The City's Backyard Ep 145 Singer/Songwriter BRUCE SUDANO: husband of late wife DONNA SUMMER talks about his new album, Talkin’ Ugly Truth, Tellin’ Pretty Lies, and his creative family!

Years ago, on the iconic American Bandstand show, TV legend Dick Clark stuck a microphone in young Bruce Sudano’s face and asked, “What is your musical ambition?”

 The teen fans who filled the audience didn’t have to wait long for Bruce’s answer: “I want to perform in Madison Square Garden.”

 It happens that Sudano, then a member of a trio named Brooklyn Dreams, had already played in that fabled venue a few years earlier, opening with his band Alive ‘N Kickin’ for Eric Burdon and War. But in ways that were then beyond his imagination, he achieved much more than that one gig in the Garden. He continued to love playing live shows but his true passion quickly became songwriting. Back then, Sudano cultivated a style that combined pop and soul sensibility with jazz-worthy polish. 

  Sudano’s journey provided ample inspiration for his new album Talkin’ Ugly Truth, Tellin’ Pretty Lies. It begins in Flatbush, where his father helped kindle his curiosity about music. “He used to have a jukebox route,” Sudano says. “He’d come home at the end of the week with a box of 45s. The thing that always intrigued me, even more than the singers and musicians, was the names under the title in parentheses – the songwriters.”

 His career in music began when he co-founded Alive N Kickin’. They released one hit single, “Tighter, Tighter,” which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard charts in 1970. Tommy James (“Hanky Panky,” “Mony Mony,” “Crimson and Clover,” “I Think We’re Alone Now”) wrote the tune and co-produced the album. Sudano had written much of the band’s repertoire, but it was James’s mentorship that helped him to elevate his work.

 His focus intensified as his songs were picked up and recorded by some of the major artists of the day, including Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire and Michael Jackson with his brother Jermaine. But his most fruitful association dates from 1977, when Brooklyn Dreams was hired to provide background vocals for Donna Summer on her album I Remember Yesterday. In 1980, their relationship blossoming beyond the studio, Donna and Bruce married. The fusion of their professional and personal lives boosted each one’s creativity as they co-wrote her world-wide smash hit “Bad Girls,” as well as  “Lucky,” “On My Honor,” “Can’t Get to Sleep at Night” and “Starting Over Again,” which Dolly Parton recorded and lofted to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Music Charts.

 Tragically, Donna succumbed in 2012 to cancer at age 62. Though shattered by her passing, Sudano understood that even in the depths of sorrow, seeds of creativity continue to grow. “Suddenly I was in a new situation,” he says. “I didn’t have Donna to write for anymore. I was at the age where I’m not gonna put another group together. Instead, maybe I could be the singer/songwriter that I didn’t take the opportunity to be before. Out of the deep hurt of the situation, I felt challenged to continue to be an artist. That’s an essential element, to continue to be challenged, to be forced to go to other places, to feel other things, to know you’re not stagnating.”

 This great loss in his life opened the door that led ultimately to a period of creative growth, releasing 6 albums and numerous singles in the last decade, and now  Talkin’ Ugly Truth, Tellin’ Pretty Lies. For more log on to his website link below.

https://www.brucesudano.com