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.
On and On
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
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as morning floods the sky.
Why do things change?
Like stars in the night,
You stop and catch my eye.
I move frame by frame.
And I know...
I sit in my room and I think of you,
I don't know what went wrong,
but I'll sing this song...to you.
And I'll hope that you see,
you mean everything to me.
Lay awake in bed while thoughts fly through my head.
Can't things stay the same?
I know it's been awhile,
but I can't forget your smile.
I hope it's the same.
Its been so long, its been so long, its been so long.
Time will move on & on.
Its been so long, its been so long, its been so long.
Time will move on & on.
It's time to move on & on,
cause time will move on & on & on.
I'll let you know, I'm letting go.
But I hope that you see you meant everything to me.
The lyrics of "On And On" by Curtis Mayfield capture the emotional turmoil of a love that has ended. The singer wistfully watches the clouds roll by, pondering why things have changed, as morning floods the sky. The mention of stars in the night and catching someone's eye are reminiscent of moments shared with a loved one that now feels like a distant memory. The singer moves through life feeling like they're in slow motion, as if their life is being lived frame by frame.
Throughout the song, the singer is fixated on thoughts of their lost love. Sitting in their room, staring into space, they can't help but think of the person they lost. This constant preoccupation with thoughts of the past is difficult to bear, and the singer is overcome by emotion. The singer hopes that their lost love sees that they meant everything to them, but ultimately they realize that it's time to let go and move on.
The lyrics of "On And On" are bittersweet, filled with longing and regret. The singer's pain is palpable, and the words convey a sense of the timelessness of love, even when it's over. The song encourages listeners to embrace their emotions and acknowledge their pain, but ultimately suggests that there is a need to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
I watch the clouds roll by, as morning floods the sky.
I observe the movement of the clouds as the sun rises and light spreads through the sky.
Why do things change?
What causes changes to happen?
Like stars in the night, You stop and catch my eye.
Similar to how the stars shine in the night sky, you catch my attention and captivate me.
I move frame by frame. And I know...
I progress and act intentionally, and I am aware of my actions.
I sit in my room and I think of you, it just brings me down.
When I am alone and reflect on you, it saddens me.
I don't know what went wrong, but I'll sing this song...to you.
I am uncertain of where things took a turn for the worse, but I will communicate my feelings to you through this song.
And I'll hope that you see, you mean everything to me.
I desire for you to recognize how significant you are to me.
Lay awake in bed while thoughts fly through my head. Can't things stay the same?
I experience sleeplessness as thoughts swim in my mind, and I long for things to remain constant.
I know it's been awhile, but I can't forget your smile.
Although it has been a long time, I cannot erase the memory of your smile from my mind.
Its been so long, its been so long, its been so long. Time will move on & on.
A lot of time has passed, and time will continue to march forward.
It's time to move on & on, cause time will move on & on & on.
It is necessary to progress because time will continue to flow incessantly.
I'll let you know, I'm letting go. But I hope that you see you meant everything to me.
I confess to releasing my hold on this, but I hope that you are cognizant of how significant you are to me.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: MINDI BETH ABAIR, MATTHEW W. HAGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Karim Larbi
i love the original .
but the original are curtis