Jan Bradley

Who is Jan Bradley?

Jan Bradley is an American soul singer.

Bradley grew up in Robbins, Illinois. She was noticed by manager Don Talty at a high school talent show. After graduating, she auditioned for Curtis Mayfield, and soon recorded the Mayfield-penned "We Girls", which became a hit regionally in the Midwest. Several singles followed, and another Mayfield song originally issued on Formal, "Mama Didn't Lie", was released nationally in the U.S. by Chess Records in 1963 and hit #8 R&B and #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following the single's success, Mayfield and Chess got into a legal battle over the publishing rights to Mayfield's songs, and as a result Bradley was no longer able to work with him. She started writing her own songs and released several further singles on Chess. "I'm Over You" hit #24 R&B in 1965; other Chess releases included "Just a Summer Memory" b/w "He'll Wait on Me", "It's Just Your Way", and "These Tears" b/w "Baby What Can I Do". Bradley continued working with Talty after her arrangement with Chess ended, releasing singles for the smaller Adanti, Hootenanny, Doylen, Spectra Sound, and Night Owl labels.