[Callers] John Bradford of Colorado

He hasn’t been active for many years, but I just learned that John Bradford passed away on July 27, 2024. John learned to call as a young child in Oklahoma, even before attending one of Lloyd Shaw’s earliest caller workshops in Colorado Springs with his parents. At the time he was not yet able to waltz (a prerequisite for atending), and was trying to squeak by with a two-step. According to John, Shaw caught him at it immediately—and set his best students to rectifying the issue post-haste. John would go on to perform with the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers, was a founding member and driving force behind the Lloyd Shaw Foundation (LSF), and was the caller for their recordings of Shaw’s 5-part singing quadrille and the Broadmoor Promenade. According one report, he was deemed to have perfectly picked up Shaw’s cadence and could call entirely without affectation. John was instrumental in getting the LSF’s recordings created, packaged, marketed, and distributed to schools across the country. A deep well of knowledge, John was a true old-time caller and knew patter that I have never heard anywhere else. In addition to being a superb and versatile caller and dancer (with one of the best swings of anyone around), John was a self taught guitarist, singer, and pianist, a professional educator, and an all-around gentleman and excellent human being. As an added bonus, kids and adults both just did what he told them to do. He has left behind a family full of musicians, dancers, and callers, as well as a legacy of teaching and inspiring everyone who danced with him—not to mention the teachers and children touched by his efforts to have quality dance exposure incorporated into school curriculums. Neal Schlein Librarian, MSLIS