Mayfield, Curtis

born June 3, 1942, Chicago, Ill., U.S.

died Dec. 26, 1999, Roswell, Ga.

U.S. singer-songwriter and guitarist.

He became a vocalist and guitarist with the Impressions in 1957. Together with Sam Gooden (bass) and Fred Cash (low tenor), Mayfield (high tenor) devised a much imitated vocal style. Mayfield was a self-taught guitarist, and when he tuned his instrument to a natural chord, he achieved a subtle lyricism that was also influential. Mayfield's songs, including "It's All Right" (1963), "People Get Ready" (1965), and "Choice of Colors" (1969), were inspirational and humanistic. The high point of his solo career (from 1970) was the influential soundtrack to Superfly (1972), and he became a major force in the development of the musical style known as funk. He was paralyzed when a lighting tower fell on him during a concert in 1990.

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▪ 2000

      American musician (b. June 3, 1942, Chicago, Ill.—d. Dec. 26, 1999, Roswell, Ga.), was a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who came to be known as the conscience of rhythm-and-blues music. Observers credited Mayfield, who began playing guitar at the age of 10, with having laid the groundwork for modern black urban pop music. He dropped out of high school to join a group called the Roosters that, after a name change to the Impressions in 1958, had a hit with the song “For Your Precious Love.” More hits followed in the early 1960s as Mayfield assumed the songwriting duties. In 1964 his style took a noticeable turn with “Keep on Pushing,” which rallied African Americans to fight for civil rights. Henceforth, the sound of Mayfield's music reflected his gospel roots, whereas the lyrics focused on themes important to him, such as black pride and women's rights. Forging a solo career in 1970 with the album Curtis, Mayfield also diversified—writing film scores, producing for such acts as Aretha Franklin and the Staple Singers, and starting his own record label. Songs like “People Get Ready” and “Superfly” kept him on the charts in the 1970s before he fell into relative obscurity in the '80s. He was injured by falling equipment during a performance in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1990, and was left paralyzed from the neck down. The injury did not dampen his spirits completely, however, and in 1996 he released the critically acclaimed album New World Order. Mayfield won a Grammy Legend Award in 1994 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: in 1991 as a member of the Impressions and in 1999 as a solo artist.

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▪ American musician

Introduction

born June 3, 1942, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

died December 26, 1999, Roswell, Georgia

      American singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and entrepreneur who was one of the principal architects of Chicago-based soul music during the 1960s and '70s. Beginning with his earliest songs—such as "Gypsy Woman" (1961), "It's All Right" (1963), "Keep On Pushing" (1964), and "People Get Ready" (1965)—when he was lead vocalist of the Impressions, Mayfield wrote highly inspirational, humanistic pieces concerned with African American uplift. His compositions became standards in the repertoires of artists as varied as Rod Stewart (Stewart, Rod), Bob Marley (Marley, Bob), and Brian Hyland.

      Mayfield entered the music business in 1957, when he became a vocalist and guitarist with the Impressions, whose other members were Jerry Butler, Sam Gooden, and brothers Richard and Arthur Brooks. Butler left in 1958 and was replaced by Fred Cash; the Brooks brothers left in 1962. With the group reduced to a trio, Mayfield, along with Gooden and Cash, devised a much-imitated vocal style, a pronounced three-part alternating lead, which allowed Mayfield's delicate high tenor to be balanced by Gooden's bass and Cash's low tenor. Derived from gospel music, this switch-off technique called for each vocalist to take a turn with the lead part while the others provided backing harmony. It was later adopted by groups such as Sly and the Family Stone and Earth, Wind and Fire.

      A remarkably innovative guitarist, the self-taught Mayfield tuned his instrument to a natural chord to achieve a subtle, lyrical sound. Many other guitarists in Chicago imitated his playing, and the Mayfield style showed up on innumerable soul records made in his hometown. Mayfield also was a major contributor of songs to other soul performers—most of them from Chicago. Among those who recorded his compositions were Jan Bradley, Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler, Aretha Franklin (Franklin, Aretha), Walter Jackson, Gladys Knight and the Pips (Knight, Gladys, and the Pips), Major Lance, and the Staple Singers (Staple Singers, the). In the late 1960s, with such songs as "We're a Winner" (1967) and "Choice of Colors" (1969), recorded with the Impressions, Mayfield played a crucial role in transforming black popular music into a voice for social concern during the struggle for civil rights (civil rights movement).

      In 1961 he became one of the first African Americans to found his own music publishing company. Six years later he established the highly successful Curtom Records, which became a leading producer of soundtrack albums for black-oriented films and for which Mayfield and such artists as Gene Chandler, Major Lance, and the Five Stairsteps recorded. Mayfield left the Impressions in 1970 to work as a soloist and subsequently became a major force in the development of funk, with such songs as "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go, " "Beautiful Brother of Mine," and "We People Who Are Darker Than Blue." Although he achieved considerable recognition for such albums as Curtis (1970) and Curtis/Live! (1971), it was through the recording of soundtracks for motion pictures that Mayfield achieved his biggest success, particularly with Superfly (1972). Mayfield's last Top Ten rhythm-and-blues (rhythm and blues) hit was "Only You Babe" in 1976. He struggled during the subsequent disco era and by the mid-1980s was no longer a factor on the rhythm-and-blues or pop charts.

      Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down by a freak accident during a concert in 1990. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Impressions in 1991 and as a solo artist in 1999. He is the author of Poetic License: In Poem & Song (1996), a book of poetry and song lyrics.

Robert D. Pruter

Representative Works

The Impressions

● The Impressions (1963)

● Keep On Pushing (1964)

● People Get Ready (1965)

● The Young Mod's Forgotten Story (1969)

Curtis Mayfield

● Curtis (1970)

● Curtis/Live! (1971)

● Roots (1971)

● Superfly (1972)

Additional Reading

Paolo Hewitt, “So Proud: The Moral Standard of Soul,” New Musical Express, pp. 24–26 (July 9, 1983), explores Mayfield's music from a moral and social standpoint. Chuck Phillips and Andy Widders-Ellis, “Curtis Mayfield: The Soul of an R&B Genius,” Guitar Player, 25(8):52–61, 64 (August 1991), is an interview with Mayfield accompanied by an essay with a highly technical analysis and is particularly instructive on Mayfield's unique guitar techniques and stylistic approach. Bill Flanagan, “Black History: Speech Meets Curtis Mayfield,” Musician, 176:60–67 (June 1993), is a dialogue between Flanagan, Speech (of Arrested Development), and Mayfield. Jas Obrecht, “Keep on Pushing: A Curtis Mayfield Tribute,” Guitar Player, 28(6):71–76 (June 1994), presents an overview of Mayfield's career in terms of his influence and his guitar style. Robert Pruter, “Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions,” Goldmine, 19(7):12–20 (April 2, 1993), goes into particular depth on Mayfield's early years with the Impressions. Craig Werner, “A Deeper Shade of Soul,” Goldmine, 24(14):16–19ff. (July 4, 1997), is a 15-page article concerning Mayfield's career, particularly strong on his solo years.

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