Roots country singer-songwriter Tommy John Ehman is serving up his timeless new take on the Bruce Springsteen classic hit, “Hungry Heart.”
It’s Tommy John’s first official cover offering, and it lands a month after his not one, but two, 2021 Saskatchewan Country Music Award nominations were announced: Male Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.
“‘Hungry Heart’ has been one of my favourite Springsteen songs right from its original release in 1980, even before I knew it was the Boss singing it,” Tommy John said. “It’s such a classic. It’s simple, yet complex… Happy, yet sad at the same time… Thoughtful, yet spontaneous.
“I think we can all relate to that after 2020,” he added, “and who doesn’t need more heart in these socially distant days?! When I would play it live, it always got the crowd going and having fun, and we could all use more of that right now.
“This is a song to fall in love with all over again.”
Teeming with his resonant heart-felt vocals, plus his own tweaks to the track, Tommy John’s “Hungry Heart” was produced by Brad Prosko of Regina’s B-Rad Studio. (There’s a further Boss-man connection afoot: Prosko also produced Tommy John’s fourth studio album, Wheels of Life — which featured the legendary bass guitarist, Garry Tallent of Springsteen’s E-Street Band.)
Drummer Jayson Brinkworth, bassist Shane Hendrickson (Aaron Pritchett), and keyboardist Mike Little (George Canyon) round out the track’s contributions.
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Tommy John is deeply entrenched in his rural roots — both musically, and otherwise. He and his family live on their fifth-generation farm and, while a degenerative eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa reduced his day-to-day activities on the farm, it hasn’t precluded him from writing songs and performing live.
With six studio albums to his credit — including 2019’s Day Night — Tommy John has had multiple Top 100 charting songs, radio placements, and media features nationwide. He’s received several Saskatchewan Country Music Award nominations — including this year’s SCMA nods for Songwriter of the Year and Male Artist of the Year — and shared the stage with the likes of his band, Idle Rains, Midnight Highway, Doc Walker, Michelle Wright, and more.
Thanks so much for the feature article you guys. It’s very much appreciated by me and my team.
It’s a BEAUTIFUL thing. Roots Music Canada Rocks!! Tommy 🙂