As if he’s been holding back his story for way too long, Eddie Lee Burkes launches into the autobiographical title track from his soul-empowering debut EP The Comeback Man with a spirited laugh and a spoken word introduction. The Florida-born, Mississippi-raised singer/songwriter draws us into his liberating, freewheeling fusion of country, gospel, and blues, sharing some darkly intimate, muddy, and despairing truths while “trying to find the peace I’ve never known.” When Eddie hits the infectious, triumphant chorus, it’s his ultimate declaration of the journey to God’s ultimate redemption after years of choosing self-damaging paths.

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It’s a bold move, making one’s first official recording project so personal and vulnerable, but in the singer’s emphatic declaration “I’m the Comeback Man/I never stuck to any plan/I tore up every road till the bitter end…” he connects with and gives voice to perhaps millions who’ve been on those same crooked, then ultimately and painfully straightened roads. With Eddie telling the story with stark, no-holds-barred truths, a classic R&B/blues voice, and his trademark wit and charisma, the collection is a compelling celebration of sobriety after many years of addiction.

 

Recording with two-time Grammy-winning songwriter/producer Marc Swersky at Dug Deep Productions in Asbury Park, NJ marked not only a creative breakthrough, but the first time the singer felt “heard” as an artist with an important, poignant story to tell. The tracks “Last Train” and “The Harbor” were co-writes by Eddie with Swersky and songwriter Brielle Brown, while he wrote “Deliver Me River” and “The Comeback Man” with Swersky and legendary three-time Grammy-winning songwriter/producer Charlie Midnight. 

 

“Because of the adversity I went through, people were trying to count me out,” he says. “But I know only God has the last say, so this is about me doing the right thing, acknowledging my wrongs and being able to step in front, accept the good, bad, and ugly about myself, and open to God’s forgiveness and experience Him as the light at the end of a very dark tunnel.” 

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“The Comeback Man is my way of showing not just the world, but myself, that through sobriety, I can still accomplish anything.”