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.
Never Let Me Go
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Which one would you choose, my brothers?
If there was no day or night
Which would you prefer to be right?
How long have you hated your white teacher?
Who told you, you love your black preacher?
Do you respect your brother's woman friend
People must prove to the people
A better day is coming for you and for me
With just a little bit more education
And love for our nation would make a better society
Now some of us would rather cuss and make a fuss
Than to bring about a little trust
But we shall overcome our beliefs someday
If you'll only listen to what I have to say
And how long have you hated your white teacher?
Who told you, you love your black preacher?
Can you respect your brother's woman friend
And share with black folks not of kin?
I said, "Now people must prove to the people
A better day is coming for you and for me
With just a little bit more education
And love for our nation would make a better society"
And if you had a choice of colors
Which one would you choose, my brothers?
If there was no day or night
Which would you prefer to be right?
And if you had a choice of colors
Which one would you choose, my brothers?
If there was no day or night
Which would you prefer to be right?
The lyrics of Curtis Mayfield's "Never Let Me Go" are a reflection on the prejudices and divisions that exist in society based on race. Mayfield asks his questions through the lens of color and time, painting a picture of a world that is not so black and white, and often, not so clear.
The opening chorus asks listeners to choose a color, a seemingly trivial inquiry, but one that carries significant weight. It's a way to introduce the idea of choice, and how perception and preference can vary from person to person. The subsequent lines explore these choices with more significant implications. There's an inquiry about day and night, a binary that seems easy enough to choose from, but Mayfield flips it on its head, asking which one should be right. Here, he's introducing a contradiction, a gray area that challenges the idea of right and wrong, good and bad.
The song then moves on to examine relationships between different races. Mayfield asks how long people have held grudges against people of other races. He challenges the false love that exists in communities, where people may pretend to care for each other, but in reality, they do not respect each other's differences. He highlights the importance of education and love for building a better society.
Overall, "Never Let Me Go" is a powerful message about unity, and the lyrics serve as a reminder of how far we still need to go to reconcile issues based on race. It's a complex issue that can't be solved with simple answers, but Mayfield advocates for empathy and understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
If you had a choice of color
If you were asked to choose a skin color
Which one would you choose, my brothers?
What color would you choose, fellow black people?
If there was no day or night
If time wasn't a factor
Which would you prefer to be right?
What reality would you choose?
How long have you hated your white teacher?
Why do you harbor resentment towards your white teacher?
Who told you, you love your black preacher?
What made you fall in love with your black preacher?
Do you respect your brother's woman friend
Do you show respect to your fellow black man's female friend?
And share with black folks not of kin?
And are you willing to share with black people who you are not related to?
People must prove to the people
We, as black people, must prove ourselves to each other
A better day is coming for you and for me
We can expect a brighter future for ourselves
With just a little bit more education
Through gaining more knowledge and understanding
And love for our nation would make a better society
And a greater love for our country can improve our communities
Now some of us would rather cuss and make a fuss
However, some of us would choose to express anger and outrage instead of building trust
Than to bring about a little trust
Instead of taking the time to build trust
But we shall overcome our beliefs someday
We have faith that one day we will break free from our limiting beliefs
If you'll only listen to what I have to say
If only we could listen to each other
And how long have you hated your white teacher?
Again, we ask, why do you hold this resentment towards your white teacher?
Who told you, you love your black preacher?
What was it that made you fall in love with your black preacher?
Can you respect your brother's woman friend
Are you capable of showing respect to your black man's female acquaintance?
And share with black folks not of kin?
And are you willing to share with black people who you are not related to?
I said, 'Now people must prove to the people
I need to reiterate that we, black people, must prove ourselves to each other
A better day is coming for you and for me
We can hope for a brighter future for ourselves
With just a little bit more education
By gaining more knowledge and understanding
And love for our nation would make a better society'
And greater patriotism can improve our communities
And if you had a choice of colors
Again, if you were asked to choose a skin color
Which one would you choose, my brothers?
What color would you choose, fellow black people?
If there was no day or night
If time didn't exist
Which would you prefer to be right?
Which reality would you want to live in?
And if you had a choice of colors
Once more, if you were asked to choose a skin color
Which one would you choose, my brothers?
What color would you choose, fellow black people?
If there was no day or night
If time didn't exist
Which would you prefer to be right?
Which reality would you want to live in?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Joseph W. Scott
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Keith Strickland
What a sweet version of this classic. Curtis Mayfield has a voice that is just perfect for ballads. I dedicate this song to my wonderful wife. She is a very loving and kind woman as well as a fantastic mother to our children. With her, I hit the jackpot and God knows that I will never let her go!
Teresa Carella
LOVE IT!!,HE HAD A GREAT VOICE!!
Trevor Shields
This was and is still one of my favorite love songs by Curtis Mayfield and the impressions...if you call my home phone that's what you'll hear on my answering machine...
Trevor Shields
This is one of my all-time favorite...so cool and soothing...
stripemister
So smooth was Curtis. Think of the good time the Dear Lord is having with all the late/great Doo-Wop talent that he's called to sing just for him. Heaven will never be the same.
Cynthia's Channel
What a fantastic song! Great, "Never let me go"!
Greg Miller
pure bliss. the soft repeat of the piano is what trade marked the doo-wop music!
gary logan
Standing on the corner with the homies singing this song and the promise to all the ladies that we'll never let them go. Thank god for Curtis Mayfield.
divaenvy
absolute showcase for his wonderful voice!!
Gwendolyn Williams
Another beautiful song from the great Mr. Curtis Mayfield.