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.
Grow Closer Together
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Together we always seemed to be
We were just good friends
Then something deep within
My heart kept a-tellin' me
Be closer together
For you might love one another
For you might love one another
You must take [?] to your heart
And never let her get too far apart
She's the girl that you love
She's the girl that you love
Closer together, closer together
For the first time I
Looked in to her eyes
Was a-long before I realized
Sincere and true
They said 'I love you'
And at last her heart was saying too
Be closer together
For you might love one another
You'll be closer together
For you might love one another
You've got to take [?] to your heart
And never let her get too far apart
She's the girl that you love
She's the girl that you love
Closer together, closer together
Come on, let's be closer together
Come on, let's be closer together
Come on, let's be closer together
Come on, let's be closer together
"Grow Closer Together" by Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions is a romantic love ballad that talks about the blossoming of love between two people who were initially just good friends. The lyrics express the idea that sometimes the love of your life may be the person who is right in front of you, but you fail to realize it until you take a closer look. The song starts by describing the singer's friendship with a quiet girl from his hometown but then goes on to suggest that their friendship could become something more significant.
The chorus makes a plea for the two to be "closer together" because they might end up falling in love with each other. The lyrics advise the listener to keep the person they love close to their heart and never let them get too far apart. The song goes on to describe the moment the singer looked into her eyes and realized that he loves her. The final verse of the song expresses the joy of being in love and how it can bring two people closer together.
Overall, "Grow Closer Together" is a timeless love song that captures the beauty and passion of true love. It encourages the listener to be receptive to the possibility of love in unexpected places and to follow one's heart.
Line by Line Meaning
In my hometown lived a quiet girl
There was a girl in my hometown who was reserved and mild-mannered.
Together we always seemed to be
Even though we weren't romantically involved, we spent a lot of time together.
We were just good friends
Our relationship was purely platonic and we enjoyed each other's company.
Then something deep within
Despite our friendship, there was a strong feeling growing inside of me.
My heart kept a-tellin' me
My heart was urging me to act on this feeling.
Be closer together
I knew that we needed to become closer, both emotionally and physically.
For you might love one another
By becoming closer, we might discover that we have deeper feelings for each other.
You'll be closer together
Being physically and emotionally closer will strengthen our bond and bring us together.
You must take [?] to your heart
It's important to embrace this feeling and act on it.
And never let her get too far apart
Don't let distance or other obstacles come between us.
She's the girl that you love
This feeling I have is love, and it's directed at her.
For the first time I
It wasn't until this moment that I truly understood my feelings.
Looked in to her eyes
I gazed into her eyes and saw something that made me realize how special she was to me.
Was a-long before I realized
It took me a while to understand and accept my feelings for her.
Sincere and true
My feelings for her are honest and genuine.
They said 'I love you'
My feelings for her culminated in a declaration of love.
And at last her heart was saying too
She felt the same way, and her heart was now expressing it as well.
Come on, let's be closer together
Let's continue to build and strengthen our relationship, and become even closer than before.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CURTIS MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tharan Manning
A fantastic song from a good group.yet underrated they should've been recognized as one of the greats.ilove this song.
Gale Gibbs
I think that their career would have flourished had they been with Motown.
Renard Atkins
That's because their "gospel" was love, peace, and soul...form the heart;, and not "British Beastialism"!!!
Ed Cornell
Curtis's early '60s songs awesome, yet underrated. This 1962 single says it all..
Erik Scott
Yeah, they were my favorites!
Thomas chapton jr.
THIS IS THE MUSIC OF MY GENERATION. LOVE PEACE, AND SOUL.
Power and Light Tarot
I remember some of these sweet songs when I was a kid..especially Gypsy Woman. Love this .
William Parks
As both a great singing group which featured two all time great singers, as well as having a great songwriter within the group, they were truly unique for those times.
Chris Chanin
outstanding! curtis and the impressions forever!!!
jeff power
What a very humble Man God Bless You Sir