Charles Bradley’s life would make for a great movie, so I’m glad that it was this documentary instead of a biopic. Bradley released his first album, the well-received soul No Time for Dreaming, last year on Daptone Records at the age of 62. Up until that point, his life was mostly tragic: living in a sketchy housing project, working odd jobs for little money, he takes care of the aging mother who basically abandoned him at a very young age, a tutor is interviewed in the film and she says Bradley was only reading at a first grade level in his sixties, and prior to making music for Daptone, Bradley was known as a James Brown impersonator called Black Velvet (albeit a pretty good James Brown impersonator).
The film moves quickly, jumping between Bradley’s life and the days prior to the release of his album. Obviously, expectations were high because why else would a camera crew follow Bradley around during this period? But it makes for a compelling story and the documentary does a good job of telling Bradley’s story by interviewing Bradley, his family and the principals at Daptone. It’s an interesting juxtaposition where everything seems to go wrong for Bradley prior to getting in touch with Daptone (and that relationship didn’t build instantly) and the successes he’s acheived after. As an example of “it’s never too late,” the story is inspiring. And the music Bradley makes, full-bodied soul that uses his big voice and a crackerjack horn section with great efficiency.
Charles Bradley is an easy figure to root for. He’s likeable and doesn’t take what he’s acheived for granted. It also doesn’t hurt anything that the music is really, really good.
{Charles Bradley: Soul of America plays at SIFF on Tuesday, May 29 (tonight) at 6:30pm at the Harvard Exit, Wednesday, May 30 at 4pm at the Harvard Exit and on Wednesday, June 6 at 9:15pm at Pacific Place.}
{Photo of Charles Bradley at Sasquatch by Lori Paulson.}
Chris Burlingame is the editor of Another Rainy Saturday.
I really enjoyed CB’s album. It’s classic soul, though sometimes sounding a bit dated. I also love it that he debuted at 62 – 30 years after most folks would have given up.
I didn’t know this film existed, and will look for it. What an amazing trailer!