Terry Bradshaw talks Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and country crooning ahead of Foxwoods show

Boston Globe

16-04-2025

A four-time Super Bowl Champ, he's also a passionate singer: He had a top 20 country
With a handful of Sport Emmys as a personality/analyst under his belt, he channels his energy now into 'The Terry Bradshaw Show' — a mix of stories, laughs, and song — that comes to New England for one night at
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
'I want everybody leaving there going, 'Oh my god, Joe, this guy's really good!' That's what I'm shooting for' Bradshaw, 76, says with a laugh.
Advertisement
Q: Tell me about the show you're bringing here.
A: It's a high-energy show, off-the-cuff, lots of humor, songs, crowd-interaction. Originally, we created dialog for the show, which opened in Vegas. Then the pandemic hit, that show [stopped]. Which was good, because I didn't like the show. It was too structured. And I'm not necessarily a structured human being.
I live life by the seat of my pants. The show needed to reflect that. I took out all the dialogue. Now it's freewheeling, whatever comes to my mind. There are stories I tell, some I forget to tell, songs I sing, some I forget to sing. [laughs] I laugh, have fun.
Advertisement
Q: Nice. What songs will you sing? I know you've covered Hank Williams.
A: I added three Hank Williams songs. One Glenn Campbell, I got a Brooks & Dunn. I do—ohh! I just added a Bobby Bare song. You heard of Bobby Bare?
Q: I love him.
A: I cover [breaks into full verse of 'Marie Laveau']
Q: That's a classic.
A: Sometimes we'll just crack out a couple of gospel songs. I'll talk. Where it ends up, nobody knows — including us.
Q: Tell me about the 'personal stories' you mentioned.
A: I'll talk about my grandfather, my upbringing, the Steelers, Tom Brady, Louisiana Tech. I cover my life, my football career.
Q: What's a Brady story?
A: I can't tell you because you'll write it. [laughs] But I'll [tell you one joke]: He's gone from MVP to AARP. Stuff like that. [laughs]
Q: I read you had elbow surgery in 1983
A: Isn't that something? I snuck into the hospital under an alias, but we wanted the TB initials. So I came up with Thomas Brady.
Q: That's wild. Have you talked to him about that?
A: I haven't. I don't know him that well; I'll never know him that well. I just won't. I'm too old. I'm old enough to be his father. I'm in
Advertisement
Terry Bradshaw brings his show to New England this week.
BOEHM LISA
Q: What did you think of the Patriots last season?
A: I like their quarterback, [Drake] Maye. He showed me something. I like Maye a lot. I've spent some time with
Q: What did you think of Bill Belichick going to coach at UNC?
A: Oh my gosh! Shocked.
Shocked
! I'm not an insider, so I don't know what all happened, but I'm so surprised he didn't land [an NFL] coaching job. But I don't know— Bill's probably got all the money he wants. Maybe he thought: my dad coached at the Naval Academy. He can go and not have to deal with agents. I don't know. I find it hard to believe that he won't be back in the NFL. And I'd think that if any team beats North Carolina, they're gonna go 'Hey! We beat Belichick!'
Q: [laughs] True. So you've also acted in so many things. What do you like about acting?
A: Nothing. I just did it to meet Burt Reynolds, Sammy Davis, Sally Fields, Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates — the list goes on. That's why I did movies. I don't have any interest in it. I love to sing. I'm doing what I love now.
Q: Have you loved to sing since you were a kid?
A: I have. I used to put a Victrola — oh. Is a Victrola where you crank it? [bursts out laughing] Well, I'd put a record on and sing to
Advertisement
Q: Did you always want to be a football player?
A: Since I was 7. I'll never forget it: It was after church, mother was cooking dinner, my dad was in his chair reading the morning paper, he had the football game on, I told him, 'Dad, I'm gonna play in the NFL one of these days.' I got a football for Christmas, fell in love with it, and had a football in my hand ever since.
I worked at my craft. I'm no different than you, maybe always wanting to be a writer. Maybe you were a little bitty girl writing poetry.
Q: True.
A: We all get exposed to things as a child, you try something and go: 'Oh! That is me.' When I got a football, the love affair started. It's never stopped.
Q: I love that. Any New England connections?
A: Yes, all my doctors are in Connecticut. I go to Yale for everything but dentistry. My
Q: Are you really?
A: I am! I'd love to tell you it's on phylogenetics or something, but it's about cancer and how it affected my life as a patient. I wish I hadn't told you that. I wish I'd just left it at 'I'm lecturing at Yale.' All your readers would go, 'Yeah. Ooookay.'
Interview has been edited and condensed.
Lauren Daley can be reached at
Advertisement
Lauren Daley can be reached at