Charles Bradley wears his soul on his sleeve. The next rising star at Daptone Records has found his place in the spotlight, but he’s going to be humble about it. The road for Charles Bradley was not without its trials and tribulations. The man has, to put it lightly, overcome some hardships. But with his faith and his perseverance, Bradley kept going long beyond the point when others would curse the world and give up. The man oozes his emotions from his skin, displaying both his struggles and his inner strength. The coolest part: he makes you feel like you can do it, too.
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Charles Bradley wears his soul on his sleeve. The next rising star at Daptone Records has found his place in the spotlight, but he’s going to be humble about it. The road for Charles Bradley was not without its trials and tribulations. The man has, to put it lightly, overcome some hardships. But with his faith and his perseverance, Bradley kept going long beyond the point when others would curse the world and give up. The man oozes his emotions from his skin, displaying both his struggles and his inner strength. The coolest part: he makes you feel like you can do it, too.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEW ISSUE OF RVA MAGAZINE!
Born in Gainesville, FL (sister city to good ol’ RVA) in 1948, Bradley spent most of his childhood homeless, his family having moved up to Brooklyn. One of the only bright spots for Bradley at this point was when his sister took him to see James Brown at the Apollo in 1962. The performance changed his life, and he soon took to practicing microphone tricks with a broom and string. It was during this time that Bradley first felt that spark of motivation to get off the streets and make something of himself.
Bradley found a job through Job Corps, a federal program that helps underprivileged families. His work took him to Maine, where he learned to be a cook. He was asked to perform for some female Job Corps employees, and they went wild. He knew right then that he had a gift.
Then came the Vietnam War, and his bandmates were shipped off to fight. Bradley made his way back to New York and cooked at a mental hospital. He was soon fed up with being harassed by local police and not having an outlet for his music. He took off cross country, hitchhiking from the East to the West Coast and some of Canada. Once he even took a ride with someone who claimed to have just killed his wife and children.
Bradley ended up in Alaska and then California, and started cooking once more. He began sitting in on recording sessions and playing pick up gigs now and then to feed his musical side. He had just enough money for purchasing his first home when he was laid off from his steady chef job of 17 years. He soon returned to Brooklyn and eschewed cooking as a career. To this day, Bradley does not like to cook. “I only cook for friends and family when I do cook. My mom loves Chicken a la King.”
Bradley began performing some James Brown routines in Brooklyn clubs under the name Black Velvet. During these performances, he’d often flap his arms onstage, which garnered him the nickname “the Screamin’ Eagle.” “Everybody called me that,” he says. “I was moving my arms like I was flying.”
Bradley’s string of bad luck had not ended just yet–during this time, his brother was shot and killed, and he awoke to police sirens. However, it was while he was performing his Black Velvet routines that Gabriel Roth of Daptone Records saw his show. Roth recognized Bradley’s immense talent, and hooked him up with Thomas Brenneck, at that time guitarist and songwriter for the band Dirt Rifle and the Bullets. Brenneck eventually went on to join Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and lead The Menahan Street Band. He and Bradley worked well together, and recorded a couple of singles, released by Daptone under the name Charles Bradley and the Bullets. The Bullets, however, soon left to become the Daptone instrumental group The Budos Band.
While they were working together, Bradley shared his woeful life story with Brenneck, who immediately wanted to put those stories to song. Brenneck formed Dunham Records, an offshoot from the Daptone label, on which he released Bradley’s 2007 single “The World (Is Going Up in Flames)” (which Brenneck also produced). For the first time, Bradley was his own entity and not just a tribute act.
Many people wonder how Bradley kept his head up amidst all the blows that life dealt him. Bradley credits his faith in God as one of his strengths. “I’m a spiritual person and believe something greater than man kept my ego up and kept my spirit in motion,” he says. “You’ve got to keep going because you’ve got to believe.” His certainty is somewhat calming. If a man can go through a life of one hardship after another and remain optimistic, he’s a lot stronger than most people.
Some aspects of Bradley’s success can be credited to his ability to remain humble and let go of regrets. “I thank God and I thank everybody who had a part in this to help me to help myself,” he says. His grace is infectious. He does say, “It’s been a long time coming,” but Bradley never anguishes over lost time. “When you’ve got a scar, the [cut] heals, but if you look at the scar it’s still there. It never truly heals, I don’t think. I just keep going, day by day.” This is truly a man who has been formed by his struggles and reactions to those tough times.
His appreciation for his eventually triumphant musical career knows no bounds. He turns his sour times into soulful music that encourages others who might be in similar situations. “Now I’ve finally found a door open for me to come in, and I want to show the world that I was just a person waiting for an opportunity, begging for an opportunity,” he says. ”All I wanted was to come out out with love and to pay respect for everybody. Through my hurt and pain, I could show the person who was under that shell, carrying nothing but love. Live and let live.”
Another big factor in Bradley’s success is his innate showmanship. “My love of cooking is like that,” he explains. “You’ve got to give the people what they want, and it’s the same way with music. When I get up on stage, I open my heart and that’s it.” Charles Bradley is touring in support of Victim of Love, his second album for Daptone Records, released in April 2013. The album centers around themes of love and the pain associated with it. “I am the victim of love. That’s my nickname,” Bradley says. The title track is a chill little number that features a choir backing Bradley’s belting, while “Confusion” is a particular highlight that hearkens back to Curtis Mayfield’s classic, “(Don’t Worry) If There’s Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go.” Each song on the record has that perfect vintage quality, common to Daptone releases, that makes music seem channeled from the studios of an earlier era.
Bradley may have received his good fortune later in life, but this fact allows him to bring wisdom and experience to his songs, and we all reap the benefits. Bradley will keep giving each performance his all, putting himself out there emotionally and physically. “God knows I will give the best of my soul when I’m on stage,” he says. “I’m too late in my age to be changing.” And he remains grateful for everything his music has brought him. “I thank you for your time,” he said as the interview ended. “Because all of this is helping me feel this love.”
Catch Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires at Friday Cheers in RVA, on Friday, June 7 at Brown’s Island. Go to facebook.com/fridaycheers for details.
