From St. John’s to the Top of the Charts: Bruce Sudano’s Life in Song

An eventual multi-instrumentalist, Mr. Sudano’s first instrument, the accordion, was foisted upon him at the age of four. “My grandfather returned from Italy with an accordion for me, so I was kind of obliged to learn it.”  

At 12 years old, a neighbor invited him to play a gig alongside her son, who played guitar. “I don’t know if it was a Sweet 16 or a Bar Mitzvah, but it was my first gig,” he recalled. “I made 20 bucks, and I thought, ‘I’m in the music business.’”  

After high school, Mr. Sudano enrolled at St. John’s as a psychology major. “It checked all the boxes—it was local, it was a great school, and it was a Catholic university,” he said. “I eventually switched to theater as my major and got involved in campus productions. I was also in a few bands, so I’d go to school during the day and play gigs five nights a week.” 

One of those bands, Alive ’N Kickin’, got the attention of Tommy James (of Tommy James and the Shondells), who produced the band’s top-10 song, “Tighter, Tighter.” Appearances on The Mike Douglas Show,The Dinah Shore Show, andAmerican Bandstandfollowed.   

“It was a high point for me,” he said. “But being young and naïve, I thought, this is easy. But the next single only made the top 40. The next one—top 70. The next, top 100. I got nervous.” In 1972, he left the band and moved into his parents’ basement.  

“I thought, what just happened?” he recalled. 

Over the next four years, Mr. Sudano honed his skills as a songwriter before relocating to Los Angeles, CA. There, he met a young singer who had just returned to the US after years abroad—Donna Summer.  

“We instantly became friends and started writing songs together,” he recalled. “My new band, Brooklyn Dreams, and Donna toured together—and along the way, our musical partnership turned into a romantic one.”  

The pair soon married and went on to cowrite songs for Ms. Summer’s best-selling album, Bad Girls, including the title track, which spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.  

As their marriage blossomed, their family grew. With three daughters in the fold, Mr. Sudano focused on songwriting so his wife could continue her career.  

“I toured with Donna’s band, and was able to keep that aspect of my showbiz stuff alive,” he said. “I also wrote songs for The Jacksons, Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, and others.”  

One such song, “Starting Over Again,” was sung by Donna Summer on The Tonight Show. The performance caught the ear of country legend Dolly Parton.  

“The next day, Dolly’s people called the house asking, ‘Can Dolly have that song?’,” he explained. “She recorded it, and it became a No. 1 country song. In 1995, Reba McEntire recorded it, too.”  

Sadly, Donna Summer passed away in 2012 at the age of 63.  

“Donna was an amazing person,” he reflected. “We had a very long, beautiful marriage for 32 years, grounded in love, commitment, and faith.” 

Now remarried, Mr. Sudano splits his time between Los Angeles and Milan, Italy, where his wife, Francesca, owns a contemporary art gallery. A musician for life, the grandfather of nine still works in his studio, writes and releases songs, and tours the US and Europe.  

“In Milan, I live right behind a Catholic church from the 1500s,” he said. “I go there at off hours just to spend time in prayer and contemplation. It opens a spiritual door.”  

To this day, the faith and sense of purpose he found at St. John’s have remained quiet but steady guides throughout his life and career. “At every phase in your life, you’re dealt challenges, but it’s a matter of trying to figure out how to navigate those challenges the best way that you can,” he said. “As a songwriter, it has certainly given me fuel.”