Doug Bradley ’74 MA English
Legacy Book Press: 2025
Doug Bradley tells the story of his formative years through a series of nearly 50 songs. The soundtrack of his early life spans post-World War II Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, rural West Virginia in the mid to late 1960s, and Vietnam at the dawn of the 1970s. Divided into four parts, the narrative largely centers around growing up, girlfriends, and the confusing and complicated relationship Bradley develops with his high school English teacher. The sad, conflicted man in his early twenties befriends “Dube” during one the loneliest low points in the teen’s life—and inspires, confounds, and infuriates him.
Throughout high school, college, and war, Bradley seeks refuge in the songs of his generation—Peter, Paul and Mary’s version of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love,” both from 1967; “We Gotta Get Outta This Place” by The Animals in 1965; and, of course, “Tracks of My Tears,” from which the book title is taken, by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, also in 1965. Alert readers, particularly those who came of age when he did, will recognize the song lyrics Bradley craftily tucks into his prose.
Raised by a belt-wielding World War II veteran and “diminutive, brown-haired Albanian-Italian,” Bradley grows up against a backdrop of doo-wop, rock ‘n’ roll, racial tension, and growing uneasiness about conflict abroad. He looks up to his popular older brother, a smooth dancer who listens to 45 RPMs with him but doesn’t write to him while he’s serving overseas. In between, Bradley pursues young women at a small, private, Evangelical Lutheran college, where he hosts a short-lived radio show, writes a weekly music column for the student newspaper, joins a fraternity, and serves as campus social chair.
It’s in this role that he does what the back of the book boasts: “Doug Bradley played basketball with Smokey and the Miracles, shared a joint with Grace Slick, and held Dionne Warwick’s hand when he told her Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated.”
His memoir—part Baby Boomer playlist, part personal history—discusses the music that resonated with him as he bumbled toward adulthood, especially in the difficult times. Vietnam looms large. Bradley served one year in Long Binh as an information specialist in an air-conditioned office. He later spent three decades in communications and media and public relations in higher education.
Now retired and a grandfather who splits his time between Wisconsin and Arizona, Bradley offers an intimate look at the inner life of a teen and twentysomething in Middle America in the middle of the last century. His music memoir provides a poignant and compelling look back at his life through the songs that shaped his coming-of-age and continue to connect him to this youth and remind him of particular places and moments. It’s sure to make others of his era wax nostalgic for years gone by.