Perry Bradford (February 14, 1893,

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama, Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the Gulf Coastal Plain, coas ...

– April 20, 1970,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) was an American composer, songwriter, and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer. His most notable songs included "Crazy Blues," "That Thing Called Love," and "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down." He was nicknamed "Mule" because of his stubbornness, and he is credited with finally persuading

Okeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

to work with

Mamie Smith Mamie Smith (née Robinson; May 26, 1891 – September 16, 1946) was an American vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist, and actress. As a vaudeville singer she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues histor ...

leading to her historic blues recording in 1920.

Biography

Bradford grew up in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, where his family moved when he was six, and in 1906 started working in

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...

s. He played in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

as a solo pianist as early as 1909 and visited New York City the following year. Through extensive experience with traveling minstrel shows and theatre companies, Bradford obtained exposure to African-American folksongs. Bradford broke down walls of racial prejudice that had kept African-American singers from recording. Prior to Bradford's influence, African-American artists recorded in a style that was closely similar to those of white dance orchestras. There was little to no trace of African-American musical characteristics present in their recordings. Bradford persevered in getting the recording industry to value recordings of African-American artists recording in the style of their own subculture. As a pianist, singer, dancer and composer, Bradford worked in theatre circuits throughout the South and into the North for the next decade (1908–1919) in a song and dance act billed as "Bradford and Jeanette". While in New York City, Bradford convinced

Frederick W. Hager Frederick W. Hager (December 31, 1874 - March 3, 1958) was an American musician, recording artist, composer, and music director active between 1895 and 1923. Biography Early life and recording and bandleader Hager was born in New Milford, Penn ...

, of

, to record

and became her musical director. Smith starred in Bradford's show ''Made in Harlem'' (1918). Bradford was also responsible for Smith being the first African-American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

singer to appear on record (singing his "Crazy Blues") in 1920. Bradford claimed that his revue, ''Made in Harlem'', was the first stage production that offered blues matter to the large, northern audience in Harlem. Bradford was able to organize the first recording session, "That Thing Called Love," that highlighted an African-American artist, accompanied by a white studio band, performing material specific to the African-American culture. He had offices in the Gaiety Theatre office building in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

, New York City.Broadway: An Encyclopedia by Ken Bloom – Routledge; 2nd edition (November 11, 2003)
The office building included offices rented out to prominent black people in the music business, such as Bill Robinson, Eubie Blake, Shelton Brooks, and W.C. Handy; the building was nicknamed "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by George M. Cohan. Bradford toured and recorded with Smith, worked with

Alberta Hunter Alberta Hunter (April 1, 1895 – October 17, 1984) was an American jazz and blues singer and songwriter from the early 1920s to the late 1950s. After twenty years of working as a nurse, Hunter resumed her singing career in 1977. Early life Hu ...

and also headed seven recording sessions of his own during 1923–1927. Among Bradford's sidemen were Johnny Dunn,

Bubber Miley Bubber is a nickname and surname which may refer to: People: * Bubber or Bubba Brooks (1922-2002), American jazz tenor saxophonist * James Bubber Epps (born 1943), American politician * Clarence James Bubber Jonnard (1897-1977), American Major Leag ...

, Garvin Bushell,

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

(on two numbers in 1925),

Buster Bailey William C. "Buster" Bailey (July 19, 1902 – April 12, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist. Career history Early career Buster Bailey was taught clarinet by classical teacher Franz Schoepp, who also taught Benny Goodman. Bailey gained his ...

, and James P. Johnson. Armstrong's session with Bradford was his last session in New York City before his return to Chicago. Bradford continued to promote blues and jazz recordings by publishing and managing. Bradford's influence in the recording industry was negatively affected by the

crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch ...

of the stock market in 1929, as well as by changes in the character of jazz and African-American songs. He was an irregular participant after the 1940s. With the rise of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Bradford slipped away into obscurity. In later years, he appeared to exaggerate his role in early blues, possibly a reaction to his being nearly forgotten. In 1957,

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

had a hit with Bradford's " Keep A-Knockin'". In 1965, Bradford's autobiography ''Born With the Blues'' was published (New York: Oak Publications) with a foreword by Noble Sissle.

References

External links

Perry Bradford (1893-1970)
at The Red Hot Jazz Archive
Perry Bradford recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Perry 1893 births 1970 deaths Vaudeville performers Okeh Records artists Vocalion Records artists Musicians from Montgomery, Alabama 20th-century American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians