By Bob Makin
originally published: 01/23/2026
The Makin Waves Song of the Week is “The Death of Renee Good,” the latest single by the great Jersey singer-songwriter Bruce Tunkel. PHOTO BY JONATHAN ROSS
It may not have generated the publicity that Bruce Springsteen received dedicating "The Promised Land" to Renee Good during of Light of Day Festival, but the great Jersey singer-songwriter Bruce Tunkel has made an even more powerful statement about the Minneapolis ICE victim.
“The Death of Renee Good” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.
As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “The Death of Renee Good” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Jan. 23 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin, Mixcloud and RadioJersey.net.
“This was a tough song to write because the subject matter is so painful,” Bruce said. “There's many reasons that an artist might create something. Sometimes we might share feelings. Sometimes we try to inspire. Sometimes we just want to make people dance. In this case, it's really a report on what I saw. I hope people will reflect on why this event was so antithetical to our American values and resist being gaslighted by our government.”
The leader of Central Jersey-based SBK recording act The Red House in a younger day and now the owner Beanland Studios in Branchburg, Bruce is working on an EP, among many other things, to go alongside his 10 solo albums and latest single.
“I have a rather large collection of songs that I've written over the past two years, which I am slowly going about recording,” he said. “I may release an EP of three songs, which go together thematically. It will be called ‘World Blues.’”
Bruce often can be found playing music at Pino’s Open Mic on Wednesdays in Highland Park. He’s likely to play “The Death of Renee Good,” which also can be heard on Apple Music and Spotify.
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and Instagram and contact Bob at [email protected].
New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.
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