A biography for Charles Bradleyhasn’t been written yet.
“I've always been a person who wanted to withdraw from the world, because the changes I've been through, I just don't want to go through anymore.”
“I always loved James Brown, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke.”
“When I got out of Job Corps, I was an empty shell. I didn't know what to do with myself.”
“I don't always know what I want to hear, but I'm gonna try and pull it out and sing it to you, and if you hear it the way I sing it to you, then a wall is broken.”
“I just love dancing. When the music is really hitting my soul, then I really want to get into it.”
“I was born in America. I was raised in America. And America truly has done me a lot of dirt, a lot of horrible things that I never will forget, but I know this is where I was born at.”
“America has been a very cold place to me, and it was good once in a while. I meet good people. Sometimes I meet bad people. But there are some things that I still haven't forgotten today that hurt that bad.”
“I'm so grateful there's people that believe in me and want to hear more about me.”
“Honestly, I've been excited for music ever since I was 16 years old. I'll always love the music.”
“I was learning 'Changes' at the time that my mom was sick and she was leaving me. And those last verses in that song, they really struck my soul, totally.”
“James Brown really taught me a lot - his lyrics and his performance and whatever he does when he's onstage. I'll always call him a legend, and I'll always respect what he did.”
“I've fell flat on my face so many times, I'd rather be alone. I learned from the mistake, but I know I'm going to turn around and do it all over again.”
“My faith in God is totally... there's nothing on this planet that can change my faith and love for God. Because I believe that's who kept me strong, who kept me going through all the darkness and brought me through the darkness into the light.”
“I did a tour down South someplace, and it was an all-day festival, and there were about 2,000 people. It was pouring down rain, and I went to grab the mic, and I got electrocuted. I felt the electricity flow through my body.”
“I like to see the joy in people's' faces. I like to see when they actually question that I'm not afraid to answer and give them my respect and honesty with what I have to say to them.”
“I just have to open up when I'm on stage because that's what I did in my life. I want people to know what I've been through, and the love and the honesty that I have kept inside me. I just open my heart and let my heart go free.”
“I have a routine to work on my vocals. I always get some honey and some extra virgin olive oil to coat my throat, and I go to bed.”
“I was 14, and I left on my own. Living in a subway train, and police used to come in with a nightstick and say, 'You can't sleep here.' I'd get up and go across the street, get on another train, and go back the other way.”
“All I want to do is get me a piece of land someplace where I can say, 'This is home,' and I got nobody bothering me.”
“I never knew about racial segregation until Martin Luther King.”