CHARLES BRADLEY: SOUL OF AMERICA

At the age of 62 years old, Charles Bradley released his first album, No Time For Dreaming (on page 2), with the Menahan Street Band.

Charles Bradley’s voice is his story.  Grizzled by hardship and bad luck, every intonation suggests a source of heartache and pain that bellows out with absolute sincerity.  The first time you hear a Charles Bradley record, it grabs you and becomes hard to shake off.  

The man’s the real deal.  And it’s a shame for the world to have missed out on his talents for so long.  The documentary, Charles Bradley: Soul Of America (on page 3), goes some way to acknowledging the terrible injustice of the world having overlooked the man for almost half a century.  It also demonstrates how nice the guy is, despite what’s seen and what he’s been through.

Thank Daptone Records for finally picking him up, as they also did with Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings.

During the 42-year struggle, Bradley worked as a James Brown impersonator under the pseudonym, Black Velvet.

Continue for his albums…