1) Jan Bradley I’m Over You (1965)


Though born in Mississippi,  Jan (Addie) Bradley was very definitely part of the Chicago Chess label scene of the 1960’s, with a soft lilting soprano voice that could melt your brain. Singing from an early age in church she originally sang lead with a Chicago group called the Passions before being spotted and linked up with Curtis Mayfield to give her recording material. This collaboration gave her US chart success in 1963 with Mama Didn’t Lie, which has remained her best known track, with the song also being covered by the Fascinations and becoming a Northern Soul favourite.

A publishing dispute with Chess severed her ties with Curtis Mayfield and, unusually for the time, she took to writing her own material. I’m Over You from 1965 was one such self-penned song and was apparently inspired by the split with Curtis Mayfield and her determination to succeed as a songwriter in her own right. It  shows a Curtis Mayfield influence in the dexterity of the lyrics, as in this unexpected but effective couplet; “If I had fell into your well laid plan/People would say, there goes a messed up woman”.  The track also shows a common feature of Jan Bradley’s work, which was over-dubbing  her own backing vocals.

What really made her stand out was her voice, which had a quality that is hard to pin down – an innocence perhaps but without the sense of vulnerability that often implies. There is a 1962 recording of hers of a Curtis Mayfield  song, Christmas Time. In other hands it could easily have become just another sentimental seasonal offering but Jan Bradley somehow imbues it with both the bright-eyed optimism of a child  at Christmas and the aching nostalgia that an adult might feel at such a time.

After Mama Didn’t Lie major chart success eluded Jan Bradley. She continued recording till the end of the 60’s, with another great self-penned track Nights in New York City from 1968 being one her last recordings, and  she also placed some of her work with other artists, including  I’m No Romeo for Billy Stewart. Subsequently she withdrew from the music business and became a counsellor, leaving  a What-if? about her career. Maybe if the publishing dispute with Chess had not happened she could have gone on to be a muse for Curtis Mayfield’s work and been a major star. As it is, the world gained a counsellor  and  a collection of songs that will stay forever young and untarnished courtesy of her special voice.

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