When he was 14 years old he formed the Alphatones when the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers decided to try their luck in downtown Chicago and Mayfield stayed behind. He was a self-taught musician, and he grew up admiring blues singer Muddy Waters and Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia. Mayfield received his first guitar when he was ten, later recalling that he loved his guitar so much he used to sleep with it. At the age of seven he sang publicly at his aunt's church with the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers. His mother taught him piano and, along with his grandmother, encouraged him to enjoy gospel music. Mayfield attended Wells Community Academy High School before dropping out his second year. Mayfield's father left the family when Curtis was five his mother (and maternal grandmother) moved the family into several Chicago public housing projects before settling in Cabrini–Green during his teen years. Early life Ĭurtis Lee Mayfield was born on Wednesday, June 3, 1942, in Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Marion Washington and Kenneth Mayfield, one of five children. He died from complications of type 2 diabetes at the age of 57 on December 26, 1999. He was also a two-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. He is a double inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of The Impressions in 1991, and again in 1999 as a solo artist. Mayfield won a Grammy Legend Award in 1994 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. Despite this, he continued his career as a recording artist, releasing his final album New World Order in 1996. Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down after lighting equipment fell on him during a live performance at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, on August 13, 1990. 72 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The soundtrack was noted for its socially conscious themes, mostly addressing problems surrounding inner city minorities such as crime, poverty and drug abuse. ![]() The song received numerous other awards it was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll", and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.Īfter leaving The Impressions in 1970 in the pursuit of a solo career, Mayfield released several albums, including the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Super Fly in 1972. 24 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1965, he wrote " People Get Ready" for The Impressions, which was ranked at no. As a songwriter, Mayfield became noted as one of the first musicians to bring more prevalent themes of social awareness into soul music. ![]() ![]() Moving to the North Side of Chicago, he met Jerry Butler in 1956 at the age of 14, and joined the vocal group The Impressions. Mayfield started his musical career in a gospel choir. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he first achieved success and recognition with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group the Impressions during the civil rights movement of the late 1950s and the 1960s, and later worked as a solo artist. Curtis Lee Mayfield (J– December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.
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