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| . | Singer Curtis Mayfield Dies at 57 By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press Writer ATLANTA (AP) - Composer and songwriter Curtis Mayfield, whose work introduced a social conscience into black music at the height of the civil rights movement and who continued to make music for a decade after an accident left him paralyzed, died Sunday. He was 57. Mayfield's string of 1960s hits included ``People Get Ready,'' ``Talking About My Baby,'' and ``Keep On Pushing.'' Warner Bros. Records spokeswoman Karen Lee announced the death Sunday. A nurse at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell confirmed that Mayfield died there Sunday morning. Other details about his death were not immediately available. Mayfield was too ill to attend a March ceremony in which he was inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He became a Grammy Legend Award winner in 1994 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner the next year. Of the mantle given him of providing the musical backdrop for the 1960s, Mayfield told The Associated Press in 1996: "I'm very pleased they said that.'' Longtime manager and business partner Marv Heiman said Mayfield knew he was leaving behind a legacy that not only entertained but improved the world. ``He wanted people to think about themselves and the world around them, making this a better place for everyone to live,'' Heiman said. While other black singers stuck to love songs and dance tunes, Mayfield pushed the boundaries of rhythm and blues in the mid-1960s by singing of black pride and gritty urban landscapes - paving the way for funk and rap artists for decades to come. "Black music as we hear it today simply wouldn't exist without him,'' Rolling Stone magazine declared in naming a Mayfield anthology to its list of 200 essential albums in 1997. It was 1964's "Keep On Pushing'' that marked a turning point for Mayfield and broadened the parameters of black music. Widely regarded as the first rhythm-and-blues song to rally blacks behind the civil rights movement, "Keep On Pushing'' became a Top 10 R&B and pop hit. Mayfield continued putting black pride and social issues at the forefront in Impressions hits such as ``We're a Winner,'' ``This is My Country'' and ``Choice of Colors,'' which asked ``How long have you hated your white teacher? / Who told you to love your black preacher?'' Such songs made Mayfield ``black music's most unflagging civil rights champion,'' music critic Nelson George wrote in his 1988 book "The Death of Rhythm & Blues.'' Mayfield blazed the trail others followed. Sam Cooke recorded "A Change Is Gonna Come'' shortly before he was shot to death in December 1964. James Brown hit four years later with the strident ``Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud.'' And Marvin Gaye joined Mayfield on the cutting edge of thinking man's soul in 1971 with ``What's Going On.'' Mayfield was paralyzed in a 1990 accident in which he was struck by a rig that toppled while he was on stage performing in Brooklyn. Born in Chicago on June 3, 1942, Mayfield's distinctive tenor voice was developed with his pre-teen band, The Alphatones. In 1956, he joined church choir member Jerry Butler, brothers Arthur and Richard Brooks, and Sam Gooden in a new group, The Roosters. In 1958, The Roosters were renamed The Impressions and recorded "For Your Precious Love,'' which was No. 11 in the United States. Although Butler left the group, Mayfield continued with a string of hits including, "He Will Break Your Heart,'' "Need To Belong To Someone,'' and "Find Yourself Another Girl.'' ABC Paramount Records later gave The Impressions a recording contract and the group followed with a Top 20 hit, ``Gypsy Woman,'' which was followed by many others. Mayfield compositions including ``It's All Right,'' 1963, hit the charts and influenced the musical style of artists including Gene Chandler, Major Lance, Jan Bradley and Walter Jackson. Mayfield produced most of their hits. As a producer, Mayfield shepherded the hit soundtracks to the films, ``Claudine,'' 1974 with Gladys Knight & The Pips, and ``Let's Do It Again,'' 1975, with the Staple Singers. He produced two Aretha Franklin albums, ``Sparkle,'' 1976, and ``Almighty Fire,'' 1978. He also recorded critically-acclaimed solo albums including ``Back To The World,'' 1973, ``Sweet Exorcist,'' 1974, ``Got To Find A Way,'' 1974 and "There's No Place Like America Today,'' 1975. But as the disco craze took over, Mayfield's sound and socially-pertinent lyrics became out of step. A two-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - recognized in 1991 as a member of the Impressions, again in 1999 as a solo artist - Mayfield ranked among soul music's premiere songwriters. "I lost my husband, the father of our children, my best friend and my soulmate,'' said Mayfield's widow, Altheida. ``Thank God his music and his legacy will live far beyond today.'' Mayfield's legacy lives on with his work being sampled by contemporary hip-hop and rap artists including Coolio, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and R. Kelly. In addition to his wife, Mayfield is survived by his mother; 10 children; two sisters; a brother; and seven grandchildren. |
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