Perry Bradford

Perry Bradford (February 14, 1893, Montgomery, Alabama – April 20, 1970, New York City) was an African American composer, songwriter, and vaudeville performer. His most notable songs included "Crazy Blues," "That Thing Called Love," and "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down." He was nicknamed "Mule" because of his stubbornness, and he is credited with finally persuading Okeh Records to work with Mamie Smith leading to her historic blues recording in 1920.

Birth and Death Data: Born Montgomery (city in and county seat of Montgomery County, and capital of the State of Alabama, United States), Died April 20, 1970 (Queens (borough in New York City, New York, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1920 - 1953

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, piano, vocalist, leader, songwriter, arranger, conductor, chimes

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 177 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 80450 10-in. 7/13/1922 What do you care (what I do) Johnny Dunn’s Original Jazz Hounds ; Edith Wilson Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with jazz/dance band composer, lyricist  
Columbia 80530 10-in. 8/18/1922 Hawaiian blues Johnny Dunn’s Original Jazz Hounds Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80554 10-in. 9/18/1922 Evil blues Johnny Dunn’s Original Jazz Hounds ; Edith Wilson Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80684 10-in. 11/22/1922 He used to be your man but he's my man now Johnny Dunn’s Original Jazz Hounds ; Edith Wilson Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80735 10-in. 12/16/1922 Memphis, Tennessee Johnny Dunn’s Original Jazz Hounds ; Edith Wilson Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80859 10-in. 2/13/1923 Hallelujah blues Johnny Dunn’s Original Jazz Hounds Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80860 10-in. 2/13/1923 Spanish dreams Johnny Dunn’s Original Jazz Hounds Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 80875 10-in. 2/26/1923 I don't let no one man worry me Lena Wilson Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with jazz/dance band composer, lyricist  
Columbia 81009 10-in. 5/12/1923 Deceitful blues Lena Wilson Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer, lyricist  
Columbia 81010 10-in. 5/12/1923 Memphis, Tennessee Lena Wilson Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 81067 10-in. 6/9/1923 Liza Johnson's got better bread (than old Sally Lee) Perry Bradford ; Ethel Ridley Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81068 10-in. 6/9/1923 Here's your opportunity blues Perry Bradford ; Ethel Ridley Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81096 10-in. 6/23/1923 Alabama bound blues Ethel Ridley ; Leroy Tibbs Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano composer, lyricist  
Columbia 81097 10-in. 6/23/1923 I don't let no one man worry me Ethel Ridley ; Leroy Tibbs Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano composer, lyricist  
Columbia 81169 10-in. 8/7/1923 Memphis, Tennessee Gulf Coast Seven Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 81292 10-in. 10/25/1923 You need some loving Bessie Brown ; Fletcher Henderson ; George W. Williams Female-male vocal duet ("blues singers"), with piano composer  
Columbia 81672 10-in. 4/8/1924 Hateful blues Bessie Smith Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with violin and piano composer  
Columbia 81675 10-in. 4/8/1924 Frankie blues Bessie Smith Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with violin and piano composer  
Columbia 140162 10-in. 12/4/1924 Sinful blues Fred Longshaw ; Bessie Smith Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano composer  
Columbia 140189 10-in. 12/17/1924 He's a mean, mean man Edith Wilson Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 140190 10-in. 12/17/1924 Double crossin' papa Edith Wilson Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 140225 10-in. 1/6/1925 Snag 'em blues Cotton Club Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia W140630 10-in. 5/27/1925 I ain't gonna play no second fiddle Bessie Smith Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with cornet, trombone, and piano composer, lyricist  
Columbia W140760 10-in. 7/14/1925 Fo' day blues Original Jazz Hounds Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia W140761 10-in. 7/14/1925 1620 to 1865 Original Jazz Hounds Jazz/dance band songwriter  
(Results 26-50 of 177 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bradford, Perry," accessed January 6, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106081.

Bradford, Perry. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106081.

"Bradford, Perry." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 6 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106081

External Sources

Wikipedia: John Henry ‘Perry’ Bradford

Discogs: Perry Bradford

Grove: Perry Bradford

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Bradford, Perry - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n89610807

Wikidata: John Henry ‘Perry’ Bradford - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1797745

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/49431992

MusicBrainz: John Henry ‘Perry’ Bradford - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8c9524a0-edaa-4251-a1aa-bb81d5dad85e

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/245807 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/245807

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

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