Watkins Park in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
John Robert Lee Bradley
Mr. Baptist
1919-2007
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, March 12, 2022
1. John Robert Lee Bradley Marker
Inscription.
John Robert Lee Bradley. Mr. Baptist. Born in Memphis, Tennessee to John and Lela Ellis Bradley on October 5, 1919, John Robert Lee Bradley was known as "Mr. Baptist". A protιgι of Luci E. Campbell, the National Baptist Convention's, U. S. A., Inc., Music Director and pioneering gospel songwriter, J. Robert Bradley began singing at the age of 12 in Memphis. Campbell introduced the young singer to the National Baptist Convention and made him the lead singer in her newly organized Good Will Singers Quartet that toured nationally. His Memphis pastor and songwriter the Rev. W. Herbert Brewster nurtured Bradley. Known for his rich baritone voice, he received voice lessons from Charles Faulkner Bryan, head of Tennessee Polytechnic Institute's (now Tennessee Technological University) music division. Assisted by Campbell and Baptist leader and pastor Dr. A. M. Townsend, Bradley studied voice with the Wagnerian singer, Edythe Walker in New York, where he made his Carnegie Hall debut. , In 1955 he made his Royal Albert Hall debut in London with the British royal family in attendance. Bradley also studied at London's Trinity College and sang for BBC radio. The renowned singer recorded his first gospel single for the Apollo label in 1950 and went on to record for Decca. Later he recorded for Nashboro and Spirit Feel/Shanachie. After the 1963 demise of Lucie Campbell, Bradley succeeded her as director of music for the National Baptist Convention, U. S. A., Inc. A favorite singer of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he was knighted in Liberia by President William Tolbert in 1975. Mahalia Jackson noted. "Nobody need mess with Amazing Grace' after Bradley... A member of Spruce Street Baptist Church, Sir J. Robert Bradley died on May 3, 2007. He was eulogized at Spruce Street and buried next to his mother in Greenwood Cemetery on May 7. 2007.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee to John and Lela Ellis Bradley on
October 5, 1919, John Robert Lee Bradley was known as "Mr.
Baptist". A protιgι of Luci E. Campbell, the National Baptist
Convention's, U. S. A., Inc., Music Director and pioneering gospel
songwriter, J. Robert Bradley began singing at the age of 12
in Memphis. Campbell introduced the young singer to the
National Baptist Convention and made him the lead singer in
her newly organized Good Will Singers Quartet that
toured nationally. His Memphis pastor and songwriter the Rev. W. Herbert
Brewster nurtured Bradley. Known for his rich baritone voice,
he received voice lessons from Charles Faulkner Bryan, head
of Tennessee Polytechnic Institute's (now Tennessee Technological
University) music division. Assisted by Campbell and Baptist
leader and pastor Dr. A. M. Townsend, Bradley studied voice
with the Wagnerian singer, Edythe Walker in New York, where
he made his Carnegie Hall debut.
In 1955 he made his Royal Albert Hall debut in London with the
British royal family in attendance. Bradley also studied at London's
Trinity College and sang for BBC radio. The renowned singer
recorded his first gospel single for the Apollo label in 1950 and
went on to record for Decca. Later he recorded for Nashboro
and Spirit Feel/Shanachie. After the 1963 demise of Lucie
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Campbell,
Bradley succeeded her as director of music for the National Baptist
Convention, U. S. A., Inc. A favorite singer of the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., he was knighted in Liberia by President William
Tolbert in 1975. Mahalia Jackson noted. "Nobody need mess with
Amazing Grace' after Bradley... A member of Spruce Street Baptist
Church, Sir J. Robert Bradley died on May 3, 2007. He was
eulogized at Spruce Street and buried next to his mother in
Greenwood Cemetery on May 7. 2007.
Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 3A 254.)
Location. 36° 9.465′ N, 86° 48.249′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Watkins Park. It is on Spruce Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 504 Spruce St, Nashville TN 37203, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, November 11, 2022
3. John Robert Lee Bradley Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 12, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 443 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on March 12, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 2, 3. submitted on November 11, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
