Socialist Action /January 2000
Curtis Mayfield: His Legacy Will Live
On
By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH
Most people who are into soul music and R&B, now in their 40s and
older, remember Curtis Mayfield, a two-time inductee to the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame. Perhaps even some younger R&B and pop fans, or "blaxploitation"
movie aficionados are hip to him.
Mayfield inspired three generations of musicians to infuse their work
with his idea of the meaning of soul. His music and lyrics are a blend of
melodic funk and social commentary. Though sometimes bleak, his lyrics always
contained the message of hope.
He was born June 3, 1942, in Chicago, and as a boy went on to sing gospel
and teach himself guitar. His death, on Dec. 26, at 57, was attributed to
complications related to diabetes as a result of an accident. Curtis had
been a quadriplegic since 1990, when felled by a lighting rig which collapsed
on him at an outdoor concert in New York, crushing his spine.
 Mayfield was an inspiration not only to Blacks but to
the disabled as well. After his accident, he found he could still sing,
using gravity's pull on his chest and lungs as he lay flat. He released
his final album, "New World Order," in 1996.
His passing marks an end of an era that began with the Black civil rights
movement and the protests against the Vietnam War. He once said that his
song "We're a Winner" was "locked in with Martin Luther King"
and that later songs, such as "Check Out Your Mind" and "(Don't
Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going To Go," were reality
checks for a country divided by Vietnam, racial strife, and political upheaval.
Mayfield's musical/political turning point hinged on a song he wrote
in 1964, "Keep On Pushing" (see box). The tune became a Top 10
R&B and pop hit, and was regarded as the first top-ranked rhythm and
blues song to inspire Black people to push for civil rights.
Throughout the 1960s and '70s, classics such as "People Get Ready"
and "Freddie's Dead," from the movie "Superfly," placed
the Black liberation movement in the foreground of soul music when love
songs and dance tunes commanded Black radio. Mayfield's other songs reflecting
the Black movement include "Move On Up." and "It's All Right."
The latter recording was an early indication of the young songwriter's
natural talent as a healer. He wrote and composed with the aim toward getting
people to think about themselves in relation to the world around them, to
make this planet a better place for everyone.
Mayfield's socially conscious lyrics about pride and perseverance cleared
the path for rappers concerned more with raw, inner-city action than romance.
His music is probably the most sampled by contemporary rappers and DJs today.
"You don't have to break anything over anybody's head, no matter
what you're trying to say. It doesn't have to be preached," Mayfield
told the Associated Press in a 1996 interview. "What's important for
me is that it's said in a manner where it gives food for thought."
The Rev. Fred Taylor of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
said, "Curtis Mayfield's music told us that despite all odds, we are
here and we will continue to fight until we become equal partners in the
social fabric of this country." Mayfield's widow added, "Thank
God his music and his legacy will live far beyond today."
Socialist Action /January 2000 |