Biography
Affiliated with Indiana’s country music community, Jack Bradshaw issued multiple singles throughout the 1950s as a genial vocalist whose evident potential never produced commercial breakthroughs. Although he never scored a hit under his own name, Bradshaw supplied material that Carl Smith recorded as “Don’t Tease Me” and that Kitty Wells adapted as the 1956 release “Searching (For Someone Else),” itself modeled on his own “Searching.” He maintained an active performance schedule in Indiana for decades afterward, and the 1950s recordings were later assembled on the 2012 Bear Family compilation Saturday Night Special.
Martin Hawkins recounts Bradshaw’s story at length in the album’s liner notes; the essential biographical arc runs as follows. Born in Kentucky on March 29, 1930, he grew up in Tennessee, where an early fascination with music led him to master the guitar. Local events and teenage touring revues occupied his time until he and his brother Jack relocated to Texas for manual work while also appearing on radio and at regional venues as members of the Tennessee Ramblers. Drafted into the Army in 1949 for service in Korea, Bradshaw failed the medical examination, returned briefly to Tennessee to raise funds, and then settled in La Porte, Indiana, which remained his base for the ensuing sixty years.
There he cultivated a local following through steady club work that eventually attracted promoter and Mar-Vel Records owner Harry Glenn. Four titles cut for Glenn in 1954 yielded the first single, “Don’t Tease Me” backed with “Don’t Cause Me to Hate You,” which enjoyed regional success aided by Glenn’s promotion. After Carl Smith covered the A-side, the second single—“My Heart, My Heart”/“Searching”—appeared in summer 1955. Kitty Wells drew on the B-side for her own hit, opening the door to a Decca contract routed through 4-Star Records. Owen Bradley supervised the initial session, which produced a fuller arrangement of “My Heart, My Heart” paired with “Flirting with You”; despite the polished sound, the record failed to chart. When 4-Star’s Decca affiliation dissolved, Bradshaw resumed the Indiana circuit for the remainder of 1956 and 1957.
He returned to Mar-Vel in 1958 for two rockabilly-oriented singles featuring female backing vocals—“Naughty Girls”/“It Just Ain’t Right,” issued in May, and “Jo-Jo”/“Men Are Weak,” released three months later. By 1959 he had reverted to straight country with “No No”/“Welcome Heart” on Glenn’s new Glenn Records imprint. Additional 45s—“I Got What You Need”/“You Hurt Me” and “Saturday Night Special”/“Out of the Picture”—appeared on Glenn and Mar-Vel before Bradshaw stepped away from professional recording. In 1960 he began a twenty-four-year tenure at Budd Automotive in Gary, Indiana, while continuing to write and perform; in 1974 his focus shifted toward religious music. A self-released devotional single, “One Day Christian”/“Bar Stool to the Cross,” surfaced in 1977, after which he limited his activities to live appearances.
Martin Hawkins recounts Bradshaw’s story at length in the album’s liner notes; the essential biographical arc runs as follows. Born in Kentucky on March 29, 1930, he grew up in Tennessee, where an early fascination with music led him to master the guitar. Local events and teenage touring revues occupied his time until he and his brother Jack relocated to Texas for manual work while also appearing on radio and at regional venues as members of the Tennessee Ramblers. Drafted into the Army in 1949 for service in Korea, Bradshaw failed the medical examination, returned briefly to Tennessee to raise funds, and then settled in La Porte, Indiana, which remained his base for the ensuing sixty years.
There he cultivated a local following through steady club work that eventually attracted promoter and Mar-Vel Records owner Harry Glenn. Four titles cut for Glenn in 1954 yielded the first single, “Don’t Tease Me” backed with “Don’t Cause Me to Hate You,” which enjoyed regional success aided by Glenn’s promotion. After Carl Smith covered the A-side, the second single—“My Heart, My Heart”/“Searching”—appeared in summer 1955. Kitty Wells drew on the B-side for her own hit, opening the door to a Decca contract routed through 4-Star Records. Owen Bradley supervised the initial session, which produced a fuller arrangement of “My Heart, My Heart” paired with “Flirting with You”; despite the polished sound, the record failed to chart. When 4-Star’s Decca affiliation dissolved, Bradshaw resumed the Indiana circuit for the remainder of 1956 and 1957.
He returned to Mar-Vel in 1958 for two rockabilly-oriented singles featuring female backing vocals—“Naughty Girls”/“It Just Ain’t Right,” issued in May, and “Jo-Jo”/“Men Are Weak,” released three months later. By 1959 he had reverted to straight country with “No No”/“Welcome Heart” on Glenn’s new Glenn Records imprint. Additional 45s—“I Got What You Need”/“You Hurt Me” and “Saturday Night Special”/“Out of the Picture”—appeared on Glenn and Mar-Vel before Bradshaw stepped away from professional recording. In 1960 he began a twenty-four-year tenure at Budd Automotive in Gary, Indiana, while continuing to write and perform; in 1974 his focus shifted toward religious music. A self-released devotional single, “One Day Christian”/“Bar Stool to the Cross,” surfaced in 1977, after which he limited his activities to live appearances.
Albums
