Growing up penniless on the streets of New York, Charles Bradley worked as a
cook and hitch-hiked his way across America, facing all sorts of adventures and
hardships. He struggled to read or write but, after seeing James Brown at the
Apollo in 1962, developed his own vocal talents and spent 20 years impersonating
the Godfather of Soul at small shows. He moved back to Brooklyn in the 1990s to
look after his sick mother, and it was in Brooklyn that his Black Velvet persona
impressed Daptone Records boss Gabriel Rotm who encouraged him to abandon the
James Brown tribute routine and...