When late soul legend Charles Bradley’s producer asked him to cover Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” at first he refused, as he’d never even heard of the band. But as he told Toronto Star, “When I saw my mum when she took her last breath, the second verse came to me so naturally. I didn’t even have to rehearse it, I didn’t have to think about it.” What followed was one of the most devastatingly heartbreaking performances of all time, and 30 million fans are still not over it.
During a newsroom performance at the Toronto Star, Charles took the song and made it his own in a way that The Music Man has never heard before, except for Johnny Cash’s take on “Hurt.” Charles completely wears his heart on his sleeve and channels the pain from losing his mother into such a raw and powerful performance. The sole accompaniment comes from guitarist Benny Trokan, who does a perfect job laying the groundwork for The Screaming Eagle of Soul to soar over the top.
The Toronto Star uploaded Charles’ “Changes” performance to YouTube, where it became the most popular video on the broadsheet’s channel ever. Stunned viewers added comments such as “This song proves what I’ve been saying for years. You can only successfully cover a song if you sing it like it’s yours” and “It doesn’t make any sense, but it feels like he’s singing the original blues version and Black Sabbath covered him.”
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires also created an incredible full band arrangement for “Changes.” The group performed a notable cut of the song live for the Seattle radio station KEXP. The band delivers a slithering groove throughout, and the brass section in the chorus sounds so beautiful. It’s really a testament to Charles and his band that they can perform a song in two completely different ways, and they’re both amazing.
The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that Charles Bradley made his way into the music industry in a most unusual way. He ran away from home at age 14 and lived on the streets for two years. He then worked as a chef in Maine for a decade. Charles then went on to work odd jobs and perform as a local act for 20 years, which included James Brown cover performances.
Charles was discovered by Daptone Records cofounder Gabriel Roth in 2001. The singer would subsequently release four studio albums on the label, beginning in 2011 with No Time for Dreaming. This meant that Charles’ debut studio album was released when he was 63 years old! It’s quite a remarkable achievement, given that the vast majority of successful acts start making it big in their teens and 20s.
Charles included his cover of “Changes” on his 2016 studio album of the same name, and it became one of his signature songs. The album ranked on a number of best albums of the year lists, including those by Mojo, Paste, and Rough Trade.