Who Is Charles Bradley? James Brown Impersonator Dies Of Cancer At 68

Soul singer Charles Bradley passed away on Saturday after battling cancer. He was 68.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Bradley’s career took off in the 2000s after impersonating the likes of James Brown for a couple of years. Dubbed as the “Screaming Eagle of Soul,” Bradley’s career was going well especially in 2016 when he was supposed to headline two tours. He was left with no choice but to cancel it after being diagnosed with stomach cancer that eventually spread to his liver, according to New York Daily News.

A statement was released via the singer’s Facebook account and it read, “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Charles Bradley. Mr. Bradley was truly grateful for all the love he’s received from his fans and we hope his message of love is remembered and carried on. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

The R&B singer’s death was also announced via his official Twitter account. It was posted alongside Bradley’s photo.

According to the Huffington Post, Bradley was born in Gainesville, Florida in 1948. He moved to New York at the age of 8 with his mother. As a teenager, Bradley decided to run away from his home and lived on the streets. He received help and support from his friends. He later on worked as a cook in Maine and went back and forth from the United States and Canada before returning to Brooklyn.

Throughout the years, Bradley has also focused on his music career, but simply by impersonating his idol, Brown. It was only after his “No Time for Dreaming” album was released in 2011 that he rose to fame. He was then included in Rolling Stone’s list of top 50 albums of that same year. In 2013, he released his second album, “Victim of Love,” and it was followed by his 2016 album, “Changes.”

In 2016, he was nominated in the outstanding on-camera musical performance in a daytime program at the Emmys after he performed on “CBS This Morning: Saturday.”

Just weeks before his demise, Bradley penned a tweet to his fans and said that he will “come back strong.”