DOUG BRADLEY
What is Tracks about?
Doug Bradley has lived a life in stereo. From shooting hoops with the Miracles, to sharing a joint with Grace Slick, to the moment he held Dionne Warwick's hand when he told her Dr. King had been assassinated, music has been the thread tying it all together.
In The Tracks of My Years: A Music-Based Memoir, Bradley tells the story of a life soundtracked by Sinatra, Stax, Hendrix, Joni, and beyond.
From the West Virginia hills to Vietnam, from family feuds over Doo-Wop to discovering Dylan, this is a deeply personal and historically resonant memoir.
Whether you're a Baby Boomer or the grandchild of one, this book offers a moving journey through the heart of postwar America — one song at a time.
Tracks Through Their Eyes
Karl Marlantes, NY Times Bestselling Author
“Bradley’s memoir is remarkable. Through the use of music, he anchors the reader not only to the time of the narrative, but the feeling of the time. Few writers achieve this in any genre.”
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Maggie Ayre, Series Producer, “Soul Music,” BBC Radio Four
“Doug Bradley has an incisive way of getting to the heart of the role music plays in our lives, how it lifts and supports us in difficult times and allows us to access our deepest emotions. His writing illustrates brilliantly the importance of music and how it is a universal force for good.”
David Maraniss, NY Times bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and associate editor at the Washington Post
"There could be no better way for Doug Bradley to explore the meaning of his life than through the music of our generation. I felt soulfully connected to this book and his compelling story as it moved through the decades."
Steven Jenkins, Director, Bob Dylan Center
"Utilizing the foundational elements of melody, rhythm, harmony, and timbre as his narrative hooks, and beloved songs by era-defining artists including Dylan, the Stones, and Smokey as his guiding lights, Doug Bradley takes readers on an alternately rollicking and harrowing journey through familial love, life during wartime, and the musical ties that bind. As a memoirist, Bradley sounds like your favorite radio DJ spinning one great track after another, tuned into a frequency of longing and forgiveness."