Child prodigy Alex Bradford is an important link between the golden age of gospel and contemporary black gospel music. He is also a pivotal figure in the history of the Broadway musical.
Bradford was born in the gospel music hotbed of Bessemer, Alabama, during the Great Depression, though his parents managed to scrape up money for piano and dance lessons. Before turning to gospel full time, he briefly taught school, earning the sobriquet “Professor.
” He was “discovereddiscovered...