
Bon Jovi has spent three decades touring with his songs, which include “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “It’s My Life.” The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.