From: "Dik de Heer" < Date: Thu Jan 23, 2003 2:55 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Alex Bradford PROFESSOR ALEX BRADFORD Born 23 January 1927, Bessemer, Alabama Died 15 February 1978, Newark, New Jersey Gospel singer / composer / keyboardist / actor / choreographer / talent scout. Professor Alex Bradford, who has been called "Gospel's Little Richard," arguably stands as the most influential male artist of gospel's post-World War II Golden Age. Born in 1927 in Bessemer, Alabama, Bradford joined a children's gospel group called The Protective Harmoneers in 1940. After serving in the armed forces and moving to Chicago, he and his group were presented in concert by Robert Anderson. Befriending Mahalia Jackson, Bradford briefly became the great diva's secretary and traveling companion. In 1949 Bradford joined the Willie Webb Singers as soloist. A year later, he formed his own group of singers, and by 1953 he joined Specialty Records as both an artist and talent scout. He stayed with the label for six years, during which time he recorded dozens of sides, the first of which, "Too Close To Heaven" (Specialty 852), became the biggest gospel hit of 1953 and reportedly sold over a million copies. Like most gospel journeymen during the Golden Age, he travelled and did shows at churches and revival programs much more than he recorded, and Bradford was always welcome because he had a near-riotous act, heavily arranged and choreographed but finally as spontaneous as gospel must be, that wrecked houses (as the saying goes) all over the gospel circuit. Alex Bradford also pioneered the extension of gospel to secular contexts, particularly with his world tour with Marion Williams in Black Nativity (1960), based on texts by Langston Hughes. He was, rare among important gospel performers, both instrumentalist and vocalist. Quite a few of his recordings feature pounding piano solos. As choir director of Newark's Abyssinian Baptist Church, he proved a fine talent scout into the bargain, giving a start to, among others, Cissy Houston and the Sweet Inspirations, Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, C and the Shells, and Judy Clay, all of whom went on to have important careers in soul and pop, none of whom ever strayed far from the gospel basis of their singing. He wrote hit material for Roberta Martin, Sallie Martin, and Mahalia Jackson, all of whom he also served as accompanist. His Bradford Specials, with whom he made his most important records in the mid-'50s, were the first male group to adopt the innovations brought to gospel by female quartets such as those of Roberta Martin and Clara Ward. In addition to his influence on the Newark soul singers, Bradford also played a role in shaping the styles of Little Richard, Ray Charles, and Sam Cooke, all of whose work reflects careful study of his aptitudes and antics. After leaving Specialty in 1959, he toured the world with Black Nativity. In 1959 and 1960, he recorded in New York for the Savoy and Gospel labels, but made more important recordings for Vee-Jay where he recorded from 1962-1964. It was during this period that he became an international star, touring Europe, principally England, and even going as far as Australia. He made some records, mainly unreleased, for Chess' Checker subsidiary in 1966, and rounded out his recording career with sessions for Nashboro in 1967 and 1968, which are fine of their kind but not as dynamic as the best of what he had done earlier. He was still actively touring when, in 1978, he had a stroke and died, aged only 51. Website: http://afgen.com/bradford.html CD's : Too Close - Specialty SPCD 7042-2 Rainbow In The Sky - Specialty SPCD 7015-2