PROF. ALEX BRADFORD
Professor Alex Bradford (January 23, 1927 – February 15, 1978) was a multi-talented gospel composer, singer, arranger and choir director, who was an influence on artists such as Little Richard, Bob Marley and Ray Charles, and who helped bring about the modern mass choir movement in gospel. (More from Wikipedia)
An incredible album that I picked up several years ago, This is How it All Began – on Specialty Records – is not the typical compilation album, but a carefully selected series of songs that looked (and sounded) like they might have come from someone’s doctoral dissertation on the origins of rock music. I only have the disk now naturally, but I remember that it was divided into four sections, with “Gospel” being the first. The four songs that start the album are these: “It’s Getting Late in the Evening” by Chosen Gospel Singers; “By and By” by the Soul Stirrers; “Somebody Touched Me” by Prof. Alex Bradford; and “Trouble in My Way” by the Swan Silvertones.
(July 2014)
