An RCE Exclusive
By Byron Lee
At a 1987 concert in Long Beach, California, Bono, lead singer of rock band U2, dedicated a set of songs to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Curtis Mayfield.
This event, witnessed by this publication's esteemed owner, Terry Artis, left some people in the audience presumably puzzled. The mention of Martin Luther King, Jr. is self-explanatory, but why would Bono mention Curtis Mayfield? This uncertainty is even greater, today, when any reference to Mayfield's music comes through the samples heard in rap music, sketchy understanding of the movie to which his best known work is attached (1972's "Superfly"), or the funk strut that occupied the chorus to that album's most referenced song ("Freddie's Dead"), a chorus detached from its sociological context.
Therefore, the question remains: why would a white rock star, at the height of his band's musical popularity, put a musician in the same company as one of the biggest icons of the human rights struggle?
Let's find out. In this edition of The River City Examiner, we will introduce you to the genius of Curtis Mayfield.
Curtis Mayfield was born in Chicago on June 3, 1942, the first of five children. (His father abandoned the family soon after the birth of his firth child.) Young Curtis was an introverted child who lived in poverty, at one point dwelling in the Cabrini-Green projects (the setting for the 70’Äôs sitcom "Good Times"). Staying indoors (He would tell the other children that he was on punishment.), the artistic child would draw.
Mayfield would also enjoy the records his Uncle Charles would bring to his grandmother's house and play on their Victrola turntable. In addition, he would listen closely when his mother would recite the poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, an act that would shape the lyrical acumen that would make Mayfield's future work so resonant. Mayfield eventually took up the guitar and began singing in his grandmother's church. He later stated, as referenced in the International Dictionary of Black Composers, that the guitar was his songwriting companion, which is the reason why many of his guitar parts are chord based. "My little riffs, that's the way I express myself. I plan them out; that's really how it happens. I very seldom pick up my axe unless I'm about to write. To sing a melody...I need a chord to ride upon."
In church, he met a singer named Jerry Butler. Butler, the Brooks brothers (Arthur and Richard) and Sam Gooden were in a group called The Roosters. Mayfield, who claims to have written songs as early as the age of 12, joined the group and started writing material for them. Eddie Thomas, an acquaintance of the group who would become their manager, liked the music he heard, but begged them to change their name, saying that the group had to make a good impression on people. The guys couldn't get the expression out of their heads, and, soon, The Impressions were born. The group had their first hit in 1957 with "For Your Precious Love." Driven to pursue his dream, Mayfield dropped out of high school.
Mayfield would have a great run with the Impressions, one that would see both the early departure of Jerry Butler for a solo career and Mayfield's eventual ascension to lead vocalist. The group used spare guitar, beautiful harmonies honed in church, and a horn section to take the concept of nostalgia and put it in song with an ability rivaled only by the Beach Boys, The Temptations, and Earth, Wind, and Fire.
The group's music, exemplified by songs such as "People Get Ready," "We're A Winner," ’ÄúKeep On Pushing’Äù and "Choice of Colors," had messages of spiritual transcendence and racial pride. (Sometimes the group paid a price for it. "We're a Winner" was initially not played on the radio because many programmers were intimidated by its statement of empowerment.) The entreaties were not lost on the audience. Mayfield said, in a 1995 interview, that when the group members "came out onstage, the people always gave us a special respect because our songs were of an inspirational quality,"
People get ready, there's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there's no hiding place against the Kingdom's throne
-People Get Ready
Now maybe some day
I'll reach that higher goal
I know that I can make it
With just a little bit of soul
'Cause I've got my strength
And it don't make sense
Not to keep on pushing
-Keep On Pushing
(During this time, Mayfield would also delve into another facet of his career, collaborations. He would work with many artists from the Chicago scene, such as Billy Butler and the Chanters and The Five Stairsteps. He would write nearly every song in some artist's catalogs (Major Lance) and give struggling careers a boost with just one song (Walter Jackson's recording of "It's All Over"). Mayfield would also continue to serve as a songwriter and producer for the Impressions, after he ceased being a member.)
Shedding the delicacy of his early recordings with the Impressions, Mayfield's first solo album, 1970's "Curtis," built on the promise of his last recording with the group (1970’Äôs "Check Out Your Mind") by providing forceful, insightful social commentary. Entrepreneur and music instructor Dave Simon (http://www.dsrockshool.com), like many other listeners, initially found themselves overwhelmed by it all. "Curtis Mayfield was a lot more direct and blunt than Marvin Gaye and James Brown. While Marvin Gaye was taking on the Vietnam War, Curtis Mayfield was taking on the problems in his backyard. His lyrics took you deep into the dark world of poverty, broken homes, and drug addiction yet he was able to show a glimmer of hope. Curtis Mayfield pushed the lyrical envelope for the genre he worked in. Some of his lyrics were downright uncomfortable. I wasn't sure what to make or feel the first time I heard Curtis preach 'Sisters! Niggers! Whities! Jews! Crackers! If there's a Hell below, we're all gonna go.' [From "Don't Worry (If There's A Hell Below, We're all Going To Go)"] It was these bold and controversial statements that set the stage for the hip hop greats of the 80's." (The influence of the track mentioned by Simon can be found in the direct references made to it in recordings by NWA and D-12.)
We people who are darker than blue
Are we gonna stand around this town and let what
Others say come true
We're-just good for nothing they all figure
A boyish gown up shiftless jigger
Now we can't hardly stand for that
Or is that really where it's at
We people who are darker than blue
This ain't no time for segregating
I'm talking 'bout brown and yellow too
High yellow gal can't you tell
You're just the surface of our dark deep well
If your mind could really see
You'd know you color same color me,
Pardon me brother as you stand in your glory
I know you won't mind if I tell the whole story
Get yourself together, learn to know your sign
Shall we Commit out genocide before we check out our Mind?
-We People Who Are Darker Than Blue
Top billing now is killing
For peace noone is willing
Kind of make you get that feeling
Everybody smoke, smoke, smoke, smoke, smoke
Use the pill and the dope, dope, dope, dope, dope
Educated fools
From uneducated schools
Pimping people is the rule
Polluted water in the pool
And Nixon [then-President Richard Nixon] talking about don't worry
-Don't Worry (If There's A Hell Below, We're all Going To Go)
All of Mayfield's success, up until this point, would merely be a prelude to the reception garnered by his soundtrack to "Superfly," the story of a drug dealer (iconically played by Ron O' Neal) making one last score before he leaves the life for good. While some, including Mayfield himself, were taken aback by the drug use in the film (Some members of the Black Arts Movement held protests at theaters that were screening the movie.), Mayfield said, to the Washington Post, that he saw the positive side to the movie's appeal.
"Here's a guy that comes out, he's got a brand new Cadillac, the clothes he was wearing were the fad of the year--the wide bell-bottoms, the hat, you--he was strong, he was a good-looking guy, and in spite of what he was doing, he knew he wanted to get out. Come to find out that the police was dealing, which was a fact of life. And he still wanted to get way from 'em, you know. And at the end, he won out He could walk away from it. And he didn't die. So he was a hero to a lot of black people."
Despite what people thought of the film, Mayfield's music stood on its own, utilizing groove laden funk and insightful lyrics to paint both the life of the dealer and the plight of the junkie as two sides of the same struggle, that of blacks in America. The album contained the baby-making suite "Gimmie Your Love" and the layered introspection of "Pusherman," yet the most memorable song from the collection is not about the protagonist. "Freddie's Dead" is about the undoing of one of the supporting characters, a well-meaning, yet awkward and weak individual. Mayfield gives Freddie's death considerable weight by using it as a cautionary tale. He then expands his commentary to a more general, socio-philosophical view.
Everybody's misused him
Ripped him up and abused him
Another junkie plan
Pushin' dope for the man
A terrible blow
But that's how it goes
A Freddie's on the corner now
If you wanna be a junkie, wow
Remember Freddie's dead
We're all built up with progress
But sometimes I must confess
We can deal with rockets and dreams
But reality, what does it mean
Ain't nothing said
'Cause Freddie's dead
-Freddie's Dead
"Curtis" and the "Superfly" soundtrack would hearken a period of nearly unprecedented productivity for Mayfield. He worked on the soundtrack to 1977's "Short Eyes." He also wrote and produced entire albums of songs performed by other artists, such as the soundtracks to 1974's "Claudine" (performed by Gladys Knight and the Pips) and 1975's "Let's Do It Again" (Mavis Staples and the Staples Signers), along with two albums by Aretha Franklin ("Sparkle" (1976) and "Almighty Fire" (1978)), the former of which contained "Something He Can Feel," which was later covered by En Vogue.
He also became noteworthy for another reason. He was one of first black performers to own his own label, finding success with Curtom Records. "I found that in the record business you do pay a lot of dues," he explained to the Post. "You give up a lot of yourself, a lot of your creativity. And if you couldn't come back strong with your mind to create something else, you actually lose out by giving yourself away. So it was always in mind for me to own myself, as much of myself as possible."
Although both his output and his popularity waned during the 80's, Mayfield continued to draw audiences when he performed live. This part of his career was tragically cut short in 1990, when a lighting rig fell on him during a Brooklyn concert, crushing three of his vertebrae and leaving him permanently paralyzed from the neck down. (Ironically, the incident occurred while Mayfield was showing his trademark generosity. The event was a free show.) "This accident, or incident, happened in the most secure place I could have felt I was in. Walking onstage with my guitar, you know?" Mayfield would later ruminate.
Mayfield seemed determined to keep living an active life. "My spirits are high. It doesn't mean that I don't sometimes wake up with a tear in my eye, but I have to get on about the day....Life is still worth living to me," he told the New York Times in 1994. "I'm fortunate to be here and have my mind intact and to be able to see many waves of love, waves of prayers from people that I don't even know," he continued. Mayfield had to concede, however, that he missed making music. "Not being able to play my guitar is probably my biggest frustration," he said. "My guitar was truly my partner in music."
While he got used to his new life, no short supply of artists sung Mayfield's praises, figuratively and literally. "Curtis Mayfield is to soul music what Bach was to the classics and Gershwin and Irving Berlin were to pop music," Aretha Franklin said, while promoting a 1994 album, ’ÄúA Tribute to Curtis Mayfield,’Äù that featured performances from Franklin, Gladys Knight, Bruce Springsteen, Lenny Kravitz, Eric Clayton, the Isley Brothers, and Phil Collins, among others.
Despite an event that would have broken most people's resolve, he continued living and, by recording vocals line-by-line while laying on his back, completed his final album, "New World Order," released in 1996. In response to this feat, Mayfield said, "How many 54-year old quadriplegics are putting albums out? You just have to deal with what you got, try to sustain yourself as best you can, and look to the things that you can do." (In addition to the message of maintaining a zest for life, Mayfield’Äôs condition would also find him reiterating his message of artist self-ownership by telling people that the fortunes he had amassed were helping him considerably with his insurance bills.)
The effort was worth it. "New World Order" would be the artist's swan song. Mayfield passed away on December 26, 1999, survived by his wife and 10 children. Curtis Mayfield's music continues to live on, both in his original recordings and in the subsequently covers or reworkings other artists have done. He, along with other artists, experienced a resurgence in popularity in 1995, when some of his classic songs were included on the two-volume soundtrack for the Hughes Brothers' Vietnam era film "Dead Presidents." Additionally, "Freddie's Dead" and "We People Who Are Darker Than Blue" were covered by Fishbone and Sinead O'Connor, respectively. Furthermore, seminal Texas rappers Geto Boys took the intro of Superfly's title track to make "Do It Like A G.O.," Kanye West's "Touch The Sky" slowed down "Move On Up", Jay-Z flowed over "Short Eyes" on the title track of the "American Gangster" soundtrack, Young Jeezy's "Go Crazy" used the horns from "Man, Oh Man (I Want To Go Back)" to maximum effect, Eminem mimicked the vocal cadence of "Pusherman" for "I'm Shady," and Ma$e's "What You Want" utilized the bassline from the beginning of "Right On For The Darkness." Also noteworthy is the fact that a rendition of "Keep On Pushing" bookended then-Senator Barack Obama's breakthrough address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Finally, the teen comedy "Superbad," one of the highest grossing movies of 2007, had its poignant ending underscored by "P.S. I Love You."
When Curtis Mayfield's influence is taken into account, Bono's dedication makes sense. Curtis Mayfield had a message that many people needed to hear, and he used his voice to speak for those who couldn't or wouldn't use their own. In a 1990 interview with the Chicago Tribune, he summarized his approach in this manner. "It's not my motive to dictate to anyone, just to provide them with a little food for thought. I've always been taught that if you're going to say something, make it of value."
Sadly, since he lacked the flamboyant performance style of James Brown, Jackie Wilson, or Isaac Hayes, the matinee idol allure of Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson, and any major controversy in his personal life, Mayfield's contributions have been overlooked. Many people know the songs, but the force behind them remains elusive. There isn't one North American citizen who doesn't like at least one song that he performed or wrote, yet he still hasn't gotten his due.
Maybe the recognition doesn't matter. Perhaps, like a person who does a good deed and never truly gets a "Thank you," all that matters is the deed, itself. Curtis Mayfield created music that urged, and continues to urge, all of us to keep on pushing.
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