In 1939 he and drummer Ray McKinley formed a big band which became well known for boogie-woogie, particularly its hit record, "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar." In 1942 McKinley left to form his own band and a few months after joined the United States Air Force, where he played in the Glenn Miller Air Force band. Bradley tried to maintain the band, but problems caused by the war forced it to close. Bradley became a studio musician.