Charles Bradley: Soul of America Page #5

but it's his stories I'm always trying to translate into a song.

I was bouncing into different bands like that.

They'd say, "Man, we'll pay you 40 to do this show tonight."

This guy paid me to do this tonight. That's how I was doing out there.

And at that time, I don't know why...I got sick.

I called my mom and she said, "Son, come on back home."

Mom is getting old

and she's been through a lot.

It's not for me to crucify her for what she did in her life.

Then my brother Joseph, he came to hospital to see me

and he reached over and he kissed me.

He said, "Charles, no, no."

He whispered in my ear. He said, "Bro, if you don't want to live for yourself, please live for me."

He said, "Charles, I love you. You're my heart."

I said... I said, "Joe, I'll fight. I'll fight."

My brother just told me.

He said, "Charles, do something that you want to do. Follow your dreams. You love music. Do it."

I said, "Joe, I'd like to be someone like you." He said, "You don't want to be me. Be you."

He said, "Cos I can't do it like you do it."

I remember when I was a kid, when I was in Florida, Joseph was going to piano school,

and how I learned these little things I'm playing on the piano by watching him.

I was trying little tunes myself.

He said, "Follow your dreams and your music."

And he said, "Take one of these rooms in this house and fix it up."

He gave me this room. "People can come here for a rehearsal." And that's what I did.

Joe was like a father and a brother. He was a beautiful brother.

Yeah, sit down, Charles, and eat.

You know, I'm not hungry,

but you eat and then we'll start slowly talking about what you did.

- OK, I'll leave this here for you.

- That's fine.

'I'm tutoring Charles.'

He's at kindergarten or first grade reading level

and reading comprehension level.

"Other writers interested in my story."

OK, you sounded it out. Did you understand everything that you read?

Um...

- Yes and no.

- Yes and no.

I think his number one goal is for him to be able to write his lyrics down fast

when they're coming into his head because he's got a lot of words up there he wants to get out on paper,

but he doesn't know how to do it.

You didn't spell "an" right.

- Oh. Two N's?

- Just one N, no D.

- Oh, "an"...

- "And" is like when you put two things together like...

- Right, OK.

Fish AND chips.

- Thank you.

- Bye, Charles. I'll see you next week. Thank you.

You got it? You can read it later.

- Wrap it up. Get started.

- Get outta here.

You know I own you. You know I'm the boss.

- I bet you wish you were.

- Thank you, Mr Brown.

'Charles used to wear his James Brown wig all the time.'

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