Curtis Mayfield
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Chicago, United States (1942 – 1999)
Curtis Mayfield (b. 1942) was an American soul, funk and rhythm and blues, singer-songwriter and guitarist from Chicago, Illinois.
Mayfield is probably best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly.
Perhaps because he didn’t cross over to the pop audience as heavily as Motown’s stars, it may be that the scope of Curtis Mayfield’s talents and contributions have yet to be fully recognized. Judged merely by his records alone, the man’s legacy is enormous. As the leader of the Impressions, he recorded some of the finest soul vocal group music of the 1960s. As a solo artist in the 1970s, he helped pioneer funk and helped introduce hard-hitting urban commentary into soul music. “Gypsy Woman,” “It’s All Right,” “People Get Ready,” “Freddie’s Dead,” and “Superfly” are merely the most famous of his many hit records.
But Curtis Mayfield wasn’t just a singer. Born in in Chicago, IL, he wrote most of his material at a time when that was not the norm for soul performers. He was among the first — if not the very first — to speak openly about African-American pride and community struggle in his compositions. As a songwriter and a producer, he was a key architect of chicago soul, penning material and working on sessions by notable Windy City soulsters like Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, Major Lance, and Billy Butler. In this sense, he can be compared to Smokey Robinson, who also managed to find time to write and produce many classics for other soul stars.
Mayfield is probably best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly.
Perhaps because he didn’t cross over to the pop audience as heavily as Motown’s stars, it may be that the scope of Curtis Mayfield’s talents and contributions have yet to be fully recognized. Judged merely by his records alone, the man’s legacy is enormous. As the leader of the Impressions, he recorded some of the finest soul vocal group music of the 1960s. As a solo artist in the 1970s, he helped pioneer funk and helped introduce hard-hitting urban commentary into soul music. “Gypsy Woman,” “It’s All Right,” “People Get Ready,” “Freddie’s Dead,” and “Superfly” are merely the most famous of his many hit records.
But Curtis Mayfield wasn’t just a singer. Born in in Chicago, IL, he wrote most of his material at a time when that was not the norm for soul performers. He was among the first — if not the very first — to speak openly about African-American pride and community struggle in his compositions. As a songwriter and a producer, he was a key architect of chicago soul, penning material and working on sessions by notable Windy City soulsters like Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, Major Lance, and Billy Butler. In this sense, he can be compared to Smokey Robinson, who also managed to find time to write and produce many classics for other soul stars.
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The Very Best of Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
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Super Fly
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Superfly
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Curtis
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Shoutbox
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A1enochka wrote:
!!
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Blue_Key wrote:
there hasn't been 10 musical artists since Curtis Mayfield's artist to even MATCH Curtis' work.
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WodkaLover wrote:
RIP..
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lossless777 wrote:
Rest in peace, Curtis!
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Disaster86 wrote:
We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue <3[3]
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Jinzzy wrote:
dead presidents guided me here
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Force_of_Will wrote:
I can't believe Curtis is dead and Keith Richards is somehow still alive.
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soul-and-more wrote:
from 265 artists, 10 are characteristic for Soul last.fm groups, and ... Curtis is in the top3, see others at: http://www.last.fm/user/soul-and-more/journal
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rotfel wrote:
chapadão
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Wargasmo wrote:
[espanto] Caralho!
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juicesound wrote:
the best!
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SunMan24 wrote:
GOD
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BarackFlowbama wrote:
This dude does NOT get enough credit. Multi-instrumentalist, composer, amazing singer, label owner, frontman of the Impressions, AND an impeccable solo career? Some people are just too talented.
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mngadi wrote:
Power to the people!!!
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Druid66 wrote:
Helped define Seventies R&B/soul/funk.
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mister_tussin wrote:
da man
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Ton87 wrote:
Hendrix may have wished he could sing like Mayfield :P
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gendervariant wrote:
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gendervariant wrote:
We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue <3[2]
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Vlad__canard wrote:
His voice make me think of Hendrix
Videos
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(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell…
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Doo Doo Wap Is Strong In Here
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Be Thankful
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Play
Never Let Me Go - Curtis…
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Recent Activity
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Mslynnkim added Curtis Mayfield to Mslynnkim’s library. 2 hours ago
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Bassicchuck tagged Curtis Mayfield with funk, soul and psychedelic soul. 3 hours ago
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Bassicchuck, damastakille, Romans120 and 26 other people added Curtis Mayfield to their libraries. 3 hours ago
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cgern tagged Curtis Mayfield with ‘rhythm and blues’. Wednesday afternoon
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jcsarnunes, szimela, RoyalChetness and 62 other people added Curtis Mayfield to their libraries. Wednesday morning
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Jeekabs wrote about Curtis Mayfield – New World Order in Top 40 artists, tracks and albums of 2011 according to my Last.fm playcount. December 2011
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Jeekabs wrote about Curtis Mayfield – New World Order in a deleted journal. December 2011
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kmullin wrote about Curtis Mayfield – Sweet Exorcist in things to check out. November 2011
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kmullin wrote about Curtis Mayfield – Sweet Exorcist in a deleted journal. November 2011
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rattlebag wrote about Curtis Mayfield – Superfly in #lpgroup (@LPGrp) - Movie soundtracks. October 2011
Related Journals
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Top 40 artists, tracks and albums of 2011 according to my Last.fm playcount
by Jeekabs |
31 Dec 2011
| 2 comments
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similar for number 1 artist
by kmullin |
22 Nov 2011
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Soul music - characteristic bands + users (by comparing several last.fm groups)
by Erkan-Yilmaz |
17 Nov 2011
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