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‘Two Bleeding Hearts’ by Bruce Sudano sits at the busy intersection between Americana, gospel and soul.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Sudano’s laid-back jazz inflected groove feels like its soaked in the hustle and bustle of New York city life as he leads the listener through the debris that’s left after a lovers’ quarrel with a song that already feels timeless.
“It’s the story of a couple in a loving relationship dealing with the fallout after a major argument,” Sudano explains about his new single. “One that came out of nowhere and started over basically nothing. The reality is that we all live with the subtle stresses and pressures of life and sometimes our guard falls down, and there’s an explosion. The question then becomes who will be the one to make the first move toward reconciliation without standing on pride, willing to forgive.”
“After the storm there’s an eerie silence,” Sudano sings, as he picks over the wreckage of a relationship that’s floundered on the rocks. “There’s an eerie silence and the damage that’s been done / From things that were said in the heat of the battle / In the heat of a battle of a war nobody won.”
Perhaps best known as the songwriter behind hits for Donna Summer, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire and Michael and Jermaine Jackson, Sudano is joined by Valerie Simpson on piano and vocals as he steps into the spotlight on ‘Two Bleeding Hearts’. You can almost hear the clouds beginning to part overhead as her warm piano melody eases in and their voices begin to harmonize as if the first cracks of sunlight are beginning to shine through.
A singer in her own right, Songwriters Hall of Fame member Valerie Simpson is best known for her Motown Records recordings with her late husband Nickolas Ashford as Ashford & Simpson, and for writing songs like ‘Ain't No Mountain High Enough,’ ‘You're All I Need to Get By,’ ‘Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing,’ and ‘Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand).’
“This song, written by Bruce Sudano, grabbed me on first listen,” Valerie Simpson told us. “I was happy to add a vocal amen to his sermon. I think it will speak into the lives of a lot of couples with rocky romances trying to hold on... Sure hope it helps!”
‘Two Bleeding Hearts’ is premiering exclusively at Holler below.
It feels only fitting with a song like this that the last word should go to the songwriter himself though, and he included this poem to accompany the premiere:
Love is true
Stress is subtle
Wounds cut deep
Pride gets hurt
Life is hard
Time is precious
You’re forgiven
I’m sorry…
Bruce Sudano will be hitting the road in the US for the On The Blue Cruise and opening for Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Zombies in the UK this Spring. Next month HBO Max will premiere Love to Love You, Donna Summer, a documentary about Sudano’s late wife, Donna Summer. The film features Sudano and is co-directed by their daughter Brooklyn Sudano.
