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.
Mighty Mighty
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About This Country's State
We Get A New Power Every Hour
Just About In Every Christian Fate
We′re Killing Up Our Leaders
It Don't Matter None
Black Or White
And We All Know It's Wrong
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
Your Black And White Power
Is Gonna Be A Crumbling Tower
And We Who Stand Divided
So damn Undecided
Give This Some Thought
In Stupidness We′ve All Been Caught
There Really Ain't No Difference
If You′re Cut You're Gonna Bleed
Might I Get A Little Bit Deeper
Human Life Is From The semens seeds
Now I′m Gonna Say It Loud
I'm Just As Proud As The Brothers Too
And Just Like The Rest
I Don′t Want No Mess About
Who's Taking Who
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
Your Black And White Power
Is Gonna Be A Crumbling Tower
And We Who Stand Divided
So Damn Undecided
Give This Some Thought
In Stupidness We've All Been Caught
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
In the song "Mighty Mighty" by Curtis Mayfield, the lyrics are a commentary on the social and political state of the United States, which was marred by racial tensions and political upheaval. The first verse touches on the corruption of the government and the disregard for leadership, regardless of skin color. Mayfield suggests that it is the responsibility of the people to stand up and fight against the wrongdoings. He states that the power struggle between races will ultimately lead to a crumbling of the system. Mayfield argues that everyone must give this some thought and that intelligence has been clouded by racism and ignorance.
The chorus, "Mighty Mighty Spade and Whitey," is sarcastic in nature, as it directly addresses the issue of racial divide by referencing the derogatory terms for African Americans and Caucasians. The repetition of the chorus serves as a reminder that these divisions only serve to harm and ultimately need to be dismantled. Mayfield then further advocates for the importance of unity and a shared sense of pride, rather than falling for the divisive rhetoric pushed by those in power. In the final line, he reminds us that we all come from the same origins, regardless of race.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody′s Talking
About This Country's State
Everyone is discussing the state of the country.
We Get A New Power Every Hour
Just About In Every Christian Fate
New leaders and power structures constantly emerge regardless of religion or fate.
We′re Killing Up Our Leaders
It Don't Matter None
Black Or White
And We All Know It's Wrong
And We′re Gonna Fight To Make It Right
Leaders are being killed regardless of their race, and this violence is wrong and must be fought against.
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
Your Black And White Power
Is Gonna Be A Crumbling Tower
The power structures of both black and white communities will crumble.
And We Who Stand Divided
So damn Undecided
Give This Some Thought
In Stupidness We′ve All Been Caught
People who are divided and undecided should think carefully about the situation and recognize the stupidity of past actions.
There Really Ain't No Difference
If You′re Cut You're Gonna Bleed
Might I Get A Little Bit Deeper
Human Life Is From The semens seeds
Regardless of race, people are all human and bleed the same, and life begins at conception.
Now I′m Gonna Say It Loud
I'm Just As Proud As The Brothers Too
And Just Like The Rest
I Don′t Want No Mess About
Who's Taking Who
The singer is proud to be black but does not want to create conflict over power struggles.
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
Your Black And White Power
Is Gonna Be A Crumbling Tower
The power structures of both black and white communities will crumble.
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
And Mighty, Mighty Spade And Whitey
Repetition of the previous lines, emphasizing the message and calling for change.
Writer(s): Curtis Mayfield
Contributed by Aaliyah K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.