As great as Curtis was with the Impressions, his 70's solo work, in my opinion, is where he truly shines. The man made no bad albums during the entire decade (admittedly, I'm missing two of his 70's albums, but anyway). Some albums have (*cough* Do It All Night *cough*) have some bland spots, but even those albums have cuts that make up for their shortcomings. As much as I usually don't like 80's stuff, especially when it comes to the so called 'soul' department, I gotta hand it to Curtis, I very much enjoy his early 80's output (Love Is The Place, Honesty).
Curtis's tenor and falsetto are instantly recognizable and he is an unparalleled, yet underrated, songwriter (probably because he did not cross over the way some other big stars did). Curtis is also unique in the way that he truly excels at message songs, uplifting anthems AND sweet soul songs. Many bands and artists are either good at ballads or uptempo cuts, Curtis handles everything and does it well to boot.

His musical career came to a halt when he was paralyzed back in the 90s. He did manage to release one album after that, (New World Order) before he passed away in December 1999 (another musical giant and favorite of mine Grover Washington Jr. also passed away in the same month).

So give it up for a true legend, the one and only Curtis Mayfield!

PS. If I don't see some asses in this thread, I'm declaring this forum hopeless!

Move On Up


No Thing On Me (Cocaine Song)


Keep On Keeping On


We Got To Have Peace


Back To The World


Kung Fu


P.S., I Love You


Do Do Wap Is Strong In Here


In Love, In Love, In Love


She Don't Let Nobody (But Me)

One of the greatest of all time

bboy87 said:

Indeed, indeed

http://www.youtube.com/wa...re=related

Just adding to the stew.
[Edited 6/9/08 15:17pm]

There's a new DVD out about Curtis Mayfield and its supposed to be awesome. Any suggestions on what to pick up from his late 70s work?
[Edited 6/9/08 8:54am]

An amazing, amazing talent.

WildheartXXX said:

I ordered it from Amazon and I'm expecting anytime next week.

I think his work with Impressions is very underrated,,,esp comparing to his 70's stuff.

Curtis, Smokey, Stevie and Sly are the ones who put "SOUL" on social commentary. They are the epitome of "writers from the people TO the people" IMO

But I think Curtis is the least appreciated of 'em all, when it comes to mainstream America that is. There's MORE to his legacy than Superfly, and that was what alot of people failed to realize.

Definately one of my all time favorite artists. At times, he was MLK & X all at the same time lyrically. Curtis was always one of the few who never pulled back any punches when it came to racial injustice. I always believed it was he that gave inspiration to other cats like Stevie, Parliament/Funkadelic & the Isley Bros, among others, to also sing more about racial injustice and the plight of the inner cities. Curtis's voice and melodies would be so smooth and comforting that when u listened to what he was actually saying, it was that combination, that contrast, that would really bring it home. He was a pioneer in that style of writing. All of that and great music to boot. He wrote some of the best bridges and changes in his music as well. Definately an influence.

My favorites are jams like:

Future Shock
Super Fly
Kung Fu
Freddie's Dead
Pusherman

WildheartXXX said:

Got it today
It is indeed awesome

This sucks (not Curtis of course) but my Impressions thread a few days ago got no replies.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Heeey, I was there bro
The Impressions are awesome, We're A Winner is the BOMB

vainandy said:

Do you like his slow jams?

Maybe one. But not really.

THe Makings Of You

vainandy said:

Now that guy is a true legend. All of funk, R&B, hip-hop and rock need to bow down to this man right fucking here!

If there was No Curtis there would be no Stairsteps it was Curtis who signed the stairsteps to his "Windy C" label Curtis is an Icon and a legend

IAintTheOne said:

Curtom had some great artists, Curtis, The Impressions, Baby Huey, Mystique, Leroy Hutson, Natural Four, The Stairsteps etc

IAintTheOne said:

WORD. ALSO without Curtis, I don't think we would've heard about this cat either:



Curtis was indeed the GODFATHER of Chicago soul.

FuNkeNsteiN said:

What is this a bio? What's it called?

IAintTheOne said:

No question.

Man I love this guy's views and voice...how many people were influenced by his social commentary and how many people lifted his falsetto? The numbers are countless.

If Lenny Kravitz doesn't stop it soon though...

Slave2daGroove said:

That's what I was saying in my earlier post. Who all he influenced with his social commentary...he pretty much pioneered that style of writing. And yeah, you're dead on about Lenny. That's what always cracks me up when I hear other black folks say Lenny has no soul in his music. that it's just all rock. First off, I have to let them know that rock IS black music to begin with and two, Lenny has always echoed Curtis's falsetto and has lifted Curtis's chord progressions as well. I've always prefered Lenny over someone like a Maxwell anyways. But thta's just me. But yeah Slave...I know what u mean.

I remember awhile back, I wrote a thread on Curtis's "Sweet Exorcist" album. If I recall, very few folks on here copped to the fact that they dug this album. I think it's one of his most underrated albums. I also did a thread on here before that on the cut "If There's A Hell Below". Now THAT'S the cut. One of my all time faves right there. That whole "Curtis" album is a masterpiece. I know Super Fly gets the glory, as well it should. But "Curtis" is brilliant as well.

Slave2daGroove said:

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Yep, $14.99 at Best Buy/Circuit City. Got a copy for my pops yesterday for popsday this Sunday. Also, from the same makes their is a Otis Redding DVD also ...

I'm currently listening to Give Me Your Love. Curtis is one of my favorite artists!!!

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Reelin' In The Years have also released DVDs about the Temps, Smokey & The Miracles and Marvin

Paris9748430 said: