John Michael Hersey is a singer/songwriter known for his sophisticated yet accessible melding of rock, pop, folk, blues and country. Hersey is first and foremost a storyteller, one who happens to play a mean guitar.
On his latest album, You Got to Me, Hersey weaves a tapestry of mellow soul, folk-pop, doo-wop, adult alternative and roots rock. He has released five other albums of original material: Soup Du Jour (1999), Whirligig (2003), Mr. Lucky [with Speedo and the Cadillacs] (2004), How Am I Here? (2007), and Adirondack (2014).
Hersey grew up in the small town of
Franklinville, NJ where he fronted his first band, Shale. In the 1980s, he moved to New York City and got a job playing guitar with doo-wop legends The Cadillacs, for whom he wrote and produced the album
Mr. Lucky. In 1999, he released the album
Soup Du Jour with
Miles Away, a song about the alienation and loneliness one can feel in the big city. In the 2000s, Hersey began to strut his stuff as a guitarist, forging his own brand of blues on
Heartbreak 101 from
Whirligig and
Running from the Blues from
How Am I Here? In 2014, after spending time in prison, he released
Adirondack with
Sittin’ Pretty, a song about coming home a changed and grateful man.
Hersey’s latest album opens a new chapter, one defined by the redemptive power of love as heard in the title song
You Got to Me.
Singer/Songwriter John Michael Hersey offers heartfelt pop-rock collection of love songs on You Got to Me
NEW YORK, NY – September 2016 Hersey releases
YOU GOT TO ME a joyful and poignant collection of songs about finding and losing love. It follows up his “raw, hard, observant and thought provoking” 2014 album,
ADIRONDACK(review:
folkwords.com 5/23/14).
Hersey weaves a tapestry of mellow soul (“You Saved My Life” and “You Got to Me”), folk-pop (“I’m So in Love with You”), doo-wop (“Never Ever”), adult alternative (“Don’t Shy Away”) and roots rock (“Every Time I See You’).
The songs describe love’s arc: the life-changing excitement of falling in love, the gray areas of doubt and difficulty after infatuation is over (“In the Dark” and “It’s Not Black and White”) and anger and heartbreak at the relationship’s demise (“Curtain Call” and “Empty Love”). But love’s return is just a song away (“One on One” and “Falling”)!
YOU GOT TO MEis a musical romantic novel with a happy ending (“Yes, I Love You”).
YOU GOT TO ME was written, performed and produced by Hersey with three songs co-written with composer Peter Millrose. He has released five other albums of original material:
Soup Du Jour (1999),
Whirligig (2003),
Mr. Lucky [with Speedo and the Cadillacs] (2004),
How Am I Here? (2007), and
Adirondack (2014).
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