Mayfield is probably best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly.
Perhaps because he didn't cross over to the pop audience as heavily as Motown's stars, it may be that the scope of Curtis Mayfield's talents and contributions have yet to be fully recognized. Judged merely by his records alone, the man's legacy is enormous. As the leader of the Impressions, he recorded some of the finest soul vocal group music of the 1960s. As a solo artist in the 1970s, he helped pioneer funk and helped introduce hard-hitting urban commentary into soul music. "Gypsy Woman," "It's All Right," "People Get Ready," "Freddie's Dead," and "Superfly" are merely the most famous of his many hit records.
But Curtis Mayfield wasn't just a singer. Born in in Chicago, IL, he wrote most of his material at a time when that was not the norm for soul performers. He was among the first -- if not the very first -- to speak openly about African-American pride and community struggle in his compositions. As a songwriter and a producer, he was a key architect of Chicago Soul, penning material and working on sessions by notable Windy City soulsters like Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, Major Lance, and Billy Butler. In this sense, he can be compared to Smokey Robinson, who also managed to find time to write and produce many classics for other soul stars. Mayfield was also an excellent guitarist, and his rolling, Latin-influenced lines were highlights of the Impressions' recordings in the '60s. During the next decade, he would toughen up his guitar work and production, incorporating some of the best features of psychedelic rock and funk.
Mayfield began his career as an associate of Jerry Butler, with whom he formed the Impressions in the late '50s. After the Impressions had a big hit in 1958 with "For Your Precious Love," Butler, who had sung lead on the record, split to start a solo career. Mayfield, while keeping the Impressions together, continued to write for and tour with Butler before the Impressions got their first Top 20 hit in 1961, "Gypsy Woman."
Mayfield was heavily steeped in gospel music before he entered the pop arena, and gospel, as well as doo wop, influences would figure prominently in most of his '60s work. Mayfield wasn't a staunch traditionalist, however. He and the Impressions may have often worked the call-and-response gospel style, but his songs (romantic and otherwise) were often veiled or unveiled messages of black pride, reflecting the increased confidence and self-determination of the African-American community. Musically he was an innovator as well, using arrangements that employed the punchy, blaring horns and Latin-influenced rhythms that came to be trademark flourishes of Chicago soul. As the staff producer for the OKeh label, Mayfield was also instrumental in lending his talents to the work of other Chi-town soul singers who went on to national success. With Mayfield singing lead and playing guitar, the Impressions had 14 Top 40 hits in the 1960s (five made the Top 20 in 1964 alone), and released some above-average albums during that period as well.
Given Mayfield's prodigious talents, it was perhaps inevitable that he would eventually leave the Impressions to begin a solo career, as he did in 1970. His first few singles boasted a harder, more funk-driven sound; singles like "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Gonna Go" found him confronting ghetto life with a realism that had rarely been heard on record. He really didn't hit his artistic or commercial stride as a solo artist, though, until Superfly, his soundtrack to a 1972 blaxploitation film. Drug deals, ghetto shootings, the death of young black men before their time: all were described in penetrating detail. Yet Mayfield's irrepressible falsetto vocals, uplifting melodies, and fabulous funk pop arrangements gave the oft-moralizing material a graceful strength that few others could have achieved. For all the glory of his past work, Superfly stands as his crowning achievement, not to mention a much-needed counterpoint to the sensationalistic portrayals of the film itself.
At this point Mayfield, along with Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, was the foremost exponent of a new level of compelling auteurism in soul. His failure to maintain the standards of Superfly qualifies as one of the great disappointments in the history of black popular music. Perhaps he'd simply reached his peak after a long climb, but the rest of his '70s work didn't match the musical brilliance and lyrical subtleties of Superfly, although he had a few large R&B hits in a much more conventional vein, such as "Kung Fu," "So in Love," and "Only You Babe."
Mayfield had a couple of hits in the early '80s, but the decade generally found his commercial fortunes in a steady downward spiral, despite some intermittent albums.
On August 14, 1990, he became paralyzed from the neck down when a lighting rig fell on top of him at a concert in Brooklyn, NY. In 1993, three years after the accident which caused Mayfield's paralysis, Shanachie records released the album People Get Ready: A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield featuring a.o. Jerry Butler, Don Covay and Steve Cropper.
Mayfield received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
Curtis Mayfield died December 26, 1999 at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia.
Check Out Your Mind
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It slid in on an oily rag
The price is right up on the tag
I'll put it in a brand new bag
This thing will let you be yourself
And won't offend nobody else
Nothing like you ever saw
Why don't you check out your mind
Been with you all the time
Why don't you check out your mind
Been with you all the time
People thinking they've been took
Just finding out they over looked
They never found the missing link
Forgot they got a mind to think
Why don't you check out your mind
Been with you all the time
Why don't you check out your mind
Been with you all the time
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Trust in me and I in you
No matter what you see me do
I'm doing me for all I'm worth
None do be better on this earth
Why don't you check out your mind
Been with you all the time
Why don't you check out your mind
Been with you all the time
Why don't you check out your mind
Been with you all the time
Why don't you check out your mind
Been with you all the time
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
Check out your mind
The lyrics of Curtis Mayfield's song "Check Out Your Mind" call out to listeners to take a closer look at themselves and their own thoughts. Mayfield seems to be suggesting that many people are caught up in societal expectations and the opinions of others, rather than trusting themselves and their own abilities. The phrase "check out your mind" is repeated multiple times throughout the song, emphasizing the importance of this message.
Mayfield begins by introducing a new item that has arrived in the singer's life. This item is unique and will allow the owner to be true to themselves without offending others. The message is that people should be proud of their individuality and not feel pressured to conform to the expectations of society. Mayfield then addresses those who feel they've been taken advantage of or overlooked. He suggests that they may have forgotten their own ability to think for themselves and encourages them to "check out their mind".
Line by Line Meaning
Here's something that you never had
Introducing something new and different
It slid in on an oily rag
Arrived out of nowhere
The price is right up on the tag
Inexpensive
I'll put it in a brand new bag
Delivery of something fresh and innovative
This thing will let you be yourself
This concept will empower you to be genuine
And won't offend nobody else
This concept won't disrespect or harm others
Nothing like you ever saw
This is something completely unique
And it's not against the law
This is completely legal
Why don't you check out your mind
You have the ability to explore and innovate
Been with you all the time
The power within your mind has always been there
People thinking they've been took
People are realizing they have been misled
Just finding out they over looked
By opening their mind, people realize what they have missed
They never found the missing link
People never realized the solution was within their own mind
Forgot they got a mind to think
People forgot that they had the power to create their own innovative solutions
Trust in me and I in you
A call to mutual trust and support
No matter what you see me do
Even if you don't understand what I am creating
I'm doing me for all I'm worth
I am creating with all my heart and energy
None do be better on this earth
This creation is unique and valuable, no one else could have done it better
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Check out your mind
Encouragement to engage in self-discovery and exploration
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CURTIS MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nochopie8633
I'm as they used to call me. A blue eyed soul brother. Been into Curtis for over 50 years. Saw the Impressions and also saw Cutis quit a few times. Great Artist. Had a lot to say. Great loss. More people should Check Out Their Mind a listen to Curtis. The younger generation doesn't have a clue what they're missing.
@cromanxx1
A true gem from our generation ! 1970 _South Bronx.
@eEdJones
1970 in the 9th grade, some called this era a time of social unrest. Yet, when I close my eyes, and look back all I see is stars.
@theprofessor8589
I'm getting chills listening to this!! Damm!! The congas in the background, and the way Curtis uses the horns, the man was a GENIUS!!
@christopherwilson8134
Musical genius at that,,,nobody can touch him
@johnnybattle2718
Great music than and it better now when music was music.
@endangeredspecies1272
Curtis Mayfield (Gemini) imho, isn't held high enough for all the WONDERFUL songs he left us that FILLED us with ENDLESS pride of being BLACK! We don't SPEAK of him ENOUGH and there was NOBODY like him, I MISS HIM! 😔☝
@christopherwilson8134
When ppl ask me about music,,,I always say he’s my FAVORITE ARTIST EVER....And your right he’s not given enough praise for the ground breaking music he made
@Meyallok
I agree with you both! The music arrangement is off the chain!
@Taharqa999
One of the baddest brothers of all time. Never lost love for his people...RIP.