 Bill Bradford is a veteran songwriter, producer,
and owner of Charlotte, NC based Spirit
Records. Founded in 1979, Spirit is an independent
pop-soul label and serves as the songwriting and production vehicle for it’s owner. Over the years, songs from the Spirit
catalog have charted regionally, nationally, and internationally. Bradford’s early musical influences were the “standards”
from his father’s substantial record collection. While piano lessons began at the age of six, all was changed at age
10 with exposure to a neighbor’s R&B collection. After hearing Jimmy Liggins, The Spiders, and The Dominoes, nothing
would be the same. Later influences would be music from the soul-era houses of Atlantic (NY), Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia,
and writer/producers such as Smokey Robinson, Ashford & Simpson, Thom Bell, Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff. Jazz and classical
music have also been essential to the mix. While writing and producing for Spirit has
always been the primary focus, Bradford also handled sax and vocals for Charlotte R&B band, The Belvederes, a fixture
on the Charlotte club scene in the ‘90’s, and later with The Relics. More recently,
and in addition to his work with Spirit, Bradford engaged with long-time Charlotte musicians Nat Speir and Smitty Flynn to
form SFB, an independent ongoing production project
dedicated to recording, and bringing to light lost/neglected R&B jewels. Today, Bradford continues writing and producing for Spirit
Records, plays sax with the Toni Naples Band,
and sings with the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte, the 130 member chorus of the Charlotte
Symphony. Recent
writing and production work for Spirit includes the critically-embraced Soul Project: “Reconnection” CD,
the Maria Howell “Soul” CD, Sonja Grier’s “Soul Evolution” CD, and the Debby
Dobbins CD, “Cool & Collected”, all available on iTunes or via the Spirit
Records website. Bill Bradford is a native of Fort Mill, SC, a graduate of Davidson
College, and survived a 29 year career in banking. contact
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