Professor Alex Bradford (1927-1978 was a multi-talented gospel composer, singer, arranger and choir director who was a great influence on artists such as Little Richard and Ray Charles and who helped bring about the modern mass choir movement in gospel. Born in Bessemer, Alabama, he first appeared on stage at age four, then joined a a children's gospel group at thirteen, soon obtaining his own radio show. He organized another group after his mother sent him to New York City following a racial incident; he continued singing after returning to attend the Snow Hill Institute in Snow Hill, Alabama, where he acquired the title "Professor" while teaching as a student.

He moved to Chicago in 1947, where he worked briefly with Roberta Martin and toured with Mahalia Jackson, then struck out on his own with his own group, the Bradford Singers, followed by another group, the Bradford Specials. He recorded his first hit, "Too Close To Heaven", with that group in 1953, then followed it with a number of other successes in the rest of the decade.

Artists such as Little Richard imitated Bradford's energetic style, ranging from a gravelly bass to a whooping falsetto, and his flamboyant stage presence. Ray Charles, for his part, not only borrowed some of Bradford's vocal mannerisms but based his Raelets on the Bradford Specials.

In 1961, when his recording career was in decline, he joined the cast in "Black Nativity", based on the writings of Langston Hughes. He appeared in "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope", for which he won the Obie Award in 1972. He died in 1978 as the play "Your Arms Too Short To Box With God" was in production.

Further Reading

• Tony Heilbut, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times Limelight Editions, 1997, ISBN 0879100346.

• Horace Clarence Boyer, How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel Elliott and Clark, 1995, ISBN 0252068777.