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.
Right on for Darkness
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
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You are there, your petty evil don't bother me
Playing all the clothes you wear
Laugh at me, pressed and clean, and I don't care
Right on for the darkness
Right on for the darkness
You better have some sympathy, yeah
'Cause this educated people
Running the lives of high society
Making up the blues
Holding back schools
Lot of greed, lot of temptation
Proof of one thing, we're a hell of a nation
Right on for the darkness
Right on, right on
Right on, right on
Right on, right on
Right on, right on for the darkness
Right on for the darkness
I am blind and I can't see [incomprehensible]
What do we need for justice
Is there really enough room to demand?
Old man you know too well us
You gain all your children's trust
Right on for the darkness
Right on for the darkness
Right on for the darkness
Right on, right on
Right on, right on for the darkness
Right on
Well the message with the tears
Through the eyes is everyone will see
I can hear the people's fears
[Incomprehensible] everywhere to me
Right on for the darkness
Right on, right on
Right on, right on for the darkness
I am blind and I cannot see
You are there, your petty evil don't bother me
Playing all the clothes you wear
Laugh at me, pressed and clean, and I don't care
Right on for the darkness
Right on for the darkness
Right on for the darkness
The song "Right on for the Darkness" by Curtis Mayfield is primarily about social injustice and the corruption of the elite. The lyrics describe a society where educated people, those who hold back schools and make up the blues, run the lives of high society. Despite being blind and unable to see, the singer is unbothered by the "petty evil" of those who mock him for his lack of wealth or status, and instead encourages listeners to embrace the darkness - the reality of the world - and fight for a better future.
Mayfield's use of the phrase "right on" is a nod to the Black Power movement, which was at its peak when the song was released in 1973. This phrase was commonly used as a form of affirmation, approval or encouragement for African American activists fighting against racism and discrimination. The song also features powerful instrumentation, with a catchy guitar riff and the inclusion of horns which were a staple of Mayfield's music.
Overall, "Right on for the Darkness" can be seen as a call to arms for social justice, with a powerful message that encourages listeners to find strength in the darkness and not be defeated by the corrupt systems that govern society.
Line by Line Meaning
I am blind and I cannot see
Despite my blindness, I can sense the evil in the world
You are there, your petty evil don't bother me
Even with the presence of evil, I am not disturbed by it
Playing all the clothes you wear
You are pretending to be something you are not
Laugh at me, pressed and clean, and I don't care
I am not affected by your mockery or appearance
Right on for the darkness
Continue to fight against the darkness, despite its presence
You pity fools, you pity fools
You feel sorry for those who do not see past the darkness
You better have some sympathy, yeah
It's important to have empathy for others
'Cause this educated people
The educated are the ones in power
Running the lives of high society
The educated control the wealthy and powerful
Making up the blues
The conditions of society create sadness and depression
Holding back schools
The system prevents education for all
Lot of greed, lot of temptation
There is excess desire for wealth and pleasure
Proof of one thing, we're a hell of a nation
This reveals the challenges and flaws of society
What do we need for justice
What steps must be taken to achieve fairness and equality?
Is there really enough room to demand?
Are we capable of making a significant change?
Old man you know too well us
Those in power are well aware of the struggles of the common people
You gain all your children's trust
Those in power must earn the trust of the younger generation
Well the message with the tears
Our message is an emotional one
Through the eyes is everyone will see
Our message will be received through the eyes of everyone
I can hear the people's fears
I am aware of the fears of the people
Right on for the darkness
Continue to fight against the darkness, despite its presence
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CURTIS MAYFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind