It’s safe to say, Charles Bradley is no stranger to hard times. Living on the streets at a young age, he went on to nomadically tour the country, finding himself in harsh labour conditions, while dealing with the full brunt of America’s segregation. But at 62, Bradley has finally found his voice.
After losing his job of 17 years and waking up to find his brother shot dead, Charles had almost given up by the time he was discovered by Daptone label boss, Gabriel Roth. Performing as a James Brown tribute act “Black Velvet”, the heartaches and pains Bradley was carrying seeped through his soul exterior, Roth – seeing recording potential – can now, along with songwriter Tom Brenneck, adorne the accolade of bringing the voice of Charles Bradley to the masses. Charles seeks to heal his listeners, to carry their aches and to be a “soldier of the universe”. His voices carries pain, but his words send a message of love, delivered through over half a century of chaotic and often traumatic experience. With the recent passing of his mother, he has left the studio for the third time, carrying more weight than ever.
1962: Seeing James Brown at the Apollo
You know, I always liked the blues, but James Brown is the one who took rhythm and made it into rhythm and blues. I felt my spirit say, “Woah, I want this”. To this day I love rhythm and blues, and you got some lyrics to sing in front of it? Oh my god, there ain’t nothing like it. The way [James Brown] got on stage and gave it his all, it made me realise that I want to do that.
1977: Hearing Eagles’ Take It To The Limit
I just heard that the guy who sang that song passed away. He was always one of the people I wanted to meet and thank because that song really helped me save my own life. When I was going through hell with the police in upstate New York, the things that they had done to me, I went to this pizza restaurant. I was thinking, “How can I get out of this body? I can’t take no more pains in this body”. This guy walked in and he put a quarter in the jukebox and played Take It To The Limit. I jumped up, broke down crying and ran out the door. The part that really hits me so deeply is, “When the dreams keep turning out and burning out the same/put me on a highway/ show me a sign/take it to the limit one more time”. It’s really one of my favourite songs; anybody who puts lyrics like that together gotta be a good person.
2011: Daptone Records and first recordings
My guys that I have behind me, my manager Rich, Martin, Jerry, these guys are really helping me be somebody. They’re doing things that help me send a message to the world. They saw my love, they saw my deepness, and they saw my honesty. Guys like Tom Brenneck, Gabriel Roth, these guys took me when I was about to give up, and gave me a chance. They opened the door for me and said “Charles, if you want it, go after it”. God knows it’s not easy, but I have met more people in my life that now make me want to heal.
2014: The passing of Bradley’s mother
When my mom was sick and we were learning that track, Changes – it’s a song that really hurts me. What made me really want to learn that song was the last verse, “It took so long to realise/I can still hear her last goodbye/but now all my days have turned into tears/I wish I could go back and change these years”. That’s the part that really hits me; I just close my eyes and see the moment that my mom took her last breath. I used to ask my mother, how have you gone through all this hurt and pain and still got love in you? She always told me “trust in God, keep on pushing”. Just keep pressing on forward, with your hurt, your honesty, just keep giving that love. If you can do that, you’ll make a difference in the world. You’re not gonna let this world change you, just keep pushing in a positive and loving way, and that’s what I do.”
“The way James Brown got on stage and gave it his all, it made me realise what I want to do”
Present: Changes and touring
This album makes me think of the changes in my life since my mother passed away. That’s why I like to go out into the audience sometimes to really just walk out there and hear what people whisper in my ear, I look into their faces and I see the tears. It does me a lot of good, because I have met a lot of people out there that come to me and say “I didn’t know how to deal with my own aches and pains, but to see you get on the stage and sing these things has helped
me with my own life”. I think ‘wow, that’s beautiful.’
Changes is out now via Dunham / Daptone. Charles Bradley appears at Cambridge Folk Festival, 28-31 July
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