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.
Little Child Runnin' Wild
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Runnin' wild
Watch a while
You see he never smiles
Broken home
Father gone
Mama tired
Kind of sad
Kind of mad
Ghetto child
Thinkin' he's been had
In the back of his mind he's sayin'
Didn't have to be here
You didn't have to love for me
While I was just a nothin' child
Why couldn't they just let me be
Let me be, let me be, let me be
One room shack
On the alley-back
Control, I'm told
From across the track
Where is the mayor
Who'll make all things fair
He lives outside
Our polluted air
And I didn't have to be here
You didn't have to love for me
While I was just a nothin' child
Why couldn't they just let me be
Let me be, let me be, let me be
I got a Jones
Runnin' through ma' bones
I'm sorry son
All your money's gone
Painful rip
In my upper hip
I guess it's time
To take another trip
Don't care what nobody say
I got to take the pain away
It's getting worser day by day
And all my life has been this way
Can't reason with the pusher man
Finance is all that he understands
You junkie, mama cries, you know
Would rip her, but I love her so
Love her so, now
The lyrics to Curtis Mayfield's song Little Child Runnin' Wild are about a young boy growing up in poverty and the struggles he faces on a daily basis. The song talks about how the boy never smiles, comes from a broken home, and his mother is tired, leaving him alone. The boy is sad and angry about his situation and feels like he has been cheated. He is living in a one-room shack on the alley-back and is being controlled by someone across the track. The boy wonders where is the mayor who will make everything fair and who will help people like him.
The chorus of the song talks about how the boy didn't have to be here, and he didn't have to love for me while he was just a nothin' child. This line suggests that the boy feels like he is unwanted, and nobody cares about him. He wonders why no one will let him be and why they didn't just leave him alone. The last verse talks about the boy's addiction to drugs, and how he is sorry that all his money is gone. He talks about the pain in his upper hip and how he needs to take another trip to numb the pain. He mentions how he can't reason with the pusher man and how his mother cries because she loves him so much.
One interesting fact about Little Child Runnin' Wild is that it was written for the soundtrack of the 1972 film Super Fly. Another interesting fact is that the film was criticized for glorifying drug use, but Mayfield's music was praised for its socially conscious lyrics. The song has been sampled by several hip-hop artists, including Jay-Z, Nas, and Kanye West. It has also been covered by several artists, including Janet Jackson and Lenny Kravitz. Curtis Mayfield's lyrics have been analyzed and praised for capturing the essence of African American life in the inner city. The chord progression for this song is Em - D - G - G7.
Chords:
Verse: Em D G G7
Chorus: G D Am Em
Outro: Em D G G7
Line by Line Meaning
Little child
The song is about an African-American boy with a tough upbringing.
Runnin' wild
The boy is misbehaving and acting out due to his difficult circumstances.
Watch a while
The lyrics are asking the listener to observe the hardships of the child's life.
You see he never smiles
The boy's tough life has stripped him of his happiness and he rarely smiles.
Broken home
The boy's family life is in turmoil and his parents are separated.
Father gone
The boy's father figure is not present in his life.
Mama tired
The boy's mother is overworked and struggling to care for her child.
So he's all alone
The boy is isolated and has no one to turn to for help or support.
Kind of sad
The boy is deeply unhappy with his life.
Kind of mad
The boy is angry about his situation.
Ghetto child
The boy is growing up in a poor, urban area.
Thinkin' he's been had
The boy feels like he has been taken advantage of or cheated in life.
In the back of his mind he's sayin'
The boy is thinking to himself.
Didn't have to be here
The boy feels like he didn't have to be born into this life of hardship.
You didn't have to love for me
The boy's parents didn't have to bring him into the world if they couldn't provide for him.
While I was just a nothin' child
The boy feels like he was born into a hopeless situation and destined for failure.
Why couldn't they just let me be
The boy wishes his parents had never brought him into this difficult world.
Let me be, let me be, let me be
The boy wants to be left alone to deal with his problems.
One room shack
The boy's living situation is cramped and inadequate.
On the alley-back
The boy's home is located in a poor area.
Control, I'm told
The boy's life is controlled by outside forces.
From across the track
The boy is living on the wrong side of the tracks, away from privilege and wealth.
Where is the mayor
The boy wonders where the government authority figures are to help his community.
Who'll make all things fair
The boy wishes for someone to come in and make life fair for everyone, regardless of their background.
He lives outside
The government official is living far away from the boy's impoverished area.
Our polluted air
The boy's neighborhood is afflicted by pollution and environmental issues.
I got a Jones
The boy has an addiction or craving for something.
Runnin' through ma' bones
The addiction is taking over the boy's life and affecting his body.
I'm sorry son
The boy's parent or guardian apologizes for not being able to help him with his addiction.
All your money's gone
The addiction has caused the boy to spend all his money.
Painful rip
The boy is experiencing physical pain.
In my upper hip
The pain is located in the boy's hip area.
I guess it's time
The boy realizes it's time to do something about his addiction.
To take another trip
The boy must go on another journey or experience to get rid of his addiction.
Don't care what nobody say
The boy is not interested in hearing what others think or say about him.
I got to take the pain away
The boy wants to get rid of his addiction in order to stop the physical pain he is experiencing.
It's getting worser day by day
The boy's situation is worsening every day.
And all my life has been this way
The boy's life has been marked by hardship and struggle since he was born.
Can't reason with the pusher man
The boy cannot reason with the person who is supplying him with drugs.
Finance is all that he understands
The person supplying him with drugs only cares about money.
You junkie, mama cries, you know
The boy's mother is upset and crying because of his addiction.
Would rip her, but I love her so
The boy loves his mother too much to hurt her, even though his addiction is causing her pain.
Love her so, now
The boy reiterates how much he loves his mother despite his issues.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CURTIS MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind