Northern Soul

Jan Bradley  was born Addie Bradly in Myhalia, Mississippi. She grew up in Robbins, Illinois. She auditioned for Curtis Mayfield and soon recorded the Mayfield song  “Mama Didn’t Lie.” It was released nationally in the U.S. by Chess Records in 1963 and went to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The vocal is double-tracked. In those days, most studios couldn’t afford the expensive “sel-sync” technology;  the vocalist added harmony to a re-record of the entire record. “Mama Didn’t Lie” features a  bass fiddle is alternately bowed (arco) and plucked (pizzicato). It all makes for a wonderful record.

After the success of “Mama Didn’t Lie,” Bradley, Mayfield, and Chess Records were embroiled in a legal battle over publishing rights to Mayfield’s songs. She wrote some of her own songs and released them on Chess. She stopped professionally in the 1970s and became a social worker. She is a mother, grandmother, and sings with her church choir. She still has fans from those who like Northern Soul.

Here are the lyrics to “Mama Didn’t Lie” by Jan Bradley:

“Mama didn’t lie, she didn’t lie
Mama didn’t lie, she didn’t lie
Here comes that boy and his friends
Making eyes at me again
Do they all think that I’m a toy
To be played with by every boy?
Well, they’re wrong to think I
Will be caught by the wink of an eye
My mama didn’t lie. Mama didn’t lie. She didn’t lie

The greatest pastime in this man’s world
Is playin’ tricks on every young girl
To have one is how they get their kick
But not me because I know their trick
And they’re wrong to think I
Will be caught by the wink of an eye
My mama didn’t lie. Mama didn’t lie. She didn’t lie
Mama didn’t lie, she didn’t lie

I remember what my mama told me
She said, “Girl stay in your class
You got a whole lot of growin’ and a’learnin’ to do
Girl don’t cha go so fast

The greatest pastime in this man’s world
Is playin’ tricks on every young girl
To have one is how they get their kicks
But no me because I know their tricks
And they’re wrong to think I
Will be caught by the wink of an eye
My mama didn’t lie. Mama didn’t lie She didn’t lie
Mama didn’t lie, she didn’t lie
Mama didn’t”

For More Golden Oldies Music                                

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop music, rock and roll hits, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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