IN: Sudano was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York to Margaret Alessio (1924-2012) and Louis Sudano (1923-2008). At the age of four, Sudano learned to play his first instrument, the accordion. He later taught himself to play piano and guitar. He soon developed a reputation in his community as a talented musician and got his first paid gig at the age of twelve.

Sudano was signed as a solo artist by RCA and released his first record The Fugitive Kind in 1981. It featured a song "Starting Over Again" that Sudano had co-written with his wife Donna Summer about his parents' divorce. In 1980, the song was recorded and released by Dolly Parton on the album Dolly, Dolly, Dolly, and hit #1 on the U.S. country charts on May 24, 1980. The song was recorded by Reba McEntire in 1995. Sudano spent two decades managing Summer's career. They toured together, with Sudano playing keyboards and singing background vocals.  In 1984, Sudano wrote "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" with Michael Omartian. Jermaine Jackson and Michael Jackson recorded the song as a duet for the album Jermaine Jackson. The song was nominated at the 1985 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. In 1988, the song was covered by Robert Palmer. During the same period, he co-wrote four songs on Summer's She Works Hard For The Money album. One of which was the adult contemporary hit, "Love Has A Mind of Its Own". In 1986, he co-wrote "Closest Thing To Perfect", the title track for the John Travolta, Jamie Lee Curtis movie Perfect.  In 2004, Sudano released a second solo record called Rainy Day Soul and scored three top ten Adult Contemporary hits and earned him the New Music Weekly 2004 Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year award.  Sudano's third solo record Life and the Romantic was released in 2009 and won the New Music Weekly Adult Contemporary Song of the Year award for the track "It's Her Wedding Day" which Sudano wrote about his daughter Amanda's marriage to her Johnnyswim bandmate Abner Ramirez. Johnnyswim performed with Sudano on the track "Morning Song". The song "A Glass of Red & the Sunset" and "Beyond Forever" have performed well on the smooth jazz charts. In 2014, after the death of his wife, Sudano released the CD With Angels On A Carousel. Here he delicately and soulfully crafted songs that reflected his experience through this difficult experience.  In the fall of 2015, Sudano released a new album, The Burbank Sessions. While playing shows throughout 2014 with his newly formed Candyman Band, he continued writing and incorporated the new material into the sets. Once the dates for the year were concluded, he went into his rehearsal studio and recorded these new songs as he performed them, giving the CD a spontaneous and almost live feel. He followed the release with a run of US shows and an extensive European tour.

What awards or recognition did Sudano win?

OUT: New Music Weekly 2004 Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year award.


IN: Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music is known for its brand of "minimalistic psychedelia". Spacemen 3 had their first independent chart hits in 1987, gaining a cult following, and going on to have greater success towards the end of the decade. However, they disbanded shortly afterwards, releasing their final studio album post-split in 1991 after an acrimonious parting of ways.

In November 1985, Spacemen 3 played a gig at a leisure centre in Coventry to an audience of fewer than ten people. Nevertheless, encouraged by the support of Pat Fish, they determined that they ought to record a new demo tape. By this time they had reconfigured and honed their musical style, and their repertoire consisted of newer songs and re-worked older ones. "The band's sound had crystallised into the intense, hypnotic, overloaded psychedelia which characterised their early [record] output, and which would serve as a template for their live act throughout their existence" (Ian Edmond, Record Collector).  At Pierce's instigation, Pete Bain rejoined the band on bass in order to fill out their sound. Despite being a 4-piece again, they would retain the name 'Spacemen 3'. Kember and Pierce opted to upgrade their guitar equipment ahead of recording the new demos. Kember purchased a Burns Jazz electric guitar and 1960s Vox Conqueror amplifier; whilst Pierce bought a Fender Telecaster and a 1970s HH amplifier. Both of their new amplifiers included distortion/fuzz and tremolo; these two effects were key components of Spacemen 3's signature sound.  In January 1986, Spacemen 3 attended the home studio of Carlo Marocco at Piddington, outside Northampton, to record their new demo tape. They spent three-and-a-half days at the 16-track studio. Recording live as a group, with minimal overdubs, they managed to get demos for approximately seven songs. Kember and Pierce handled the production. These "fine set of performances" (Ned Raggett, AllMusic) would later be unofficially released as the vinyl album Taking Drugs to Make Music to Take Drugs To on the Father Yod label in 1990 (albeit described incorrectly as "rehearsals in Rugby").  Spacemen 3 managed to obtain a record deal shortly after producing their new demos. Pat Fish had given a copy of the demo tape to Dave Barker, the owner of the independent record label Glass Records, to whom Fish's band The Jazz Butcher were signed. Spacemen 3 signed a three-year, two-album recording contract with Glass Records in early 1986.

Did they gain any awards?

OUT: