Charles Bradley (singer)

In the mid-1990s, Bradley's mother called him and asked him to move back in with her in Brooklyn so she could get to know him.[6][12] It was there he began making a living moonlighting as a James Brown impersonator in local clubs under the name "Black Velvet".[13][14] During this time, Bradley experienced more difficulties, including almost dying in a hospital after having an allergic reaction to penicillin, and, in a separate episode, awaking at his mother's house to a commotion as police and ambulances were arriving to the scene of his brother's murder, just down the road.[6]

While performing as "Black Velvet", he was eventually discovered by Gabriel Roth (better known as "Bosco Mann"), a co-founder of Daptone Records. Roth introduced Bradley to his future producer, Daptone artist Tom Brenneck (then the songwriter and guitarist for The Bullets, and later for Menahan Street Band) who invited Bradley to his band's rehearsal. Bradley asked that the band simply perform while he made up lyrics on the spot. After writing several songs, Daptone released some of these initial recordings on vinyl starting in 2002.[15]

Bradley performing at Traumzeit-Festival in Duisburg in 2013.

Brenneck and Bradley chose ten of these recordings to be released as Bradley's debut album No Time for Dreaming in 2011.[8]

In the spring of 2012, Soul of America, a documentary directed by Poull Brien, debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Poull Brien first met Bradley when he directed the music video for "The World (Is Going Up In Flames)". This feature film told Bradley's story from his childhood in Florida, to the days of homelessness and heartache, then later his gigs as Black Velvet, and finally ended with him touring and recording at Daptone Records. The film included his performance at festivals around the world.[16]

In 2014 Bradley took part in the Hamilton, Ontario Supercrawl event.[17]

Bradley's second album, Victim of Love came out on April 2, 2013.[18] Bradley's third album, Changes, was released on April 1, 2016, and featured a cover of the Black Sabbath song "Changes".[19] In August 2016, he fell ill and canceled a Canadian tour and his appearance at the Cambridge Folk Festival July 30 (UK), where the band Darlingside filled in for him.[20]

• "Take It As It Comes" from The Sugarman 3 album Pure Cane Sugar (2002)
• "Take It As It Comes" (Afrodisiac Soundsystem Remix) from the album Daptone Records Remixed (2007)
• "Stay Away" (Nirvana cover) from Spin's Newermind album, a compilation of Nirvana covers (2011)[23]
• Krampus (singing voice) American Dad!, episode "Minstrel Krampus" (2013)
• "Grant Green" from the Mr Jukes album God First (2017)
• "Otis" from Eddy Mitchell album La Même Tribu (2017)
• "Ain't It A Sin" in "Who's Gonna Take the Weight?", an episode of Netflix's Luke Cage season One (2016)