- 歌曲
- 时长
简介
Brad Lundy was born on the island of Andros, the largest island in the Bahamas, in a small settlement named Calabash Bay, with a population of approximately six hundred people. Brad was born to Virginia and Quebell Lundy. Brad’s father was both a farmer and fisherman by trade, whilst, Brad’s mother was employed on an American base named Artec. The Lundy’s had fourteen children, three of whom sadly died during child birth. Brad is the second to the eldest child. At an early age, he took on the responsibility of caring for his siblings while his parents were at work. Brad began his schooling at the Calabash Bay All Age School. He and his siblings had to attend school regularly, complete home-work assignments and focus on their studies. They were required to do household chores such as the washing, cooking and cleaning. Brad’s carefree moments were spent playing games such as shooting marbles and throwing hoops. He equally enjoyed going to the beach, fishing, boating and listening to music. As Brad’s mother was a devout Christian, the Lundy family attended church each Sunday, the children having to attend Sunday school as well. Brad when reminiscing would fondly assert that “It was a good life”. Although his family and those within the community did not have much material wealth, there was a unique and treasured interdependency that existed among the natives. Amidst the frolicking and lightheartedness which are the usual tendencies of childhood, Brad possessed a fervent aspiration to achieve more and to stretch beyond what could be perceived as unattainable. His aspiration of becoming an artist was cultivated from the age of six years old and was significantly attributed to his cousin “Ging” Wilmott and Herbert Woodside, who were two of the finest trumpet players in The Bahamas during that era. Brad’s home was near the beach where he would frequently go and dream of leaving the island. Brad looked forward to when tourists would visit the island, so that he could ask them questions about the places where they came from. On a particular occasion, his uncle, Leo Lundy, visited Andros and Brad seized the opportunity to speak with him about his desire to leave the island. Brad’s uncle then spoke with his parents and they gave their consent for Brad to move to Nassau under his care. That day is one of Brad’s most memorable and life changing event. At the age of twelve, Brad moved to the city of Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. He attended but did not complete his secondary education at the St. John’s College High School. Whilst residing on the island, Brad’s first job was on a construction site as a tile layer. Afterward, Brad was employed as a waiter in various hotels; and at every opportunity that was offered he would sing with the local bands. Nonetheless, a persistent restlessness lingered within him. Brad’s life was greatly impacted when he moved to the United States where he resided with his aunt in Miami, Florida. Whilst there, Brad pursued educational studies at the Miami Dade High School and St. Thomas University, Miami, Florida. He met a host of successful persons in the music industry such as Timmy Thomas, Betty Wright, K. C. and the Sunshine Band, a group from the Bahamas named T Connection and various radio disc jockeys. Brad also began doing some studio work at that time. One day he was invited to go to New York by his wife’s uncle, the famous Sidney Poitier where he resided with him at his home in Pleasantville, upstate, New York. He was fortunate at that time to meet Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Ivan Dixon, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Sam Cook, Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding and Johnny Mathis. On occasion he would have spent time with Sidney Poitier at his condo in New York City in the Lincoln Tower where he would have met a host of entertainers. After residing with Mr. Poiter for about three to four weeks, he became restless. Although, he wanted to start his musical career, he realized that he had a family to support and he therefore sought employment. Mr. Poitier took Brad to the social security office located on 125 Street in Harlem where Mr. Poitier went into the building and later came out with Brad’s social security card. Once that was achieved, Mr. Poitier contacted a gentleman that he knew from the Bahamas who was the superintendant of an apartment complex in Cedarhurst, Long Island, NY, where Brad worked as a janitor while he enrolled himself in school where he took diction and voice training from a lady named Vivian Green. Brad also started visiting night clubs where he became familiar with the bands. One gentleman in particular, Kenny Ballard, was then the lead guitar player for Ben E. King. They developed a friendship and Brad started singing with the band for at least a couple of nights per week. After about eight months of being employed as a janitor, Brad had walked up Central Avenue, Cedarhurst, New York and had met and spoken with a gentleman by the name of Verner Bear. Brad told Mr. Bear that he was looking for a job. Brad was asked, ‘What could he do?' Brad responded by saying, “That he could do anything”. Mr. Bear said that it appeared as if Brad had an accent. He then asked, “Where are you from?” Brad responded that he was from a country with 700 islands and 225 cays called the Bahamas. Mr. Bear said that, “The Bahamas was a tourist country and that that kind of work would be natural for you”. So Brad started to work as a waiter. Shortly, afterwards the guests asked Brad to sing a Harry Belafonte song named “Island In The Sun”. Brad doesn’t know why the guests had asked him to sing, since he had not performed there before. They said that he looked like Harry Belafonte, so he must be able to sing! So Brad belted out “This Is My Island In The Sun”. When he was finished with his performance, the audience responded enthusiastically; they hugged and kissed him. So that was the true beginning of Brad’s career because there were people in the audience who were affiliated with the music industry. One such patron asked Brad if he would like to perform at the Jazz Pavilion at the World Fair in Flushing, Queens NY. Brad went and performed and his career took off from there. This is where Brad started writing and practicing with a band. At that point, Brad did not have any experience with musical arrangements but he had a good sense of direction of what he wanted his music to sound like and he was able to communicate that to the musicians. Brad wrote a song titled “It’s A Shame” and rehearsed it. He then decided that he would go into the studio and try his hand at it. Brad went in with a band and cut a live recording. He took the record to a radio station named WBLS in New York City. It was presented to the program director, Frankie Crocker. He listened to it and he liked it. He called a record company executive named Joggy Gayles. He had a record company named Sue Record. He also listened to the record and liked it. He said that a flip side was needed for the record, and they produced a song called "Thank’s To You". The record was released and became a hit and like they say in business, ‘the rest is history’. In the midst of all of this, Brad attended the Julliard School of Music, New York, NY for voice diction and music and he also took classes at Columbia University, New York, NY in marketing and sales and business administration. Thereafter, Brad returned to the Bahamas and sought the help of his friend, Mr. Charles Carter. Mr. Carter was a broadcaster at the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas, who went on to become a politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Education for the Bahamas. Later on, he formed Carter Marketing and became the chairman and CEO of his own radio station, Island 102.9 FM, that primarily plays all types of music that can be heard all over the world. Brad had gone home because he needed to take some time off. He had finished the songs “I’m At The Breaking Point” and “Lonely Boy” for RCA Records. It was during this time, that Brad’s manager found out that RCA Records was being sold. So Brad thought that he would consult with Mr. Charles Carter and find out what he thought he should do. Mr. Carter suggested that Brad should start a label which was named Lundy Records. Brad wrote, partly arranged, produced and performed the single I’m At The Breaking Point with the flip side Lonely Boy. It became a two sided hit record which played for two years in the Bahamas and eventually it was released in the United States, the Caribbean and Europe. It became a world-wide record. Still today it is perhaps one of the biggest selling records. Thereafter, there have been other releases however; this is just a sample of what Brad would have done. In 1967, Brad met Mr. Freddie Scott who at that time was already an international superstar with several hit records under his belt such as “Hey Girl”, “Are You Lonely For Me Baby”, “Cry To Me” and the list goes on. In the early 1970’s, Brad met Johnny Nash in Jamaica, while he was recording “I Can See Clearly” and “Stir It Up, Stir It Up” which was written by Bob Marley. Brad also met Bob Marley at that time. He was then struggling to get his career off the ground. There was also a young band in Jamaica at that time called Third World which was Brad’s backup band whilst he was there. Third World went on to become successful, recording a song made popular by The Ojays called “Now That I Have Found You”. Brad returned to the United States. He started working on various projects. Brad’s exceptional plethora of talent led to performances on Broadway in the musicals “Your Arms Too Short To Box With God” directed by Vinette Carroll who became the first African American woman to direct for Broadway theatre; “The Wiz” based on the book by William F. Brown and “A’int Misbehavin” named after the song by Fats Waller and based on the book by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr. Brad has appeared on stage with renowned entertainers such as Johnny Mathis, Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Wilson, Brook Benton, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, Lena Horne, Della Rees, Arthur Prysock, Isaac Hayes, Smokie Robinson and the Miracles, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Barry White, Mille Jackson, Tyrone Davis, James Brown, William Bell, Freddie Scott, Tony McKay, Wendel Stuart, T Connection, Freddie Munnings Jr., Nat Saunders, Timmy Thomas, Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, Patty Labelle, Betty Wright, Marvin Gaye and many others. His performances have been on the world stage and are inclusive of but are not limited to the Claridge Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey; The Apollo Theatre, New York, NY, the New York’s World Fair, New York, NY, Play Boy Club, New York, NY, River Boat, New York, NY, Copa Cabana, New York, NY, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, Winter Garden on Broad Way, New York, NY, the West Berry Music Fair, Long Island, New York, NY to name a few; Andres Town Club, Miami, FL, Colony Country Club, Miami, FL, Dolphin Stadium, Miami, FL, the Night Centre, Miami, FL, Place at Palm Bay, Miami, FL, Dupont Plaza Hotel, Miami, FL, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Miami, FL, Omni International Hotel, Miami, FL, Colony Country Club, Miami, FL, and the Newport Hotel, Miami, Florida; Deerfield Beach Country Club, Deerfield Palm Beach, FL; Florida Century Village Theatre, Deerfield Beach, Florida; Botraton, FL; and West Palm Beach, FL; Fountainbleu Hotel, Miami Beach, FL, Singapore Hotel, Miami Beach, FL; the Tropicana, Las Vegas; Four Seasons Hotel, Cal Cutter, Canada; the Parladium, London, England; The Palace, Paris, France; Hilton Hotel, Curacao; Concord Hotel, Aruba; Virgin Island Hotel, St. Thomas; Little Bay Hotel, St. Martin; Sheraton Hotel, the Pegasus Hotel, the National Stadium, Carib Theatre, the Bohamia Club, Kingston, Jamaica; Lil Bay Hotel, the Seven Seas, the Pub, the Holiday Inn, Montego Bay, Jamaica; the Clay House, Hamilton, Bermuda; the Crystal Palace Hotel and Casino, Cable Beach, Nassau, the Bahamas, the Sheraton, Cable Beach, Nassau, the Bahamas, the Wyndham Hotel, Cable Beach, Nassau, the Bahamas, Breezes Hotel, Cable Beach, Nassau, the Bahamas, Sandals Hotel, Cable Beach, Nassau, the Bahamas, Drum Beat Club, Cable Beach, Nassau, the Bahamas; the Cat and the Fiddle, Nassau, the Bahamas, Club Water Loo, Nassau, the Bahamas; Holiday Inn, Paradise Island, the Bahamas, the Beach Tower, Atlantis, Paradise Island, the Bahamas, the Coral Tower, Atlantis, Paradise Island, the Bahamas; La Cabaret Theatre, Paradise Island, the Bahamas, Trade Wind Lounge, Paradise Island, the Bahamas, the Crown Ball Room, Paradise Island, the Bahamas; and the Holiday Inn, Freeport, Grand-Bahama, The Bahamas. Brad has appeared in television commercials such as Coco Cola, Budweiser, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Miller Light and Wendy’s. Brad has made guest appearances on television programs such as The Mike Douglas Show, American Band Stand, the Music Awards, Soul Train, The Palace, the Jerry Lewis Telethon, Super Show Goyo, the Omelet Show and the Johnny Carson Show. Brad’s work experience incorporates the following portfolio: - President Director overseeing all aspects of operations for Lundy Records; V. Q. Enterprise for Lundy Production inclusive of marketing, sales, productions, promotion, artist development, publishing, excreta; Artist Developer for Buddah Records; A & R. Department – Brunswick Records; Promotions – Atlantic Records; Music Director – DuPont Plaza, Miami, Florida; Music Director – Andres Town Club, Miami, Florida; Music Director – Holiday Inn, Montego Bay, Jamaica; Music Director – Clay House, Bermuda; and Road Manager for various Entertainment Groups. Brad’s continues to work on new products and materials. He remains enthusiastic about the business and he continues to go into the studio and to produce new music. He is still excited about travelling around the world and performing for different audiences. He loves that people can appreciate his work which is what keeps him going. He is of the view that the fans make all the difference in this business and that they decide whether an artist succeeds or fails. Brad is hopeful that he can continue to produce the quality music that individuals can enjoy for a long, long time; and he is looking forward to meeting his loyal fans. Thanking you in advance. Sincerely, Brad Lundy