CityView Magazine

36 Februar y 2021 "... I get to tell the people there used to be a period in my life where I struggled with alcohol and drug addiction," he added. "And I tell them about the six DWIs and the totaling of the three new cars and the rehab." He said he did drugs for about 30 years. "It's countless. It was a lot. I emptied my pockets," he replied, when asked how much he may have spent on cocaine over that long stretch of time. Bradley, a 58-year-old native of Sumter, South Carolina, who grew up in Orangeburg, South Carolina, has lived in Fayetteville since 1990. He's married, and he and his wife, Karren, have three children, ages 19 to 29. His lean, small-boned frame resembles an earlier Miles Davis, one of the greatest trumpet players and musicians of the 20th century. Bradley wears a neatly trimmed mustache and dresses for shows in expensive fashion, culling his look from some 35 European-cut suits. Bradley's custom-made $8,500 Harrelson jazz trumpet has an extra-large bell and mouthpiece built to his specifications. e instrument was designed so that he can perform with more ease and provide more endurance on stage during his 90-minute sets. "It's very easy to play," said Bradley, who has been playing the trumpet since he was 10 or 11. He attributes his mother, Mary Catherine Bradley, who died of cancer in March, as helping him begin breaking the cycle of addictions. "If it wasn't for my mother … I don't know … She was a saving grace on everything," he said. "No matter how bad times appeared to be, she made it seem like everything was going to be alright." Willie Bradley playing the national anthem at the Panthers game in 2017 Fascinating FAYETTEVILLE 36 February 2021 When Mrs. Bradley found out her son was in bad shape on the tour with Estefan, she got other members of Ooh La La to tell him that the group was disbanding so he could go home, rehab and finish college. In actuality, the band had not broken up, but she wanted Willie to stop all his drinking and drugging and finish college. "From the bright lights to a country town," he said. "I was devastated." But he finished with a double major in music education and music performance. But his addictions would resurface. irteen years ago, Bradley landed an extended 22-month stay at the Myrover Reese Fellowship Home, a halfway house for alcoholics in Fayetteville. Initially, he had checked into Myrover Reese for a court-ordered six months. "at place saved my life," he said. His sobriety date is April 11, 2008. Locals may remember Bradley as a member of the funk band Big Bertha, and Bradley also continues to play locally with the church-oriented Kingdom Builders and the urban jazz ensemble Essential Elements. In the fall of 2019, he performed on the bill of the inaugural All-American Jazz Festival in Fayetteville.

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