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.
Give It Up
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The two of us are somewhat leery
About the happiness
We both set out to posses
We've got all the comforts of life
A few kids and you are my wife
And I tell it like it is
I'm gonna have to give it up
I'm gonna have to give it up
All concern and the trusts that never happened with us
The walk of embraces and the love of our faces
It never happened you see and I'm so sorry
I really truly love you
And the kids you must agree
And I never had too much
Concern or interest in astrology
But as I read it must be so
The invulnerable word incompatible
No matter how much we try
Our indifference but still show
Now we've got give it up
I'm gonna have to give it up
All concern and the trusts that never happened with us
The walk of embraces and the love of our faces
It never happened you see and I'm so sorry
Now we've got give it up, ooh child
I've got to have to give it up
Lord, have mercy
Now I've got give it up, ooh
I've got to give it up
All concern and the trusts that never happened with us
The walk of embraces and the love of our faces
It never happened you see and I'm so sorry
But now we've got to give it up
What am I do?
Child, we've got to give it up
I'll be so lonely without you
But now I've got to give it up
Lord, forgive me, ooh
I've got to give it up, ooh
Now I've got to give it up
Lord, I have to give it up
The lyrics of Curtis Mayfield's song "Give It Up" explore the idea that two people can be happy together but still ultimately be incompatible. The singer acknowledges that he and his partner have all the comforts of life, including children, but there is a sense of unease, or leeryness, between them. The word "incompatible" is used to describe their relationship, a word that seems to come from astrology, which the singer mentions having recently read about. Although the pair have tried to make things work, there is an air of indifference that cannot be overcome, leading the singer to conclude that they need to "give it up". The final lines of the song express regret and loneliness that will come with this decision.
The lyrics are beautifully written and showcase Mayfield's ability to convey complex emotions with simple words. The use of the word "give" is particularly effective in conveying the sense of sacrifice that is involved in letting go of a relationship that is not working. While the lyrics are somewhat sad, the melody is upbeat and energetic, creating an interesting contrast.
Line by Line Meaning
It is my theory
I have come to the conclusion
The two of us are somewhat leery
We both have doubts and concerns
About the happiness
Regarding our state of contentment
We both set out to possess
We aimed to achieve
We've got all the comforts of life
We have achieved material abundance
A few kids and you are my wife
We have formed a family with children and marriage
And I tell it like it is
I am being truthful
I must confess
I need to admit
I'm gonna have to give it up
I must let go
All concern and the trusts that never happened with us
We never fully trusted each other
The walk of embraces and the love of our faces
We didn't share enough physical intimacy or affection
It never happened you see and I'm so sorry
Those things never occurred between us and I apologize
I really truly love you
My feelings for you are genuine
And the kids you must agree
You can acknowledge that our children are important to us
And I never had too much
I wasn't very interested in
Concern or interest in astrology
Studying horoscopes or star signs
But as I read it must be so
However, what I have read seems to be accurate
The invulnerable word incompatible
We are not well-matched and our differences are insurmountable
No matter how much we try
Despite all our efforts
Our indifference but still show
We are still emotionally distant from each other
Now we've got give it up
It is time for us to move on
Child, we've got to give it up
Dear one, we have to let go
I'll be so lonely without you
I will feel very alone if we separate
But now I've got to give it up
Nevertheless, I have to release my attachment
Lord, forgive me, ooh
God, please pardon me
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CURTIS MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind