Never give up on your dreams. If there is one lesson the world can learn from the success of the described “Screaming Eagle of Soul” Charles Bradley, it is that very lesson.
Bradley has become a musical sensation of sorts at an age where most people opt to retire. He has a reputation for his sweat-soaked incendiary live shows and has performed at New Brunswick music festivals including Sappyfest and the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival.
Bradley is currently traversing the world promoting his newest record Victim of Love. He spoke with Here Magazine earlier this week about his late-life and somewhat unanticipated career change.
Was being a musician something that you were always interested in?
It has always been my dream. I love singing and music was always one of those things that I was drawn to. I knew I could sing, I knew I was a good dancer and I knew that people loved it when I did those things. As you get older in age, you can start seeing life as being hard. You can’t keep your dreams hidden. I simply kept my eyes open and learned as much as I can along the way. That is what has given me the drive, honesty and love when I’m on stage. I want to give people the best that I have. I want to have people believe in me when I am on stage.
How did you know when it was the right time to finally pursue your dreams?
If you have got that pressure inside of you, it is going to explode like a volcano at some point. You just never know when that is going to happen. That is probably the best way to describe what I felt inside of me. It was something that had been building up since my childhood. I just wanted to have the chance to show the world what I could do. I wanted to set my soul free. All that I ever needed was to the opportunity to show the world what I was capable of. For me, that opportunity came at age 63.
Article published in the May 2, 2013 edition of Here Magazine