Charles Bradley is a hell of a soul singer and a hell of a story. In this week's print edition, Senior Writer Roy Kasten interviews the New York soul man and Daptone Records artist about the making of his new album, Victim of Love, and his long road to musical redemption. Bradley makes his first headlining appearance in St. Louis at the Old Rock House on Sunday, May 5.
Listen to the lead track "Strictly Reserved For You" -- which starts with declaration "I'm tired of the city life/I'm tired of the city people/Trying to get in my business" -- and read Bradley's take on the origin of the song after the jump.
Charles Bradley: "Now everyone lives in the city. I was tired of being in the circus. The band I was in just wanted to go around to the little clubs and I wanted to get out of that. But then I met Tom [Brennek] and Gabe [Roth], and they wanted to do something. I told them I wanted to grow. It was all right doing James Brown, but I wanted to find out who I was, what I could do. But when I first started out, I was still making the same money, $50 here, $70 there. I felt like I had to prove myself, that I had to move forward."
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinares 8:00 p.m. May 5 @ Old Rock House 1200 South Seventh Street
Follow RFT Music on Twitter or Facebook. But go with Twitter. Facebook blows.
