Like other blues, rhythm and blues, and soul artists before him, Charles Bradley defined his music with heart-felt and hard-won emotions that followed his hard life and eventual musical discovery. Those life experiences were the defining characteristic of music that demanded that the listener sit up and take notice. On what would have been Charles Bradley’s 70th birthday, Dunham Records (a division of Daptone) has released a collection of Bradley recordings made in the studio during the recording sessions of each of his three long players. As the Black Velvet (November 2018) notes on the bandcamp.com site portray: 

“Though chronologically the material spans Charles’ entire career, this is no anthology, greatest hits or other shallow rehashing of the songs that already made him famous. Rather, this album is a profound exploration through the less-travelled corners of the soulful universe that Charles and his longtime producer, co-writer and friend Tommy “TNT” Brenneck created in the studio together over their decade-long partnership. It features new songs recorded during the sessions from each of his three albums, heard here for the very first time in all their scorching glory…”

I Feel A Change (seen/heard here) is a testament to the man that was a master of the music that he made. 

There is no website for Charles Bradley, however, there is a Facebook page and a Wikipedia page with a fair amount of information available.

Black Velvet is a wonderful addition to a diverse music collection that you really should have in your own archive. You can pick up a copy (download or vinyl) of Black Velvet on the bandcamp.com site or pick up a CD copy from Amazon. Since there will be no more new Charles Bradley music, there’s no better time than now to pick up a copy.