Curtis Mayfield R.I.P.
Douglas Maher
social conscience into black music at the height of the civil rights movement
and who continued to make music for a decade after an accident left him
paralyzed, died Sunday. He was 57.
Mayfield's string of hits included "Gypsy Woman," the gospel-tinged "People Get
Ready," the rallying cry "Keep On Pushing" and the funk classic "Superfly."
Warner Bros. Records spokeswoman Karen Lee announced the death Sunday. A nurse
at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell confirmed that Mayfield died
there Sunday morning.
The exact cause of his death was not immediately available.
An onstage accident in 1990 left Mayfield paralyzed from the neck down, a
condition that caused his health to deteriorate in recent years. Doctors
amputated his right leg last year because of diabetes brought on by the injury.
Mayfield was too ill to attend a March ceremony in which he was inducted him
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He became a Grammy Legend Award winner in
1994 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner the next year.
In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Mayfield said he was happy his
songs had touched so many people.
"I wrote them for myself," he said. "Being a young black man, observing and
sensing the need for race equality and women's rights, I wrote about what was
important to me."
Longtime manager and business partner Marv Heiman said Mayfield knew he was
leaving behind a legacy that not only entertained but improved the world.
"He wanted people to think about themselves and the world around them, making
this a better place for everyone to live," Heiman said.
While other black singers stuck to love songs and dance tunes, Mayfield pushed
the boundaries of rhythm and blues in the mid-1960s by singing of black pride
and gritty urban landscapes -- paving the way for funk and rap artists for
decades to come.
"Black music as we hear it today simply wouldn't exist without him," Rolling
Stone magazine declared in naming a Mayfield anthology to its list of 200
essential albums in 1997.
It was 1964's "Keep On Pushing" that marked a turning point for Mayfield and
broadened the parameters of black music. Widely regarded as the first
rhythm-and-blues song to rally blacks behind the civil rights movement, "Keep
On Pushing" became a Top 10 R&B and pop hit.
Mayfield continued putting black pride and social issues at the forefront in
Impressions hits such as "We're a Winner," "This is My Country" and "Choice of
Colors," which asked "How long have you hated your white teacher? / Who told
you to love your black preacher?"
Such songs made Mayfield "black music's most unflagging civil rights champion,"
music critic Nelson George wrote in his 1988 book "The Death of Rhythm &
Blues."
Mayfield blazed the trail others followed. Sam Cooke recorded "A Change Is
Gonna Come" shortly before he was shot to death in December 1964. James Brown
hit four years later with the strident "Say It Loud -- I'm Black and I'm
Proud." And Marvin Gaye joined Mayfield on the cutting edge of thinking man's
soul in 1971 with "What's Going On."
Riding the popularity of so-called "blaxploitation" movies, Mayfield had one of
his greatest critical and commercial successes in 1972 with the soundtrack to
"Superfly," a film about a drug dealer trying to go straight.
Mayfield was paralyzed in a 1990 accident in which he was struck by a rig that
toppled while he was on stage performing in Brooklyn.
Born in Chicago on June 3, 1942, Mayfield's distinctive tenor voice was
developed with his pre-teen band, The Alphatones. In 1956, he joined church
choir member Jerry Butler, brothers Arthur and Richard Brooks, and Sam Gooden
in a new group, The Roosters.
In 1958, The Roosters were renamed The Impressions and recorded "For Your
Precious Love," which was No. 11 in the United States. Although Butler left the
group, Mayfield continued with a string of hits including, "He Will Break Your
Heart," "Need To Belong To Someone," and "Find Yourself Another Girl."
ABC Paramount Records later gave The Impressions a recording contract and the
group followed with a Top 20 hit, "Gypsy Woman," which was followed by many
others.
Mayfield compositions including "It's All Right," 1963, hit the charts and
influenced the musical style of artists including Gene Chandler, Major Lance,
Jan Bradley and Walter Jackson. Mayfield produced most of their hits.
As a producer, Mayfield shepherded the hit soundtracks to the films,
"Claudine," 1974 with Gladys Knight & The Pips, and "Let's Do It Again," 1975,
with the Staple Singers. He produced two Aretha Franklin albums, "Sparkle,"
1976, and "Almighty Fire," 1978.
He also recorded critically-acclaimed solo albums including "Back To The
World," 1973, "Sweet Exorcist," 1974, "Got To Find A Way," 1974 and "There's No
Place Like America Today," 1975. But as the disco craze took over, Mayfield's
sound and socially-pertinent lyrics became out of step.
A two-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- recognized in 1991 as
a member of the Impressions, again in 1999 as a solo artist -- Mayfield ranked
among soul music's premiere songwriters.
"I lost my husband, the father of our children, my best friend and my
soulmate," said Mayfield's widow, Altheida. "Thank God his music and his legacy
will live far beyond today."
Mayfield's legacy lives on with his work being sampled by contemporary hip-hop
and rap artists including Coolio, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and R. Kelly.
In addition to his wife, Mayfield is survived by his mother; 10 children; two
sisters; a brother; and seven grandchildren.
Douglas Maher
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James Andrews
<Curtis Mayfield article>
This is a damn shame.
Jas.
-------------------------
James Andrews
Philadelphia, PA
Remove the XX
Mark Garvin
>ATLANTA -- Soul singer and songwriter Curtis Mayfield, whose work introduced a
>social conscience into black music at the height of the civil rights movement
>and who continued to make music for a decade after an accident left him
>paralyzed, died Sunday. He was 57.
>Mayfield's string of hits included "Gypsy Woman," the gospel-tinged "People Get
>Ready,"
I love those songs. The Impressions were a huge influence on many
R&B artists, but Curtis's guitar work went beyond that. You can
hear it through Hendrix's beautiful chord fills in Little Wing,
One Rainy Wish, etc. Electric Ladyland (the song) in particular
shows how much Hendrix was influenced by Curtis.
Curtis Mayfield will be missed.
MG
Marv Jonesi
original. Known more for his songwriting, he was also an excellent and
innovative guitar player. I also remember marching around in basic
training in 1966 singing "Amen." He wrote some gorgeous stuff for the
Impressions.
Marv Jonesi
Exnay43
wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction toward learning a
more about it. It seemsthat everyone agrees that he was a major influence on
Hendrix;s chordal style. Any certain songs that showcase it or instructional
material that you might know of(mag. articles,columns,etc.)
Thanks
Johnny