Charles Bradley was hooked.
When his sister took him to Harlem's famed Apollo Theater to see James Brown in the early 1960s, a teenage Bradley made a snap decision -- this was the life for him.
But only after spending decades as a resilient vagabond, working nondescript jobs and performing in relative obscurity, did Bradley finally make his dream real.
"My sister had gone to see James Brown," Bradley said. "At that point I didn't know who he was. She said, 'I'll pay your way.' When I went into the Apollo, the way they had the stage set up and the lights, it was electrifying. I said 'This is what I want to do.'"
Bradley has had that opportunity over the past five years, exploding onto the scene as a funk-soul throwback after nearly 50 years of dogged commitment.
He'll perform with his band the Extraordinaires this Friday at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium.
Bradley's break came when he was performing as a James Brown impersonator under the name "Black Velvet" more than a decade ago.
Daptone Records co-founder Gabriel Roth was intrigued after watching a Black Velvet show and brought Bradley into the fold at the funk- and soul-centric label.
He recorded a handful of singles on Daptone before releasing "No Time For Dreaming" on Daptone imprint Dunham Records in 2011 to nearly universal acclaim. His spirited delivery wowed crowds at Bonnaroo, South by Southwest and the Newport Folk Festival.
The next year, the film "Soul of America," documented Bradley's lifetime of hardships up to the release of his debut record at age 62, and premiered at South by Southwest in 2012.
Bradley's early years were filled with upheaval. Abandoned by his mother, he was homeless for a stretch during his teens before entering the Job Corps in Maine, where he took a vocational program to learn how to cook.
Although he'd sung ever since being thrilled by the Godfather of Soul, Bradley finally got a chance to perform after a little push from friends at the Job Corps.
"I was a little on the shy side," he said. "They snuck me some gin onto the grounds. I drunk a little of it and got fired up. I said, 'Give me the mic.' Since then I haven't put the mic down."
But the band Bradley played with in his early performances never matured, and his dream of developing a full-time career in music was postponed.
In his mid-20s, he left the East Coast, hitchhiking through the Midwest and eventually meandering up through the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia.
"I got on the road and decided I was going to go wherever it leads me," he said.
He got as far as Ketchikan, where he worked for about three months as a cook.
"It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen," Bradley said. "It's so unspoiled. I still remember the water. I never tasted water that was so good. Your system just can't get enough of it."
Bradley left Alaska for California, where he lived for nearly 20 years, performing only sparingly.
He reconciled with his mother in the mid-1990s and returned to his hometown of Brooklyn. Bradley's similarities to James Brown, both physically and vocally, were striking, and he started working as Black Velvet in New York City.
"I've never been an imitator but I can be a duplicator," he said. "When I do my music, I do it from my soul, which is what (Brown) did."
After years of performing others' music, Bradley has been able to find a voice of his own at Daptone, where he recorded the follow-up album "Victim of Love" in 2013.
Bradley's personal narrative contributes heavily to his songwriting. "Heartaches and Pain," from his debut album, deals with his brother's violent murder.
"I have a lot of deep darkness inside me from what I've been through that I hadn't expressed to the world," Bradley said. "Back in those days, I was afraid to express what was in my soul. I'm learning if I get the right quality of music, those lyrics can fit right in."
Bradley finally made it back to the Apollo. He performed at an amateur hour nearly a decade ago and late last year, during the three-night Daptone Super Soul Revue.
"We just did something at the Apollo," he said. "When I walked in there, it seemed honestly, like I was home."
Bradley is mostly grateful about finally getting the opportunity he spent decades chasing.
"Right now, in my life I feel bittersweet because I've been fighting for this opportunity ever since I've 14-16 years old," he said. "I like to sing about the world and the predicament it's in. I like to sing my love songs and make people feel it. I'm going to bring my spirit out and make the world a better place."
Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20
Where: Wendy Williamson Auditorium
Tickets: $15 advance/$20 door for UAA students
$30 advance/$35 door for general public at uaatix.universitytickets.com and 786-1204